There was only one clean round, and it was ridden by Richard Spooner on Quirino in the $50,000 HBO World Cup Grand Prix of Del Mar presented by Mary’s Tack and Feed, a World Cup qualifying event. Spooner rode three horses in the grand prix, but it was his outstanding clear round on Quirino, owned by Oscany, Inc., of Los Angeles, which won, and also gave Spooner valuable points towards a spot representing the United States in the World Cup Finals to be held in Malaysia in 2006.

Mariano Alario on Kilkenny Lesandra, owned by Kilkenny Crest, LLC, of Bend, OR, was looking clean, and the crowd was urging him on, hoping for a jump-off, when over the very last fence a rail dropped, moving Alario into second place. Third through ninth place were all four-fault rounds decided by the fastest time.

This grand prix was won last year by Mandy Porter and Summer, who scratched from the competition this time. Will Simpson and El Campeon’s Ado Annie won this grand prix the first four years of the event.

Twice as many horses and riders competed at the Sixth Annual Del Mar International Horse Show. World-renowned Olympic course designer Leopoldo Palacios of Venezuela, created a variety of challenges for the five-day show.

In Friday night’s competition, nine teams competed in the $10,000 Jetsource WCAR Prix de Nations, presented by Flipstream Foundation. Three teams tied for the win, so it came down to the fastest time to determine the winners. First place went to Team Thomas with Annie Cook riding 1.10, Meredith Hursh 1.20, Jennifer Matthews 1.30 and Guy Thomas 1.40. The second place team included Danielle Korsh, Ali Nilforushan, Rebecca Johanson-Hofmann and Erin Davis. Following in third place were Eduardo Sanchez Navarro, Katherine Bardis, Kaylen Spooner, and Richard Spooner.

The show hosted two days of the final official qualifying classes (Western Region) for the FEI Children’s International Jumper Final. Allison Van Sickle and her horse, Blue Bayou, won this last qualifying selection trial, Alec Lawler took second, followed by Paige Kirwin, Annie Cook and Taylor McClung. The top riders advance to compete for the title “World’s Best Children’s Jumper” taking place in November at Hummingbird Ranch in Simi Valley, CA.

Forty-seven horses debuted in the Del Mar Equifuture Sport Horse Sale, including dressage and show horses, pre-green hunters and jumpers. Equifuture partners Dale Harvey, Heather Fogarty and Sandy Aston showcased a collection of fine horses representative of what’s available here, bringing buyers and sellers together in conjunction with the Del Mar International Horse Show.

The Del Mar International Horse Show is produced by West Palms Communications, which hosts a second show in it’s series next Spring. The Palms Classic Horse Show on March 22–26, 2006, benefits Casa de Amparo, and hosts the $50,000 World Cup Grand Prix, presented by Antares Saddlery, and the $5,000 WCAR Prix de Nations and Spruce Meadows Selection Trials at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. For more information, visit www.jumpdelmar.com.


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