Peter Breakwell and Lucas (McCool)
Seven riders piloted their mounts without fault to secure a spot in the jump-off. And of that group only two were double clean, Breakwell and second place finishers Michelle Spadone aboard Tembla (Morgan Hill Partners, owners). Both of these top riders now call California home.
"My plan was to go fast, I didn't know if I would be fast enough. But everything just kind of worked out," explained Breakwell.
Fast enough indeed; the pair stopped the clock in a speedy 41.300, almost five seconds faster than Spadone. The victory was even sweeter as Breakwell's grand prix partner Lucas (No Drama, owner) was making a comeback after an injury. "To be honest, I didn't really expect this today because this horse hasn't been jumping a lot, he got hurt before Thermal so I wasn't able to show him. I did two classes earlier this week and he jumped really well. So I thought I would give it a shot today. I walked the course and it was a little bigger than I had hoped. But in the middle of the first round he felt great, and just jumped incredible."
As the seventeenth pair to negotiate the first round course, Breakwell and Lucas joined the company of Canadian Jennifer Serek on Eleonora (Shin Shin Group, owner), American Karianne Boyce-Lockhart on her own Hopscotch and Austrian Peter Petcshenig on his own Saint Quentin, who went fifth, sixth and seventh in the order. Each of these three early clean rides had a rail in the jump-off, ultimately finishing fourth, fifth and sixth. Also qualifying for the jump-off was Spadone on Tembla, Canadian Tamie Phillips riding her Lerche 37 and Californian Michelle Parker on her trusty Socrates De Midos (Cross Creek Farms, Inc., owners). Phillips dropped two rails in the second round to finish seventh and Parker had a great time of 42.41 but also lowered the height of one jump for third.
With fifteen of twenty-two riders completing the course at four faults or less, course designer Peter Holmes did an excellent job setting for the field. "I thought it was a very challenging course, I thought everybody in it was quite good. I noticed almost every rider was clear or had four faults. So everybody thought they could jump it clear. Two horses spooked to the combination and I think that might've been the shadows. But that's horses, it happens. The standard was very high and they just had to be very precise for a clear," commented Holmes.
Riders placing eighth through twelfth each dislodged one fence in the first round. With eight pairs knocking a rail in round one, the fastest five earned a piece of the prize.
Earlier in the day, competitors and kids hunted for Easter eggs, had their faces painted, took pictures with the Easter Bunny and enjoyed an Easter Brunch, all generously sponsored by the California LAX Classic Lacrosse Tournament.
Blenheim EquiSports begins the second week of the Spring Series on April 3rd in San Juan Capistrano and features the $40,000 Blenheim Spring Classic II Grand Prix, presented by Summit General Insurance on Sunday, April 7th. The month of April continues with week three of the Spring Series, including the $10,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby on Friday, April 12th and on Saturday, April 13th, the $50,000 Blenheim Spring Classic III Grand Prix, presented by Equine Insurance.
RESULTS
Place Horse Rider Owner Time/Faults
1st Lucas Peter Breakwell No Drama 0/0/41.300
2nd Tembla Michelle Spadone Morgan Hill Partners 0/0/46.037
3rd Socrates de Midos Michelle Parker Cross Creek Farms Inc /0/4/42.418
4th Eleonora Jennifer Serek Shin Shin Group 0/4/43.198
5th Saint Quentin Peter Petschenig Iris & Peter Petschenig 0/4/46.110
6th Hopscotch Karianne Boyce-Lockhart Karianne Boyce-Lockhart 0/4/48.450
7th Lerche 37 Tamie Phillips Tamie Phillips 0/8/42.657
8th Onyx Kyle King Brader Hill Farms 4/74.072
9th Bristol Rusty Stewart Grey Fox Farm 4/74.138
10th Crown Princess Lise Gregory Lise Gregory 4/77.801
11th John Perez Utopia John Perez 4/77.811
12th Casseur de Prix Lane Clarke Granville Equine 4/78.380