Source:  HITS Ocala News Release

From Capitol Hill to Top of the Heap! Reuben Goetzl Dominates the $20,500 Marshall & Sterling Child/Adult Jumper Championship at HITS Ocala

Reuben Goetzl and Melinda Cohen's Cruisineety Z cruised their way to the overall win in the four-leg, $20,500 Marshall & Sterling Child/Adult Jumper Championship, after winning the First and Third Legs, and finishing sixth in the Second Leg, for a total of 130 points. 

"It feels great!" exclaimed Goetzl, who doubles as a Staff Assistant for the House Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C. when he's not showing horses. "It's been such a great event to compete in over the past two weeks and I'm really happy." 

The First and Second Legs of this popular Jumper Championship were held during the Ocala January Classic, which saw Goetzl and Cruisineety Z lead the way in the overall standings with 75 points coming into the final two legs. If that wasn't enough, Goetzl also captured the blue in the Second Leg of the competition aboard his other mount Papillion Peanut, owned by Melinda Cohen, which put him in the number five spot of the overall standings with 66 points after the first half of the competition. 

© ESI Photography.
Reuben Goetzl and Cruisineety Z in the $4,000 Marshall & Sterling Child/Adult Jumper Championship - Third Leg

The Third and Fourth legs took place on Friday and Sunday of the Ocala January Festival, over courses designed by Ocala's own Doug Russell 

$4,000 Marshall & Sterling Child/Adult Jumper Championship - Third Leg 
Goetzl and eight-year-old Cruisineety Z saved the best for last when, as the final entry of the class, they out rode 35 horse-and-rider combinations in the $4,000 Marshall & Sterling Child/Adult Jumper Championship - Third Leg on Friday. Similar to last week's Second Leg, Friday's class was offered as a II.2.A/B option, with all 13 of the riders who advanced choosing the B option in the jump-off. 

Goetzl and Cruisineety Z posted an exceptional double-clear effort with a jump-off time of 33.093 seconds to take home the win, while an unlucky rail early on in the first round kept Goetzl and Papillion Peanut from advancing to the jump-off. Still, Goetzl and his second mount managed to hold on to their fifth-place ranking with 88 points heading into the Final Leg.

"Cruisineety is very spooky, so I have to try hard to get her to go clean," he explained. "She can spook at a lot of jumps. There were some very tight lines and the jump-off time was also tight, so I had a lot of galloping to do." 

Goetzl, unlike the other 12 horse-and-rider teams who went to the jump-off, chose a different route on the field to try to beat the leading time of 33.159 seconds, held by Grace Christerson and Lance Williamson's Fastbreak. 

"Basically I had to cut through the in-and-out instead of going around it," he explained. "These were difficult courses and with the tight time, I had to take that chance. Luckily, I was able to square up to the last fence with the liverpool enough to go clean." 

The victory gave Goetzl and Cruisineety Z a huge cushion heading into the Final Leg with 111 points, which ultimately helped secure the overall Championship. 

$5,000 Marshall & Sterling Child/Adult Jumper Championship - Final Leg 
The $5,000 Marshall & Sterling Child/Adult Jumper Championship - Final Leg on Sunday saw 32 riders take the field as Ashley Reed and Lance Williamson's Madonna secured the blue ribbon and prevented Goetzl from a clean sweep. Reed and Madonna had an eighth-place finish in the Third Leg, which gave them a total of 61 points for the four phases and placed the team 21st overall. 

Course Designer Doug Russell challenged 32 pairs for the last time with a well-built, first-round track that featured 12 efforts and included a double and triple combination. Nine clear pairs advanced to jump-off to determine the winner, including Goetzl and Papillion Peanut. Goetzl and his Championship mount, Cruisineety Z, suffered the very last rail down in the first round which prevented them from advancing to the jump-off this time. 

Jayme Taylor and Navina Jaensh's Lordes got things started in the jump-off with a rail down and a time of 40.230 seconds, which earned the team fifth place. 

Goetzl and Papillion Peanut went next and suffered two dropped rails, putting an end to his attempt to sweep all four phases of the competition. Reed and Madonna followed and set the time to beat at 31.046 seconds, which would go untouched by the next six challengers. The only other double-clear effort came at the reins of Susan Banta Lowery on her own Nike, in a time of 36.588 seconds, which was good enough for second place. Third place was awarded to Kaleigh Barkaszi and Mary Jo Barkaszi's Windy V, while fourth place went to Mary Tanner and Galway Farms' Audi's Classic Pleasure. 

$5,000 Marshall & Sterling Child/Adult Jumper Championship Bonus 
Thanks to four solid outings, Goetzl and Cruisineety Z won the $5,000 Marshall & Sterling Child/Adult Jumper Championship Bonus after accumulating 130 points from their two blue ribbons and a sixth-place finish in three out of the four legs. The prize money was distributed amongst the top eight competitors in the overall standings with Goetzl taking home the lion's share at $1,500. 

"Reuben has had this horse [Cruisineety Z] since she was three and they've worked very hard together to get to where they are today," said trainer and mother, Melinda Cohen. "It's very exciting for us all, and I couldn't be any more proud of him." 

The second overall winner was David Richards and his own La Chunga with 117 points; and third place was a tie between Goetzl and his winning mount in the Second Leg, Melinda Cohen's Papillion Peanut, and Mary Tanner aboard Galway Farm's Audi's Classic Pleasure with 114 points. Susan Banta Lowery on her own Nike came in a close fifth, with 113 points. 

"We're off to a great start," added Goetzl, who is headed back to Washington, D.C. for the off-week. "I'd really like to thank Jennifer Davis for everything she's done for us so far. She really made it possible for us to show here these past two weeks and we're looking forward to coming back for the rated circuit." 

For complete results from the second half of the $20,500 Marshall & Sterling Child/Adult Jumper Championship, please click here. 

The HITS Ocala Pre-Circuit has wrapped up two fantastic weeks of competition. After a week off, the AA-rated HITS Ocala Winter Circuit will begin Tuesday, February 8, for six consecutive weeks. If their performance in the $20,500 Marshall & Sterling Child/Adult Jumper Championship is any indication, Goetzl and Cruisineety Z will be one combination to watch for in the remaining six weeks of the HITS Ocala Winter Circuit. 

As always, the HITS Ocala Winter Circuit will feature a full complement of Marshall & Sterling classes, including the big-money $25,000 Marshall & Sterling/Team Barber Child/Adult Jumper Classic on Sunday, March 20. Also, the newest Marshall & Sterling League Division, the Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Low, will be offered each week, providing an excellent opportunity for Junior and Amateur riders to earn points toward the National Finals, which takes place September 14-18 at HITS-on-the-Hudson in Saugerties, New York. 

The Marshall & Sterling League was designed to enhance the level of competition for children and adult riders, with an opportunity to qualify for a prestigious National Finals competition. Now celebrating over 20 years of competition, the Marshall & Sterling League features 14 divisions. Riders who are members of the League earn points throughout the year by competing in Marshall & Sterling classes in order to qualify for the Marshall & Sterling League Finals, which will be held this year from September 14-18 at HITS-on-the-Hudson in Saugerties, New York.