Offering a total of $30,000 in bonus money, McArdle claimed the first SSG bonus after winning the High Junior Jumper Classic on Sunday, May 13.  Proving the popularity of the promotion, 17 out of the 18 entries in the $10,000 High Junior Jumper Classic, Presented by Sleepy P Ranch, were wearing SSG ‘Digital’ Riding Gloves.  Two of those riders advanced to the jump-off where McArdle and Cosma 20 posted another faultless round to take the win over Elizabeth Patz and Cordino who incurred four faults.

“I didn’t wear the gloves earlier today specifically so I could save them for this class,” said McArdle, 17, referring to the rainy conditions in Kentucky and the importance of the SSG ‘Go Clean for the Green’ promotion.

While she was the first recipient of the SSG Riding Gloves bonus in Kentucky, McArdle is a past winner in the promotion, having claimed a $2,000 bonus during the final week of the 2012 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida.  While her winning mount in Florida was Bravoman, McArdle scored victory in Kentucky with a new horse, Cosma 20.

“It was cool to win the bonus on a different horse; she’s young and super talented,” said McArdle of the eight-year-old Hannoverian mare she began riding this winter.  “It was a really hard course and we were the only double clean.  The Kentucky Horse Park is such a wonderful venue, and the footing was perfect.”

While McArdle claimed the SSG Riding Gloves bonus offered in the Junior Jumper division, the bonus money for the Grand Prix division went unclaimed.  That means a $6,000 bonus will be on offer to the winning rider in the $32,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic on Thursday, May 17.

The SSG Riding Gloves ‘Go Clean for the Green’ promotion, offering $30,000 in bonus money, will be offered at the 2012 Kentucky Horse Shows held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky.  Riders wearing SSG ‘Digital’ Riding Gloves with the SSG horse head logo clearly visible during all rounds of competition in designated events are eligible for the bonus.

The following classes are still to come in the SSG Riding Gloves ‘Go Clean for the Green’ promotion for the 2012 Kentucky Horse Show season:

Kentucky Spring Classic CSI2* - May 16-20
Thursday, May 17 – $32,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic
Saturday, May 19 – $75,000 Mary Rena Murphy Grand Prix
Sunday, May 20 – $10,000 Junior Jumper Classic

Summer Horse Show – July 25-29
Thursday, July 26 – $25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic
Saturday, July 28 – $50,000 Kentucky Summer Grand Prix
Sunday, July 29 – Junior Jumper Classic

Summer Classic – August 1-5
Thursday, August 2 – $25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic
Saturday, August 4 – $50,000 Rood & Riddle Grand Prix
Sunday, August 5 – Junior Jumper Classic

Kentucky Bluegrass Classic – August 15-19
Friday, August 17 – $25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic
Sunday, August 19 – $50,000 Bluegrass Festival Grand Prix
Sunday, August 19 – Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic

Kentucky Hunter Jumper Horse Show – August 22-26
Friday, August 24 – $10,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic
Sunday, August 26 – $30,000 KHJA Grand Prix
Sunday, August 26 – Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic

For more information on the SSG Gloves ‘Go Clean for the Green’ promotion, please visit www.ssgridinggloves.com or contact promotion manager, Jennifer Ward of Starting Gate Communications at [email protected].