Laurenz Buhl and Calista (Sportfot)

Wellington, FL - The $20,000 Adequan 7-Year-Old Jumper Classic Final went second in the International Arena on Friday and saw a total of 58 entries with 22 clear rounds followed by nine without fault in the jump-off. Riding for Georgina Bloomberg's Gotham Enterprizes, 20-year-old German rider Laurenz Buhl guided Calista to victory with a double clear effort in 38.653 seconds. David Beisel and Kady Abrahamson's Basco H2 finished second in 38.798 seconds. Jonathon Corrigan and Sagamore Farms' Bella Donna were third in 38.909 seconds, and Jeffery Welles and Triton Ventures' Bilion placed fourth with a time of 39.067 seconds.

Laurenz Buhl works for top German trainer Dietmar Gugler in Europe and came to the U.S. this year for the first time to ride for Gotham Enterprizes. When Bloomberg's spirited young mare Calista needed a stronger rider, Buhl seemed like a perfect fit. He came to the farm in New York in September and then traveled to Wellington where he began competing. Friday's win was proof of several months of hard work and dedication for Buhl and Calista, a seven-year-old Westphalian mare by Cornet Obolensky x Pontifex.

"She is a very good horse with a lot of quality. She is careful; she has a lot of scope. She is just not very experienced," Buhl said of Calista.

Commenting on the opportunity to travel to America for the first time, he explained, "We have a good contact to Georgina's trainer (Jimmy Doyle) and he said that I could come over and ride for them. It has been a great opportunity for me; it couldn't be better. It is my first time showing in Wellington and even my first time in America. I am really enjoying it. The show here is great. It is kind of like another world here, it is completely different compared to what we have in Europe."

Detailing his winning round, Buhl noted, "I think it was a quite tough course today. I just got a quite good rhythm in the jump-off. She has a really big stride, so that makes it easier to be fast. I was lucky at the end. I think I was really, really fast to the last jump. I think there I made the most time up."

Bloomberg explained that she got Calista at the end of last summer and after showing her briefly, decided that the mare needed some experience with a different rider before they continued on.

"She has all of the talent in the world, but also all of the attitude," she noted. "When Laurenz came to work for us, it was just a good fit. We wanted him to have a nice horse to work with and to be able to be in the show ring a little bit, but it was also good for her to have somebody bigger and stronger on her."

"She is a very special horse and I think she has a brilliant future. I think she is just a little cocky sometimes and knows that she can act up, so Laurenz has done a great job with her," Bloomberg acknowledged. "He has spent a lot of time with her and he has brought her a long way. She has made huge strides and I am really happy that it paid off for him and that he got a win. He has put in so much work, so it was really good for him to get the recognition for it."

Final Results: $20,000 Adequan 7-Year-Old Jumper Classic Final 
1. CALISTA       LAURENZ BUHL      GOTHAM ENTERPRIZES: 0/0/38.653
2. BASCO H2    DAVID BEISEL     KADY ABRAHAMSON: 0/0/38.798
3. BELLA DONNA      JOHNATHON CORRIGAN       SAGARMORE FARMS: 0/0/38.909
4. BILION      JEFFERY WELLES      TRITON VENTURES FARMS INC: 0/0/39.067
5. CAYA         ALI WOLFF     ALI WOLFF: 0/0/39.518
6. BIALDA      RAMIRO QUINTANA   ST. BRIDE'S FARM: 0/0/39.547
7. GAIN LINE      CIAN O'CONNOR         RONNOCO JUMP LTD: 0/0/39.629
8. GENTLEY    FILIP DE WANDEL     FILIP DE WANDEL: 0/0/40.075
9. GSTAR       FILIP DE WANDEL     FIVE WAY FARM LLC: 0/0/45.536
10. G&C ATLANTA Z       RODRIGO PESSOA         GUSTAVO MIRABAL: 0/4/36.654
11. BALAVAN     SHANE SWEETNAM         SWEET OAK FARM: 0/4/37.876
12. BACKSTORY       JENNIFER ROSSIRE    DAVID HOPPER: 0/4/38.380