Wellington, Fla. – NetJets® U.S. Jumping Team member Margie Engle and Royce barely missed victory in the $210,000 Longines Grand Prix Palm Beach Masters CSIO5* on Friday. Engle and Royce, one of 15 combinations to jump clear and qualify for the jump-off, missed victory by three-quarters of a second to place second behind Ireland’s Paul O’Shea and Imerald van't Voorhof. Columbia’s Juan Manuel Gallego and Coulash van de Broy Z placed third. All members of the NetJets U.S. Jumping Team, including Lucy Deslauriers, Laura Kraut, Beezie Madden, and McLain Ward, contested the Grand Prix ahead of Sunday’s FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ USA.
Watch Engle and Royce’s jump-off
“I wasn’t sure [of the win]. Paul is always very fast, and my horse naturally is not the quickest. He spends a lot of time in the air. The harder I [push] him at the jumps the higher he gets, so I really wasn’t sure. I really didn’t get to see him; I knew he was quick,” said Engle, reflecting on her thoughts heading into the jump off.
The U.S. qualified the largest contingent in the jump-off with five combinations, with eight nations represented. Engle and Royce, Gladewinds Partners LLC’s 15-year-old stallion and Madden with Chic Hin D Hyrencourt, Abigail Wexner’s 11-year-old gelding, qualified with times of 78.66 and 80.07 seconds, respectively.
Madden and Chic Hin D Hyrencourt entered the ring seventh in the jump off order. Although they had an unlucky rail, they moved into second place behind Columbia’s Gallego and Coulash van de Broy Z. Madden and Chic Hin D Hyrencourt held the quickest time out of the four-fault combinations until O’Shea and Imerald van 't Voorhof overtook the lead. Israel’s Danielle Goldstein and Lizziemary and Daniel Bluman with Ladriano Z each dropped a rail, but Goldstein jumped nearly a half a second faster, dropping Madden to the fifth position. Goldstein and Bluman’s four fault round ensured Engle and Royce a top-three finish with a clear round.
“Royce has been a friend and partner of mine for almost seven years now. He always had all the ability in the world, and I just had to work on his rideability between the jumps. He has a great personality,” said Engle. “He’s really sweet, and he gives it a shot every time. He might not be the quickest horse in the air, but he does try to leave the [rails] up. He has a great big heart and gives everything he has.”
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