Lexington, KY – With swift and calculated moves, amazing 360-degree spins and stop-on-a-dime sliding stops that left an unabashed crowd going wild, Craig Schmersal and Tidal Wave Jack claimed their landmark USEF Gold medal and trophy in one fell swoop at the 2005 Adequan/USEF Open Reining Championship on Saturday, August 27, at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. Seventh out of 23 entries in the order of go, the pair set the standard early on in the evening competition—a standard as it turns out, that simply couldn’t be beat. At the end of their run, Schmersal and his Gold-medal winning partner from the 2002 World Equestrian Games finished with a final score of 226.

“He’s got the best mind of any stud we’ve had,” Schmersal said. “He keeps showing up time after time after time. He has a heart of gold.” Schmersal said in the middle of their rip-roaring performance, “I knew he was hooked. I got chills up my spine and I just held on and stayed tough through the rest of the pattern.”

Wife Ginger and 12-year-old son, Chris, watched from the sidelines with anticipation, rooting their top man on for the win. “When I watched Craig ride, I thought, ‘Yeah, we might have a chance!’ The crowd was with him and I just had that feeling—when you know it’s going to happen,” Ginger shared.

The real story of the day comes from the victory that almost didn’t happen, if not for the stroke of insight from Craig. Until this year, the nine-year-old Tidal Wave Jack had been in retirement, standing at stud in North Carolina. “He was at the breeding farm all year with Mike and Natalie McIntyre,” Craig said, with a grin spreading across his face. “I called Mike and said ‘Get him ready, I’m going to take him to Kentucky this year.’ Mike said ‘okay,’ and I told him I expected nothing less than victory, just kind of kidding. But he delivered for me!”

Last year’s FEI World Reining Masters title-holder Todd Crawford was named Reserve Champion and given the Silver medal in the 2005 Adequan/USEF Open Reining Championship with Commandalena. Crawford, who arrived the night before the competition, said his horse “gave everything he had.” At the end, he said, “he ran out of gas.” Even so, the pair earned a very respectable 225, a mere point behind Schmersal. The revered Crawford said he enjoyed his first trip to the Kentucky Horse Park and the accompanying Championship crowd. “It’s always fun to show in front of a crowd,” Crawford said earnestly. “Tonight had a really good feel to it. I enjoyed being here and I hope to come back again.”

Shawn Flarida and Tinsel Nic rounded out the top three, earning the Bronze medal with a score of 224.

Tenth-placed Aaron Ralston was the winner of the Don Burt Award, given to the highest placed rider in the Open Championship who is not ranked in the top 50 on the USEF Long List.