Laura Kraut and Cedric (ManciniPhotos)
The ESP Spring Series circuit will continue on April 18-22, 2012, featuring another full week of "AA" rated hunter and 4-Star jumper competition. Highlights include a $10,000 Welcome Stake on Thursday, April 19 and a $25,000 Grand Prix on Sunday, April 22. On Saturday, April 21, the $2,500 South Florida Sport Chassis NAL Low Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Stake and $2,500 High Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Stake will each be held on the grass field at The Stadium. Saturday night will feature the USHJA National Hunter Classic at 7 p.m.
Laura Kraut and Cedric Win $25,000 ESP Spring 2 Grand Prix
Olympic veterans Laura Kraut and Cedric jumped to victory on the grass field at The Stadium at the PBIEC on Sunday afternoon in the $25,000 ESP Spring 2 Grand Prix. Competing in the second week of Equestrian Sport Production's spring horse show circuit, the 14-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Chambertin x Carolus Z) owned by Cherry Knoll Farm, Inc., out-jumped a field of top competitors for a solid win to conclude the 2012 Florida circuit.
Thirty-six starters jumped the course set by David Ballard of Canada on Sunday and nine were able to go clear to jump off. Three entries jumped double clear to earn top honors. Showing over the short course, Laura Kraut and Cedric were first to jump off, and their clear round in 40.188 seconds set the standard and would go unbeaten for the win. Lauren Hough and Robin Parsky's Blue Angel cleared the course in 41.361 seconds to earn the second place prize. Margie Engle and Elm Rock LLC's Royce finished third with a clear round in 41.928 seconds.
The remaining jump-off competitors all earned four faults over the short course. The fastest four-fault round belonged to Victoria Colvin and Monsieur Reverdy, who had the fastest round of the day in 36.926 seconds, but dropped one rail to place fourth. Lauren Tisbo and Tequestrian Farms LLC's Crème Brule finished fifth with four faults in 38.634 seconds, and Shane Sweetnam and Spy Coast Farm LLC's Diktator Van De Boslandhoeve placed sixth with four faults in 39.518 seconds.
Laura Kraut and Cedric have already been named to the long list for the U.S. Show Jumping Team for this summer's Olympic Games in London and are preparing to show in the observation trials in Lexington, KY, in May with hopes of making the final team. Cedric unfortunately pulled a muscle in his shoulder near the end of the FTI WEF winter circuit and could not compete as much as hoped, but Kraut was happy to get Sunday's win as they transition into the competition ahead.
Kraut noted, "He felt great. I was really happy to have the opportunity to jump him because that grass field has such beautiful footing and I thought it was a really nice way to keep him fit and jumping, but low risk because of the ground."
"The class was great," she said. "It was more horses than I expected. I had to leave to make a flight, so unfortunately I did not get to watch any of the jump-off, but it was a nice class. I just found out that I won, which was really fun because I really thought that I would only be fourth or fifth. It was a really nice course. It did exactly what I was hoping to do, which was to give him a nice, strong round and just check his fitness level before I go to Lexington."
On Cedric's end to the winter circuit and the decision to show this week, Kraut explained, "I had wanted to jump him a bit more during circuit, but he pulled a muscle toward the end and even though he was fine, I didn't want to push it. I did the American Invitational in Tampa, and then just last week I decided that we would do this class and just jump around on the grass. It was just sort of an afterthought, and I am very happy that I did it."
"It is really nice to have these classes to do in the spring and I must say that I was surprised at the horses that did it," Kraut acknowledged. "It was a really good field and as quiet as it is in Wellington right now, the Welcome Prix and the Grand Prix had plenty of entries, so it was nice."
This is Kraut and Cedric's first win since Margaret Duprey and Cherry Knoll Farm purchased the gelding in February. Kraut was happy to represent the new ownership with a win, and Duprey proudly accepted the prize on her behalf.
"It was great, because Margaret was there today and she got to lead Cedric in for his cooler and ribbon, which was really nice. It was a nice moment for her and hopefully the first of many," Kraut smiled. "She has just been fantastic. She is so supportive of the horses and the team. I told her today that I wasn't going to try and win this class, I just wanted to go in and have a nice round, and she said 'Do whatever you want to do, it's no problem.' Whatever I have asked of her so far, she has just been super. She is a horse person; she is interested in getting hopefully to the Olympic Games if we can, and doing whatever we need to do."
Final Results: $25,000 ESP Spring 2 Grand Prix
1. CEDRIC, LAURA KRAUT, CHERRY KNOLL FARM, INC: 0/0/40.188
2. BLUE ANGEL, LAUREN HOUGH, ROBIN PARSKY: 0/0/41.361
3. ROYCE , MARGIE ENGLE, ELM ROCK LLC: 0/0/41.928
4. MONSIEUR REVERDY, VICTORIA COLVIN, VICTORIA COLVIN : 0/4/36.926
5. CREME BRULE, LAUREN TISBO, TEQUESTRIAN FARMS, LLC: 0/4/38.634
6. DIKTATOR VAN DE BOSLANDHOEVE, SHANE SWEETNAM, SPY COAST FARM, LLC: 0/4/39.518
7. WAUW, JUAN ORTIZ, JUAN ORTIZ: 0/4/39.960
8. AX-CENT, KENNETH BERKLEY, RIVERS EDGE: 0/4/41.230
9. DANA, CANDICE KING, LOUISBURG FAR: 0/4/41.537
10. OPAL DU GOLFE, MARIE HECART, ECURIE MICHEL HECART: 4/82.694
11. WATERLOO, SCHUYLER RILEY, M. MICHAEL MELLE: 4/82.784
12. SIRI, SHANE SWEETNAM, SPY COAST FARM, LLC: 4/82.931
ESP Spring 2 Jumper Highlights
On Thursday afternoon, 46 entries showed in The Sanctuary's $10,000 Open Jumper Welcome Stake with a win for Beaufort Van Het Lindenhof, owned by Arao Enterprises LLC, and ridden by Venezuela's Andres Rodriguez. Dunwalke Ltd.'s Quiletta Du Domaine and Alexandra Thornton placed second, with Elm Rock LLC's Royce and Margie Engle in third.
On Friday evening, the Children's and Adult Amateur Jumper Stakes were held under the lights in the International Arena. In the Children's Jumper Stake, the win went to Palm Meadow Farm LLC's Voigtsdorf's Ohio and Nina Montross, with Zet-Es-Zem and Brianne Link in second, and Sweet Oak Farm's Shakespeare and Skylar Rogalny in third.
The Adult Amateur Jumper Stake was won by Jorge Verswyvel's Nazareth L.S. and Eugenia Karolyi, with Komedie De Montesec and Lea Allen in second, and Wellington Ventures LLC's Ayton and Dr. Kraig Kulikowski in third.
On Sunday, the International Arena featured the South Florida SportChassis NAL Low Amateur-Owner/Junior Jumper Stake with a one-two finish for young rider Alexandra Crown. Crown won the class aboard her own Can Be Good and placed second on Far Niente Equine LLC's Serval.
In the High Amateur-Owner/Junior Jumper Stake, Skara Glen's Voltan H and Spencer Smith took top honors, with Michelle Navarro-Grau in second and third with Tibetano and Shen Yen.
In the Merrill Lynch M&S Children's Jumper Classic, Brianne Link and Zet-Es-Zem took another top finish for the week. Gillian Kelley and Emerald Isle Jumper's Campesino IV took second and Emily Rizzo and Tyler Smith's Little Joey placed third.
The Merrill Lynch M&S Adult Amateur Jumper Classic was won by Nazareth L.S. and Eugenia Karolyi with Komedie De Montesec and Lea Allen in second and Carzat and Tessa Weise in third.
The week concluded with a win for Helluvanoops and Evie Smith in the Low Child/Adult Jumper Classic. Amy Momrow's Amadeus and Jessica Pletka placed second.
Hunter and Equitation Highlights
It was a fantastic week for the hunters as well as the ponies, who were highlighted in their very own Saturday night class under the lights in the International Arena. The small, medium and large divisions were held individually.
In the $1,000 JJL Process Corp. Small Pony Derby Classic, the win went to Addison Piper and Goldfish. Second place was awarded to Linda Evan's Orchard Hills Double Take and Ava Stearns, with Peacock Ridge LLC's Q-2 and Yasmin Rizvi in third.
The $1,000 JJL Process Corp. Medium Pony Derby Classic was won by Jemima Puddle Duck, owned by Redwood Farm LLC and ridden by Anderson F. Wagner. Peacock Ridge LLC's Swingtown and Yasmin Rizvi placed second and Lochmoor Stables' Remind Me and Cooper Dean third.
The $1,000 JJL Process Corp. Large Pony Derby Classic was won by Yasmin Rizvi aboard Celtic's Creek Irish Belle, owned by Keith Hastings. Second place went to Champlain Sovereign, owned by The Hill Farm and ridden by Olivia Notman. Sterling Silver LLC's Nightlight Estrada and Katie Jones placed third.
Other highlights in the hunters for ESP's Spring 2 competition included a championship win for Just North, owned and ridden by Avery Dimmig, in the Amateur-Owner Hunter 18-35 3'3" division with Presque Isle and Elizabeth Faraci in reserve.
In the Amateur-Owner Hunter 36 & Over 3'3" division, Sundance and Meredith Lipke earned championship honors with Invincible and Ellen Toon in reserve.
The Children's Hunter division awarded its championship to Without Question, owned by Ponies and Palms Show Stables LLC and ridden by Madison Arani. Palm Meadow Farms LLC's Nairobi Nights and Nina Montross finished in reserve.
In the Green Working Hunter divisions, Susan Moriconi's Holden and Christophe Payne earned top honors with Pony Lane Farm's Fredrick and Maggie Jayne, and Susan Moriconi's Dashing and Christopher Payne tying for reserve.
Shawn Casady dominated in the Small and Large Junior Hunter divisions. In the Smalls, Casady earned the championship aboard Peakewood Pharm Inc.'s Chromeo and finished reserve aboard Photo Shoot. In the Larges, Casady won the championship riding First Partners LP's Savant, and placed in reserve with Camden Yards, owned by Allyson Blais.
In the equitation, Victoria Colvin took home wins in both the Pessoa/USEF Hunter Seat Medal and WIHS Equitation Classic aboard Alexandra Crown's Amore Mio.
Mary Abbruzzese and Cartoon, owned by Heritage Farm, Inc. won the ASPCA Maclay class. The Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Class was won by Brianne Link aboard Spock.
For full results, please visit www.showgroundslive.com.