Wellington, FL - Equestrian Sport Productions' Holiday & Horses competition concluded at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) on Sunday afternoon with a win for Molly Ashe and Kennzo in the $15,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby. Laura Kraut and Bonito R ended the week with a victory in the $10,000 Open Jumper 1.40m Stake class.

 

The $15,000 Holiday & Horses USHJA International Hunter Derby was held in the Mogavero Ring at PBIEC featuring two rounds of competition over a course set by Jasen Shelley. The judges included Danny Robertshaw, Kitty Barker, John Barker, and Jim Zulia.

Molly Ashe jumped Kristen Abbatiello-Neff's Kennzo, an eleven-year-old Finnish Warmblood gelding by Coriano, to victory with two beautiful rounds of competition. Ashe and Kennzo earned the high score of 183 in the classic round and then received the second highest score of 199 in the handy course to finish with 382 points overall.

 

Kelley Farmer and David Glefke's Skorekeeper had the high score in the handy round with 200.5 points, which combined with their classic score of 173.5 to give the pair a 374-point total and second place honors.

Molly Ashe and Kennzo. Photo (c) Mancini Photos.

Kennzo mainly shows in the hunter derby classes with Ashe and has proven himself with several wins in the last couple of years, including top honors at Horse Shows by the Bay this summer.  He was also third in the derby at the Hampton Classic in August and has not shown since then. Despite the time off, Kennzo came out like a pro on Sunday.

 

"Clearly he has done a lot of eating," Ashe joked after the class. "He is really cool that way. You can pull him out and go right out there and he is on it. He is like a pony. You turn him out, and you can't catch him. Riding him is like pulling teeth. He is a firm believer in me working as hard as he does. In the schooling area he won't go. You canter the jump, and he will land trotting and stopping. But then he goes in the ring, and he knows his job. He is perfect in the ring."

"He is so much fun," she affirmed. "He is so scopey, and he has a great jump. He has really turned into such a great show horse. I have had him since he was seven, and he started out as a jumper and then we started doing the hunters. He really knows his job now, and he is all business every time. He takes no preparation. He literally walks to the ring and off he goes."

Molly Ashe and Kennzo in their winning presentation with ringmaster Gustavo Murcia. Photo (c) Mancini Photos.

Ashe also placed third in Sunday's class riding Elisee Browchuck's Original du Rietz. The pair earned scores of 171 and 184 for an overall score of 355.

"I was very proud of him," the rider smiled. "He was doing jumpers with his owner and got a little scared and unhappy about it, so we made him a hunter. He marched right out there. He had not done anything since Southampton either, and he laid it down right from round one."

Havens Schatt and Bruce Duchossois's Just Fred finished fourth with scores of 163 and 190.5 for a score of 353.5 overall. Jennifer Bliss earned fifth and sixth place honors riding Harris Hill Farm LLC's Poker Face and Extraordinary. Poker Face earned scores of 156 and 186 for a total of 342 to place fifth. Extraordinary received a 145 and a 183 for a 328-point total and the sixth place prize.

A $10,000 Open Jumper 1.40m Stake class concluded the competition on Sunday with a course set in the International Arena by Anthony D'Ambrosio. Twenty-eight entries showed in round one with five clear rounds to advance to the jump-off and five double clears over the short course. The fastest time of 37.946 seconds earned top prize for U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist Laura Kraut riding Stars and Stripes' Bonito R, an eight-year-old Hanoverian gelding by El Bonito x Rhytmo.

New Zealand's Grant Wilson finished second riding Octavia de Beaufour, owned by Emmanuelle Mille and Grant Wilson. The pair cleared the short course in 38.411 seconds. Denmark's Henrik Gundersen finished third riding Adlanteur through the timers in 39.609 seconds. Young U.S. rider, Sydney Shulman, took home both the fourth and fifth place honors. Shulman and Marcus Hagglund's Quirado finished fourth with a time of 39.932 seconds. Riding Back Country Farm's HH Narcos du Marais, Shulman placed fifth in 40.661 seconds.

Laura Kraut and Bonito R. Photo (c) Mancini Photos.

Sunday's competition concluded the 2013 Holiday & Horses event. Equestrian Sport Productions will host its Year End Awards Show next at PBIEC. The competition will run December 7-8, 2013, featuring a $10,000 Open Stake on Saturday, December 7, and the $25,000 Year End Grand Prix (2 p.m.) and $5,000 USHJA 3' Hunter Classic on Sunday, December 8. The ESP Year End Awards Banquet will be held on Saturday, December 7, at approximately 6:00 p.m. in the PBIEC Special Events Tent. For more information, please visit www.equestriansport.com. For full results, go towww.showgroundslive.com.

Horse/Rider/Owner/Rd 1/Rd 2/Total

1. KENNZO    MOLLY ASHE    KRISTEN ABBATIELLO-NEFF: 183/199/382

2. SKOREKEEPER    KELLEY FARMER    DAVID GLEFKE: 173.5/200.5/374

3. ORIGINAL DU RIETZ    MOLLY ASHE    ELISEE BROWCHUK: 171/184/355

4. JUST FRED    HAVENS SCHATT    BRUCE DUCHOSSOIS: 163/190.5/353.5

5. POKER FACE    JENNIFER BLISS    HARRIS HILL FARM LLC: 156/186/342

6. EXTRAORDINARY    JENNIFER BLISS    HARRIS HILL FARM LLC: 145/183/328

7. O'RYAN    SYDNEY SHULMAN    FAIRFIELD FARMS LLC: 148/179.5/327.5

8. DELANY    ERYNN BALLARD    REDFIELD FARM: 150/170/320

9. ENTOURAGE    ASHLEY HOTZ    ASHLEY HOTZ: 160/160/320

10. PIM    BRITTANY SUTTON    GEOFFREY SUTTON: 147/152/299

11. QUOTABLE    KELLEY FARMER    GLEFKE & GARBER: 86/189/275

12. TEMPTATION    KRISTY HERRERA    AUTUMN JANESKY: 98/NA/98

 

1. BONITO R         LAURA KRAUT        STARS AND STRIPES: 0/0/37.946

2. OCTAVIA DE BEAUFOUR        GRANT WILSON       EMMANUELLE MILLE & GRANT WILSON: 0/0/38.411

3. ADLANTEUR    HENRIK GUNDERSEN        HENRIK GUNDERSEN: 0/0/39.609

4. QUIRADO    SYDNEY SHULMAN    MARCUS HAGGLUND: 0/0/39.932

5. HH NARCOS DU MARAIS       SYDNEY SHULMAN       BACK COUNTRY FARM: 0/0/40.661

6. WHATEVER     KAREN POLLE         KAREN POLLE: 4/70.287

7. RADIO CITY    WILTON PORTER    SLEEPY P RANCH LLC: 4/70.541

8. STAR WATCH    SAMANTHA SENFT    SAMANTHA SENFT: 4/71.720

9. BAILEY    RICHIE MOLONEY    EQUINIMITY LLC: 4/72.803

10. CHANEL    ROBERTO TERAN    CHEHEBAR, SIMHON & BLUE STAR INV: 4/75.533

 

Holiday & Horses competition concludes on Sunday with the $15,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby (12 p.m.) in the Mogavero Ring and $10,000 Open Stake 1.40m at 1 p.m. in the International Arena.

Anthony D'Ambrosio set a challenging course for Saturday night's grand prix. Forty-four entries showed in round one and just four were able to advance to the jump-off. All of the jump-off competitors then had faults through the short course. Charlie Jacobs and Flaming Star finished on top with one rail down in the fastest time of 48.62 seconds.

Charlie Jacobs and Flaming Star.  Photo (c) Mancini Photos.

Tim Gredley and Unex Competition Yard's Unex Chamberlain Z also had one rail and finished second with their time of 51.43 seconds. Jessica Springsteen (USA) and Stone Hill Farm's Vindicat W had eight faults in 49.59 seconds to earn third place honors. Catherine Pasmore and Pasmore Stables LLC's Bonanza Van Paemel had three rails down in the short course to finish fourth with 12 faults in 52.78 seconds.

"I felt like Anthony did a great job with the course," Jacobs said following his win. "It was a delicate track, to say the least, and also quite technical in my opinion. The time allowed was quite tight, and I think it got some people that were maybe rushing a little in their heads. With the number of competitors that entered, to have four clean obviously was a reflection of the difficulty of the course. You don't necessarily have to build an entire 1.60m track to make it difficult, and he accomplished that with the technicality of the course."

Charlie Jacobs and Flaming Star in their winning presentation with ringmaster Gustavo Murcia and Equestrian Sport Productions President Michael Stone. Photo (c) Mancini Photos.

Jacobs has had a lot of success this year with Flaming Star, a 14-year-old Anglo-European gelding by Fairman.

"My horse likes the arena," Jacobs acknowledged. "I think we have had some really good success here in 2013. Under the lights I wasn't sure what we were going to get tonight. I had a few moments in the schooling area when I was going sideways and I wasn't counting on it, but he was quite good in the ring. He loves it. I wish it were the rider, but I have to tell you, it's the horse. He is doing a great job out there."

Tim Gredley and Unex Chamberlain Z.  Photo (c) Mancini Photos.

Finishing third, Jessica Springsteen was happy with her round aboard Vindicat W. Springsteen has been busy in her senior year at Duke University and has not ridden in almost four months.  She was also presented with a special Leading Lady Jumper Rider Award, sponsored by Martha Jolicoeur of Illustrated Properties in memory of Dale Lawler.

 

Jessica Springsteen and Vindicat W.  Photo (c) Mancini Photos.

Equestrian Sport Productions' Holiday & Horses competition will conclude on Sunday. For more information, please visit www.equestriansport.com. For full results, go to www.showgroundslive.com.

 

1. FLAMING STAR: 1999 AES gelding by Fairman x Unknown

CHARLIE JACOBS (USA), CMJ Sporthorse LLC: 0/4/48.62

 

2. UNEX CHAMBERLAIN Z: 2001 Zangersheide gelding by Chellano Z x Peter Pan

TIM GREDLEY (GBR), Unex Competition Yard: 0/4/51.43

3. VINDICAT W: 2002 KWPN gelding by Guidam x Libero H

JESSICA SPRINGSTEEN (USA), Stone Hill Farm: 0/8/49.59

 

4. BONANZA VAN PAEMEL: 2001 Belgian Warmblood gelding by Darco x Sheyenne de Baugy

CATHERINE PASMORE (USA), Pasmore Stables LLC: 0/12/52.78

5. ASLAN: 2000 Danish Warmblood gelding by Aston x Blue Hors Agent

LJUBOV KOCHETOVA (RUS), Ljubov Kochetova: 4/72.37

 

6. WINTER: 2001 Warmblood gelding

DENISE WILSON (USA), Blue Gate Farm LLC: 4/73.97

7. GLORY DAYS: 2001 Swedish Warmblood gelding by Cardento 933 x Diamond Serpent

KATIE DINAN (USA), Grant Road Partners, LLC: 4/74.71

 

8. SLIEVEANORRA: 2002 Irish Sport Horse gelding by Voltaire x Flagmount Diamond

RICHIE MOLONEY (IRL), Equinimity LLC: 4/75.30

9. URAGUAY: 2001 KWPN gelding by Nairobi x Colino

TODD MINIKUS (USA), Legacy Stables, LLC: 4/75.54

 

10. OLYMPIC DE CHAMANT: 2002 Selle Francais gelding by Gentleman IV SF x Apache D'adriers

JOHNATHON CORRIGAN (IRL), Sagamore Farms: 4/76.88

11. CZARDAS 30: 2003 Hanoverian stallion by Contendro x Grannus

MCLAIN WARD (USA), Ilan Ferder: 4/77.15

 

12. WITH WINGS:2003 KWPN gelding by Larino x L. Ronald

KAREN POLLE (USA), Karen Polle: 4/77.55