Source:  News Release/USEA

Revitavet Capato Wins His First Advanced and the Adequan USEA Gold Cup and PRO Tour Division at Aspen Farms Horse Trials

Jordan Linstedt, of Redmond, Washington, had a lot on her plate this weekend at the Aspen Farms Horse Trials in Yelm, Washington, with six horses and students competing from Beginner Novice through Advanced, not to mention suffering an unexpected illness. She managed to maintain focus and a smile, however, and piloted her 10-year-old Hanoverian gelding Revitavet Capato to a win in his first Advanced competition. The pair led the Adequan USEA Gold Cup and PRO Tour Series division from the start, and dropped just one pole today on Jonathan Elliott’s tight show jumping course to finish on a score of 55.0.

“I expected it to go well but I didn’t expect to come out on top necessarily. I’m ecstatic about it. I couldn’t have asked him to be better,” Linstedt said. “He ran around the cross-country yesterday like it was nothing. I felt like I was going Training level. He took everything out of stride and was right where I needed him. He was so rideable. It’s incredible because a couple years ago he was really tough. Even last year he was really tough. He’s so big and strong.”

Revitavet Capato was imported from Germany when he was three-and-a-half years old. He was intended to be a new ride for her sister, but he proved to be very difficult. “Everyone in our area thought he wouldn’t be an event horse. They told us to sell him as a dressage horse.” When he ended up not selling, Jordan’s coach Tamra Smith suggested she have a go with him.

They were persistent in his training but also took the time to figure out the right equipment and techniques that worked for him. “It’s been tough but now I’m glad I stuck it out with him. He’s come a long way,” Linstedt said. “Tamra and John Camlin have been great this last year helping me through the two-star stuff. And riding with David O’Connor [in the training sessions] has been exceptional and really gotten us that last step we needed to polish our skill.”

The pair performed a gorgeous dressage test Friday to grab the initial lead, and Linstedt said Revitavet Capato gave her everything and never once felt green to the level on Tremaine Cooper’s big cross-country course.

“Time was a factor but that was more because of the footing,” she said. “At the double corners in the back field I brought him back and kind of show jumped him because it was pretty boggy and mucky. They had done a great job with the gravel, mending the field as best they could. But it was deep and he’s big. When I came into the field I sunk down towards the ground and said, ok I’m going to slow down here and not risk anything. So we took our time there but everywhere else the ground was great. He ran to speed and jumped everything well.”

Linstedt and her family and students are frequent visitors to Aspen Farms. This particular trip was marred only by a suspected bout of food poisoning. “I wasn’t sure what I was going to do Saturday and just decided it would depend on how I was doing warming up, and I think the adrenaline kicked in and I felt pretty good. Then yesterday I went to bed at 6 p.m. and slept 12 hours.” She was feeling much better Sunday, she said.

Kiyomi Foster, of British Columbia, and her New Zealand Thoroughbred Tasman Sea had moved up from sixth to second with a strong performance in cross-country. They gave Linstedt some breathing room in show jumping when they dropped two rails and picked a time penalty, but they managed to keep their position and finish second in the Aspen Farms Advanced division for the second year in a row.

A close look at Tasman’s Sea forehead, just to the right of his left eye, will reveal a subtle scar in the shape of a three-sided rectangle. This January, Foster had noticed unusual nasal discharge; the veterinarian discovered Tasman Sea had been suffering from cysts in his sinus cavity for an unknown length of time. The horse had a standing bone flap done to remove the cysts and repair the damage. He recovered remarkably well. He was back under saddle in three weeks, and according to Foster, he has come back better than ever.

Nathan Grosse, of Lake Oswego, Oregon, and his 17-year-old Thoroughbred gelding Ray posted solid results in both jumping phases to move up from last place after dressage to finish third. View the full results from Aspen Farms at Startbox Scoring.

Thank you to Jonathan and Suzy Elliott for hosting an excellent competition, and to the hard-working grounds crew for making the most of the weather. Learn more about events as Aspen Farms atwww.aspenfarmseventing.com.

About the Adequan USEA Gold Cup and PRO Tour Series
The Adequan USEA Gold Cup features 11 qualifying competitions throughout the United States at the Advanced Horse Trials and CIC3* levels with the final at the Nutrena USEA American Eventing Championships September 26-29 in Tyler, Texas. Riders who complete a qualifier earn the chance to vie for $40,000 in prize money in the Adequan Advanced Division and the title of Adequan USEA Gold Cup Champion.

The Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series is made possible through the support of its many sponsors:  Adequan; Nunn Finer; SmartPak Equine; Nutrena; Broadstone Equine Insurance Agency, Point Two;Dubarry; and FITS.

The PRO Tour Series consists of 13 premier destination events in the United States and Canada in 2013 featuring the best riders and most entertainment. Riders and Horses are awarded points on the PRO Tour Rider Leader Board and PRO Tour Horse Leader Board. Riders can also earn points on the PRO Tour Series at the Intermediate or two-star level for the Multi Radiance Intermediate Challenge. The 2013 Multi Radiance Challenge Leader Board Champion will win a Multi Radiance MR4 ACTIVET Portable Laser System.

The Professional Riders Organization would like to thank the following sponsors for their support of the 2013 PRO Tour Series: Martin Collins USA, The Official Footing of PRO;  Multi Radiance Medical, The Official Laser Therapy of PRO & Sponsor of the Multi Radiance Medical Intermediate Challenge ; Tex Sutton, the Official US Equine Air Carrier of PRO; SSG Riding Gloves; Finish Line Horse Products;Midlantic Ltd.; and Mythic Landing Events.

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