Wellington, FL - April 2, 2012 - The twelfth week of competition at the 2012 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF) concluded on Sunday following Saturday night's season highlight of the $500,000 FTI Consulting Finale Grand Prix, CSI 5*. The 2012 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival hosted 12 weeks of fantastic competition and awarded more than $6 million in prize money through the circuit.

 

The Equestrian Sport Productions (ESP) Spring Circuit begins on April 3 and has five dates:

ESP Spring 1: April 3-7, 2012 - "AA" rated hunter and 4-star jumper competition

ESP Spring 2: April 11-15, 2012 - "AA" rated hunter and 4-star jumper competition

ESP Spring 3: April 18-22, 2012 - "AA" rated hunter and 4-Star jumper competition

ESP Spring 4: May 4-6, 2012 - "A" rated hunter and 3-star jumper competition

ESP Spring 5: May 12-13, 2012 - "C" rated Hunter and 3-star jumper competition

 

All "AA" shows will host a $25,000 Grand Prix and all "AA" and "A" rated shows will host $10,000 Welcome Stakes. For the prize list and more information, please visit www.equestriansport.com.  

Week Twelve Wrap-Up: Daniel Bluman and Sancha LS Conquer All-Star Lineup in the $500,000 FTI Consulting Finale Grand Prix, CSI 5*

Twenty-two-year-old Daniel Bluman, of Colombia, jumped to an exciting victory on Saturday night in the $500,000 FTI Consulting Finale Grand Prix, CSI 5* at the 2012 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF). Over 7,000 fans filled the stands to see the best of the best from the winter circuit compete under the lights in the International Arena at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. Bluman and his mount Sancha LS earned the top prize in a three-horse jump-off over Canada's Ian Millar and Star Power and USA's Lauren Hough and Quick Study.

 

Alan Wade, of Ireland, designed the course for Saturday's grand prix and set a challenging track for the 45 qualified entries. Only three were able to jump the first round course entirely without fault to advance to the jump-off, and all three had single rails through the short course, making time the deciding factor.
An impressive cheering section exploded with applause as Daniel Bluman and Sancha LS completed the first perfect trip through round one's course. The pair then returned first for the jump-off and had four faults, but when the following two riders also had rails, Bluman's time of 48.97 seconds made him the victor.
Ian Millar was the second rider to clear the first round course without fault aboard Team Works' Star Power. The duo returned for the jump-off and also had a rail on course, and their time of 49.30 seconds placed second.

 

Lauren Hough and Laura Mateo's Quick Study were the final pair to put their name on the jump-off list and immediately followed Millar's round over the short course. Hough took her time, attempting to have the only clear round, but met heartbreak as Quick Study dropped a rail at the last fence. Their slower time of 55.97 seconds finished in third.

 

Twenty-seven-year-old Lauren Tisbo (USA) and her mount King Kolibri, owned by Tequestrian Farms LLC, showed their cool under pressure in front of the huge crowd in round one. The duo completed the first clear round over the course, but incurred a single time fault for exceeding the time allowed.

 

Eighteen-year-old Katie Dinan (USA) also cleared the course, but finished with one time fault aboard Nougat Du Vallet, owned by Grant Road Partners LLC. Dinan was the faster of the two, completing the course in 88.56 seconds to earn the fourth place prize. Tisbo and King Kolibri's time of 91.91 seconds placed fifth.  

 

Class winner Daniel Bluman is based in Wellington and has been training with Olympic gold medalist Eric Lamaze for the past year. Prior to training with Lamaze, Bluman began his show jumping career in the United States under the tutelage of American rider Todd Minikus, and then trained with Venezuela's Pablo Barrios. Bluman's mount Sancha LS is a nine-year-old La Silla bred mare by Chin Chin x Polydor, that the rider has owned since November of 2010.

 

After the class, Bluman reflected on this monumental moment in his career. He stated, "This win means everything to me. I'm surprised I did it, but I'm not surprised my mare did it. I know she's one of the best horses out there. It's great that she has a win like this on her record. I already felt great before the jump off; it was great what I had already accomplished. Eric Lamaze, who has been training me, told me to just go for it and see what happens, so that was my plan."

 

Bluman purchased Sancha LS at the end of her seven-year-old year in Monterrey, Mexico. He spoke about the mare's progress and rise to success, explaining, "She is a very careful horse. I think everyone was surprised that she could be a grand prix horse. She wasn't too scopey, but she tries super hard. It's a pleasure to have her in my barn. I was grateful to go back to the jump-off. To have Ian and Lauren coming after me was nerve wracking. They had some cheap rails at the end, so I guess it was meant to be for me tonight."
Second place finisher Ian Millar spoke on his result with Star Power, stating, "I was extremely pleased with my horse, save for that one jump. It was a rare rail for him to have, but he jumped a great round. He's eleven and on track for the London Games. That's the goal, to have him at his absolute best for August. This whole tour down here is instrumental in allowing us to do that."

 

"Tonight was a fantastic, stand-alone occasion," Millar praised. "My congratulations to Daniel; it was well deserved."

 

Third place finisher Lauren Hough came very close, but had an unfortunate rail at the last fence in the jump-off. Hough and Quick Study also finished second in this same class last year. On her finish on Saturday night, Hough declared, "My word tonight is heartbreak. We just needed to jump a clear round. My horse jumped a great first round and I was really thrilled; he felt on tonight. As the jump-off progressed I started to protect and with only one fence left, I let go of the reins to clear it. I congratulate Daniel and Ian. I'm proud of my horse and grateful to my owners and the sponsors."

 

Dennis Shaughnessy, Chairman of the Board of FTI Consulting, Inc., was in the front row for Saturday's festivities and was thrilled with the event. Shaughnessy commented, "It was very important for me to sponsor. We had 150 guests and 32 CEOs from around the world. Half of them had never been to a grand prix event and they were mesmerized by it. Most people were just saying how unbelievable this is."

 

"We appreciated the riders acknowledgment; it was definitely noticed," Shaughnessy said of the riders saluting the sponsor tent. "We clearly believe this is the greatest horse event in the world."

 

Course designer Alan Wade also weighed in on the class and was happy with the result. "There were a lot of little questions out there from the start to the finish," he noted. "It was a lot of jumps; maybe not as big as last week, but there were a lot of questions. It was very tense and exciting to watch. It was what show jumping is about - not the speed class, it was about jumping clear rounds first. It was a championship event, three clear rounds, a $500,000 class, so it shouldn't be a speed class. I congratulate the victors. I'm sure some out there were disappointed, but I thought from the public point of view, if you had that sort of a class, you would have a packed house that was there to watch it. We didn't know what was going to happen next."

 

From here, Bluman will return to Colombia for some vacation time with his family. He will then go to Europe with Lamaze and Artisan Farms to show in Antwerp, La Baule, and Madrid, amongst other shows to prepare for the Olympic Games this summer. The Colombian team has two spots open, and Bluman hopes to receive one of them. As he acknowledged, Saturday's win should definitely help that selection process.

 

The $100,000 FTI Consulting Rider Challenge concluded on Saturday night after twelve weeks of jumper competition at the 2012 FTI WEF. Laura Kraut led the standings and earned a $50,000 cut of the bonus money for her success during the circuit. Kent Farrington finished in second place ($25,000), Eric Lamaze third ($15,000), and Ben Maher fourth ($10,000).

 

"It was completely unexpected and it's completely appreciated," Kraut said. "I was just hoping to hang onto second, (and) miraculously I won. Unfortunately Nick (Skelton) didn't have a good night tonight. He did deserve to win the Leading Rider because he won more than anybody." 

 

Kelley Farmer and Taken Gallop to $50,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby Victory
The 2012 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival drew to a close on Sunday. The feature attraction of the day was the $50,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby at The Stadium, and Kelley Farmer rode Nancy Amling's Taken to victory.

 

On Saturday, some special awards were presented at the winner's circle of the International Arena. Richard Spooner's top mount Cristallo won the Simba Run Perpetual Trophy. Spooner accepted on behalf of Show Jumping Syndications International as the owners of Cristallo, who has earned the most Open Jumper prize money in classes held at a 1.45m or more during the FTI WEF. Cristallo's groom, Antonio Camarino, was presented with the Oliver O'Toole Perpetual Memorial Trophy for his hand in Cristallo's success.

 

Another important award presented on Saturday night was The Harrison Cup Perpetual Trophy, which was awarded to Beverley Widdowson for the second year in a row as the owner of Nick Skelton's fantastic horses, who won the most jumper money in all of the open jumper classes at the FTI WEF. Skelton accepted the award on Widdowson's behalf.

 

The Christy Conard Perpetual Trophy for Equestrian Excellence was given to Catherine Tyree, who accumulated the most points in the four major equitation classes held during the FTI WEF.

 

The $50,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby was the highlight class on Sunday and held on the grass derby field at The Stadium. The top 25 finishers from Saturday's first round returned for their handy round and jumped over a variety of fences, including the hedge brush, table bank, and the derby bank. There were 16 jumps on the course designed by Bobby Murphy, and it tested not only the horses' versatility, but their stamina.

 

The first horse in the ring was Charleston Z, ridden and owned by Victoria Press. The junior rider galloped right around the course and showed how it was done, scoring a 182 in the second round to move from 25th to 12th place.
A big move from ninth to second place came from Declaration, ridden by Scott Stewart for Fashion Farm. Stewart and Declaration picked up a gallop and had no troubles on the course. The judges rewarded them with a second round score of 218 for a total of 396 for second place.

 

Stewart said that he aimed two of his mounts - Declaration and Dedication - for Sunday's class. Dedication came back on top in the second round, but an unfortunate refusal and fall for Stewart at the second jump took him out of the ribbons.

 

He felt that Declaration was well-suited for the derby. "Declaration is usually so relaxed and he is naturally lazy; he is almost too lazy. Before I go in I have to gallop him around because he is so quiet. Not much fazes him and he has a pretty nice life. He's fairly brave about everything. He was perfect today and just really good."

 

He added, "I thought the course was beautiful and the footing was great. Everything was just very well done."

 

Jennifer Alfano and Jersey Boy were sitting in second place after the first round, and they had a solid second round trip to finish with a total of 386.5 points for third place.

 

"I have to say, when I walked the course I was quite nervous about the bank, but both of my horses were awesome," said Alfano, who also placed seventh with Helen Lenahan's Miss Lucy. "I was thrilled with them. On Jersey Boy, I felt like I picked up the gallop and just kept galloping, you didn't have to break it up anywhere and it just rode really nicely."

 

She added with a laugh, "Mostly it was the bank that worried me and not even the going up, it was coming down. You don't get to practice going downhill at a gallop much. I really had worked myself into a lather about that before the class!"

 

Farmer and her third mount of the day, Taken, looked right at home galloping around the grass field. They showed a great, even pace throughout the course and stepped it up for the two hand gallops asked on course. They took all of the high options on course and received handy scores of ten and eight for a second round score of 213 and a total score of 398 and the win. This was Farmer's and Taken's eighth derby victory.

 

"Oh my God, that was so much fun out there," Farmer declared. "It was great and I loved that field. You get to gallop like that and jump hedges, the banks and everything. How much fun for the horses to be out here and to get out here, I loved it. I thought they jumped great and all the horses did nicely out here. We all had little bits; I had one (that was) a little overwhelmed out here, but for the most part I thought the horses were great."  

Farmer felt that Taken was perfectly suited to go out on the big field. "He loves the grass. I mean, every time I've shown him on the grass he is great. He is absolutely fantastic on it and he just likes these big fields and he likes being able to gallop. I absolutely enjoyed having a change in venue. We haven't been able to go out there, it's lovely to get out of the ring; the ring was beautiful yesterday, but we've been there for a while so it was really nice to be somewhere different."

 

While noting that oftentimes people are telling her to slow down with Taken, her usual galloping pace worked well today. "He has a huge stride. Actually, everyone is usually telling me to slow down. He's fun to gallop. He's a little lazy, a quiet horse and I can kick him and he is in a rubber snaffle. He is like a little windup toy."

 

Jumper Results: Wednesday through Sunday

The FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival began the 12th and final week of competition on Wednesday with the $32,000 G&C Farm 1.45m Classic. Rodrigo Pessoa (BRA) and HH Palouchin, owned by Double H Farm, are familiar faces in the winner's circle and were able to speed to victory in the day's class. Richard Spooner (USA) and Molly Ohrstrom's Billy Bianca were second, while Darragh Kerins (IRL) and Hot Wheels finished third.

 

There were 51 entries in the $32,000 G&C Farm 1.45m Classic, and no one could come close to the time of 62.94 seconds set by Rodrigo Pessoa and HH Palouchin. The closest was Richard Spooner on Molly Ohrstrom's Billy Bianca, who were second in 64.58 seconds. Darragh Kerins and Hot Wheels were third in 65.22 seconds.

 

Earlier in the day, the Adequan Young Jumpers had a chance to show in the International Arena before their Finals on Friday. In the Adequan 5 Year Old Young Jumper class, Alex Granato rode Socke to the win. The winner of the Adequan 7 Year Old Young Jumpers was Alazan, ridden by Ian Millar for Millar Brooke Farm. Zilona, ridden by Chris Delia for International Equine Sales Ltd. And The Balaz Family. 

 

The final class of the day was the $6,000 Spy Coast Farm 1.40m speed class, which had 76 entries. Laura Chapot sped to the top two spots with Mary Chapot's Zealous (57.775 seconds) and her own Bradberry (59.298 seconds). Eric Lamaze and Wang Chung M2S, owned by Morningside Stud and Torrey Pines Stables, was third in 60.035 seconds. 

 

Germany's Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum rode to an exciting one-two finish on Thursday afternoon in the $32,000 WEF Challenge Cup Round 12 at the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF). Michaels-Beerbaum topped the class aboard Cantano and finished second riding Checkmate 4, both owned by Octavia Farms LLC.
The final round of the $32,000 WEF Challenge Cup Series featured 45 horse and rider combinations on Thursday afternoon. Ireland's Alan Wade designed the course, and 11 went clear to advance to the tie breaking jump-off. The challenging track for the short course saw only four entries jump without fault.

 

First to go, Egypt's Nayel Nassar and Raging Bull Vangelis S set the pace with the first clear round in 49.53 seconds and finished in third place overall. Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum and Checkmate 4 were next to jump clear and took the lead in 47.67 seconds, eventually finishing second. Great Britain's David McPherson also cleared the course aboard his own Silver Exchange II and his time of 55.67 seconds placed fourth.

 

Michaels-Beerbaum was last to go with her second mount Cantano and beat her own time in 47.34 seconds to take the lead once more. Cantano earned the first place prize, placing Checkmate in second.

 

Germany's Johannes Ehning had a great day in Wellington earning both the first and fifth place prizes in the $32,000 G&C Farm 1.45m Classic on Thursday. Fifty-one entries showed over the speed course with fourteen clear rounds.

 

Ehning took the winner's share with Winley Farm's Cayenne 162 with the fastest clear round in 58.67 seconds. Reed Kessler (USA) finished second with Onisha in 59 seconds flat, and Mario Deslauriers (USA) and Jane F. Clark's Vicomte D placed third in 61.40 seconds.

 

Fourth place went to Australia's Matt Williams and Bolero Van't Heike with a time of 61.99 seconds. Ehning also earned the fifth place prize aboard Oscar Du Rozel, owned by Equestrian Sport GMBH, stopping the clock in 62.56 seconds.

 

Canada's Darrin Dlin guided Janou, owned by Susan Grange, to the championship in the $10,000 Adequan 5-Year-Old Young Jumper Final early on Thursday morning. Janou, a five-year-old Canadian Sport Horse mare, is by the stallion For Pleasure out of the Polydox mare Bequia. Janou is home-bred, born and raised at Grange's Lothlorien Farm in Cheltenham, Ontario, Canada.

 

Dlin and Janou showed throughout the FTI WEF circuit this year, and made great improvement each week. Janou progressed from an eighth place finish in the Adequan 5-Year-Old Young Jumpers during week three, then moved up to a fourth place finish in week five, placed second during week ten, and finally won the division's final Classic on Thursday.

 

The FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival hosted the Adequan Young Jumper Finals Friday in the International Arena for three age groups. The $20,000 Adequan 8-Year-Old Young Jumper Final victory went to Ronan McGuigan (IRL) and Capall Zidane. Andres Rodriguez (VEN) and Aberdeen took the top spot in the $20,000 Adequan 7-Year-Old Young Jumper Final. Riding Lionshare Farm's Wayfarer, Peter Leone (USA) won the $15,000 Adequan 6-Year-Old Young Jumper Final.

 

The $20,000 Adequan 8-Year-Old Young Jumper Classic Final hosted 43 entries and was the final class of the day. There were eight clear rounds over the Alan Wade-designed course, and they had the opportunity to choose to return immediately for their jump-off or at the end of the class.

 

The class winner, McGuigan, chose to return at the end of the class for his jump-off round. He was following the time set by Emily Williams and Bugs Bunny V Overis Z of 41.202 seconds. McGuigan and Capall Zidane, an eight-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Concorde x Baloubet du Rouet, put down a scorching pace and stopped the timers in 38.604 seconds for the win. Third place went to David McPherson (GBR) and Egrando Van't Heike, owned by Hampton Farms LLC, who finished in 41.282 seconds.

 

Venezuela's Andres Rodriguez and the seven-year-old KWPN stallion Aberdeen led the way from start to finish in Friday's $20,000 Adequan 7-Year-Old Young Jumper Classic. Fifty horses showed in the class in the International Arena and 16 went clear to jump-off, with eight double clear rounds.

 

After a successful season in the division, including several class wins, Rodriguez and Aberdeen were a dominate force in the day's final. They were the first to show, cleared the first round course and immediately jumped off following their round, blazing the trail with an uncatchable time of 36.476 seconds. Fifteen jump-off rounds followed, but the pair proved unbeatable.

 

The last to go was the closest, just two-tenths of a second shy of the leading time. That time of 36.608 seconds belonged to Laura Kraut and Stone Hill Farm's Wotsamillion, placing the pair in second.

 

Kristen Vanderveen and Bull Run's Joyous placed third with a time of 37.331 seconds, and Ian Millar and Millar Brooke Farm's Alazan stopped the clock in 37.663 seconds to finish fourth.

 

Friday morning began with a win for Peter Leone and Lionshare Farm's Wayfarer in the $15,000 Adequan 6-Year-Old Young Jumper Classic. Wayfarer, a 2006 gelding by Languster, was born and raised at Leone's Lionshare Farm in Greenwich, CT. The dam, Angel (by Lancer II), was a top junior horse for Leone's daughter Callie.

 

In the day's 6-year-old classic, held as the final for the division for the FTI WEF circuit, 46 entries qualified to show. Eleven were able to clear the first round course without fault, and four jumped double clear through the short course, each round faster than the last.

 

Ashlee Bond and Little Valley Farms' I Bella were the first pair to clear both rounds and finished in fourth with a time of 44.934 seconds. Candice King and Esperanza, Inc.'s Nina VDL also jumped double clear and placed third in 41.932 seconds. Jeffery Welles and Sharon Gunthel/Triton Ventures' Bilion were next to jump off without fault, and their time of 40.044 second finished second. Peter Leone and Wayfarer were last to go, and cleared the course in the fastest time of 39.704 seconds for the win.

Saturday's $32,000 Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Series Classic was the final of 12 weeks of competition at the FTI WEF. The popular series hosted 12 events, seven of which were FEI ROLEX world ranking points classes. The class had 40 entries, five of which were able to proceed to the jump-off after a clear round.

 

First to go in the opening round and the jump-off was series leader Nick Skelton (GBR) and Unique, owned by Beverley Widdowson. They put down a fast, clear round in 37.64 seconds to make the rest of the field chase them. Their round would hold up for second place.

 

Catherine Pasmore and Pasmore Stables, LLC's My Boy were next in and while they had the winning time in hand (36.61 seconds), a rail relegated them to fourth place.

 

Lamaze and his first mount in the jump-off, Hunter's Scendix, were next in. After a miscommunication at the first jump, Lamaze jumped one more fence and then chose to retire in the jump-off, putting them in fifth place.

 

Tina Fletcher (GBR) was next in on Lady Harris' Hello Sailor. They went for the slow, easy clear round in 47.39 seconds to finish in fourth place. 

 

Knowing the time to beat after watching Skelton, Lamaze was ready to go with Coriana van Klapscheut, his mount owned by Artisan Farms, LLC. With ease and speed, the pair slipped over the jumps and through the timers in 35.930 seconds for the win.

 

The $50,000 Suncast 1.50m Championship Jumper Series bonus awards were also presented on Saturday, with Nick Skelton taking home the top prize of $25,000 for his consistent success in the division. Ben Maher won $15,000 for second place, while Cian O'Connor finished third and won $10,000. 

 

Ireland's Alan Wade set the courses in the International all week and finished out with a successful day on Sunday. In the $10,000 Charles Owen Low Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic, 76 entries showed and 21 cleared the course to advance to the jump-off. Sixteen jumped double clear, and Cara Dayton and Caballero 81 had the fastest round in 30.085 seconds for the win. Chandra Cummin and Ornella R placed second in 30.917 seconds. Michaelle Navarro-Grau and Maharshi finished third with a time of 31.052 seconds.
The $10,000 South Florida SportChassis Low Junior Jumper Classic completed the day's competition with a win for 16-year-old Alexandra Crown and her mount Can Be Good, a twelve-year-old German-bred Holsteiner mare.

 

That class saw 54 entries and 17 made it to the jump-off. Eight jumped double clear, and Crown and Can Be Good finished with the fastest jump-off time in 29.700 seconds for the win. Jackson Brittan and Silver Oak Farm LLC's Torpedo finished second with their time of 30.195 seconds. Victoria Colvin and Ax-Cent, owned by Rivers Edge, placed third in 30.468 seconds.

 

The first class in the International Arena Sunday morning was the $10,000 Griffis Group High Junior Jumper Classic. There were 25 entries and just three were clean to advance to the jump-off. Class winner Abigail McArdle (17) of Barrington, IL, rode Bravoman, an 11-year-old Argentine stallion by Countryman, to victory. They had the last spot in the jump-off and knew that a clear round would get them the win. They did just that, gaining the victory over Lillie Keenan on Abigail Wexner's Zycarla Z and Kira Kerkorian on Malcolm.

 

Week 12 Classic winners:

$10,000 Equine Tack and Nutritionals Adult 18-35 Jumpers - Grisset and Alissa Kinsey

$10,000 Martha Jolicoeur Adult 36-49 Jumpers - Best Supporting Actor and Barbara Gillis

$10,000 Charles Owen Low Amateur-Owner Jumpers - Caballero 81 and Cara Dayton

$10,000 South Florida SportChassis Low Junior Jumpers - Can Be Good and Alexandra Crown

$10,000 Masters Jumpers - Sarnita V and Victor Vajna

$10,000 Surpass Medium Amateur-Owner Jumpers - Banana D'ive Z and Meagan Nusz

$10,000 Reist Industries Medium Junior Jumpers - Solinus and Brittni Raflowitz

 

Week 12 Champions:

Children's Jumper 13 & Under - Cartucho and Lucy Deslauriers

Farmvet Adult Modified Jumpers - VDR Relectric and Alexandra Vanderrest

Children's Jumper 14-17 - Campesino IV and Gillian Kelley

Children's Modified Jumpers - Sweetness and Jackson Brittan

Low Adult Jumper 18-35 - Just Like Me and Anna-Rose Klingenstein

Paddock Cakes Low Children's Jumper - Saks and Jordyn Rose Freedman

 

Hunter and Equitation Results: Thursday through Sunday 

Hayley Barnhill of Collierville, TN, rode to the top of this week's 3'3" Performance Working Hunter division atop her mount, Surf's Up. After just one day of competition, the pair's back-to-back blue ribbons were sufficient enough to capture the championship tricolor with 20 points. Reserve honors went to Chris Payne and Holden, a ten-year-old Holsteiner owned by Susan Moriconi.

 

The winning mount, Surf's Up, is an eight-year-old Holsteiner by Casall. Affectionately known as Chester in the barn, the chestnut gelding is owned by Missy Luczak-Smith and periodically shown by Barnhill. After Luczak-Smith purchased Chester from Robin Patton in 2011, he began to show as a Pre-Green horse and has since found success in the First Year Green and Adult Amateur 36-50 Hunter divisions.

 

Additional Hunter champions this week include Whitney Hollinger and Miranda Scott. Hollinger topped the WEF 3' Open Hunter division atop Utah, an eleven-year-old Dutch Warmblood owned by Jennifer Martucci; the pair collected 27 points for the championship win. In the Low Hunter 2'6 division, Scott captured the championship tricolor on Gallatin, earning 23.5 points on the ten-year-old Hanoverian owned by Carolyn Pace. 

 

Arriana Boardman of New York, NY, topped this week's Horseware Ireland Adult Amateur 3'3" division atop her mount, Red Carpet. The pair scored a first, second and fifth over fences and finished fifth under saddle to capture the championship tricolor with 18 division points. A close reserve was awarded to Utopia, a twelve-year-old Hanoverian by Ginsberg. Utopia finished first, fifth, and fourth over fences and third under saddle to collect 17 points for the reserve tricolor with Elizabeth Frankel in the irons.

 

Red Carpet is a twelve-year-old Oldenburg by Quattro B. The chestnut gelding is owned by Beatrice Mack of Palm Beach, FL, and leased by Boardman for the 2012 FTI WEF season.
Cathy Blundell of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, captured the championship tricolor in this week's FarmVet Amateur-Owner 3'3" 36 & Older division atop her mount, Troubadour. The pair scored two firsts and a fifth over fences and finished third in the under saddle, claiming victory with 25 points. Reserve honors went to World Time, an eleven-year-old Oldenburg ridden by Becky Gochman. Gochman and her mount collected a first and two thirds over fences, bringing home the reserve tricolor with 18 points.

 

Additional Hunter Champs this week include Lacey Gilberston and McKayla Langmeier. Gilbertson topped the Bainbridge Amateur-Owner Hunter 18-35 division with 30.5 points atop her ten-year-old Mecklenberg, Condanas. In the Marley Goodman Small Junior Hunter 15 & Under division, Langmeier captured the championship tricolor with 22 points atop her mount, Czar-Z, a nine-year-old Warmblood owned by Linda Langmeier.  

 

Tracy Mack-Gorin of Mystic, CT, surpassed a field of 15 to claim top honors in this week's Beval Palm Beach Adult Medal. The race to accumulate the highest number of points this season, and be named circuit champion in the division, remained close up to the very end. Ultimately, Devon MacNamara of Philadelphia, PA, pulled ahead by just one point above Mack-Gorin to win the series with 64 points.

 

In the Junior Hunter arenaon Sunday, Schaefer Raposa wowed judges atop her Marley Goodman Small and Antares Large Junior 16-17 mounts, Turtle Bay and Enzo. Raposa captured the championship tricolor in both divisions, earning 28 points on Turtle Bay, a bay Warmblood gelding owned by Terrapin Hill Farm, LLC, and 40.5 points on Enzo, an eight-year-old chestnut Warmblood owned by David Oberkircher.   

In the Small/Medium Children Pony Hunters, sponsored by Laura Hanson, Better then Good piloted by Jane Strauss and owned by Rose Hill Farm were division championships. Francesca Dildabanian rode Deanna Speranza's Junior Mint for the reserve ribbon. These two were co-champions in this division in week 6 of the FTI WEF and champions in Weeks 8 and 11. The Medium Green Pony Hunter division was won by Real Steel, owned by Brass Ring Farm Sales and ridden by Meredith Darst. Reserve went to David Gochman's Blue Chip with Emma Kurtz aboard.

 

Jimmy Torano won the championship ribbon in the Pre-Green Hunter 3' division riding Kathryn Haefner LLC's Crosby. The pair were also in the winners circle in this division during Weeks 5 and 10 of the FTI WEF. Havens Schatt received the reserve ribbon riding Ainsley Sadlo's Balin. In the Farm Vet ring, the tricolor in the Low Adult Hunter 2'6" Section A went to Popish Farms LLC's Due West handled by Monika Preston. Candice Wagner, rider and owner of Etoile, accepted the reserve ribbon. This horse/rider combination were co-champions in Week 6 of the FTI WEF. Over in the E.R. Mische Grand Hunter Ring, the Adult Amateur Hunter 36-50 division champion was Nevada owned by R Bruce Duchossois and guided to the win by Caroline Clark Morrison. They were champions in Week 7 of the FTI WEF. Wingman, owned and ridden by Lee Kellogg Sadrian, were reserve.