Rusty Stewart and Bristol
Local and state wide equestrian enthusiasts chomped at the bit when offered the limited opportunity to walk an FEI level indoor World Cup Grand Prix course with the two-time Olympian and the soon-to-be U.S Olympic Show Jumping coach, Robert Ridland. To kick off the evening's main event, Ridland escorted members of local Pony Clubs, College Equestrian Teams, Big Brother & Sisters of Orange County and many more through a jump-by-jump course description and what to expect during the night's competition. The large jumps did little to intimidate one special fan who got a one on one chance to walk a part of the Grand Prix course with Ridland himself. Once the sun set, the competition was underway.
"I said it would be big," course designer Guilherme Jorge confirmed before the class got underway, "but that's the point. It's a World Cup Qualifier." Riders were asked to pilot their horses through a very technical course that included a 1.55M vertical-vertical combination, a 1.60M wall, and a very wide triple bar and only 82 seconds to clear it in. The nail biter was the triple combination that had riders set up for an oxer with two strides to another oxer then quickly adjust in one stride to a vertical. The crowd cheered ecstatically for each rider that was able to make it through the combination without fault.
Nicole Shahinian-Simpson and her young stallion Imothep were the first pair to clear all thirteen obstacles, but with caution comes time faults. Shahinian-Simpson set the standard with one time fault in 84.48 seconds. Nineteen year old Lucy Davis and her thirteen-year-old Holsteiner Nemo 119 had one unfortunate rail early in the course but kicked it into gear and cleared every other obstacle with ease in 78.59 seconds for second place at that point of the competition.
Four rounds to go in the $50,000 Blenheim World Cup Grand Prix, crowd favorite Rusty Stewart and the almighty Bristol trotted into the arena with sure confidence. "After walking the course, I knew it was going to be a tough course, but the time allowed was the biggest worry." Stewart piloted his ten-year-old gelding through one obstacle at a time, setting him up for a solid approach eliminating the risk of knocking a rail. Stewart had one scary rub on an awkwardly angled vertical by the in gate but was able to recover and stop the clock for a clear round in 78.11 seconds, moving into first place. "It was a really big track," Stewart confirmed, "but it was a track that you had to have your game on from beginning to end in order to get through it. I could not do this without Bristol. He is so amazing".
No other team could surpass Stewart resulting in no jump-off and Stewart's second consecutive World Cup Qualifier and HITS Millions Grand Prix Qualifier victories. "Rusty (Stewart) is on a roll," course designer Jorge smiled, "it was a great class and a great show. The whole idea was to keep it to the FEI standard. It was a legitimate World Cup Qualifier course and clearly the best man won."
Rusty Stewart and Kandi Stewart own and run the breeding and training operation at Grey Fox Farm. Bristol, the 10-year-old bay gelding, was the Stewart's first homebred colt and has clearly demonstrated what an amazing program they have created.
The competition doesn't end there. Saturday night features the 2012 ASPCA Maclay Regional Finals where top West Coast Junior Riders will compete for a chance to qualify for the Maclay Finals held in November at the Alltech National Horse Show in Lexington, KY. For more information on upcoming events, please visit the Blenheim EquiSports website.