Source:  LEG Up (edited)

Stanford Students Storm to the Top
of the $50,000 LEGIS Grand Prix of Los Angeles

Twenty-one-year-old Nayel Nassar (Egypt) had a spectacular ride on his Raging Bull Vangelis S in the $50,000 LEGIS Grand Prix of Los Angeles to beat out noted professionals in the field. The class was a qualifier for the FEI World Cup Finals as well as the HITS Thermal Million , making it the premier event of the Los Angeles National Horse Show (Nov 7-11). “I heard about the World Cup Qualifier in Los Angeles and decided to come down for it,” commented Nayel, who is in his third year at Stanford University. The class also drew a host of veterans and past grand prix winners, including Rich Fellers, Hap Hansen, Rusty Stewart, and John Pearce.

Nayel Nasser and Raging Bull Vangelis S
Photo: Flying Horse Photography

But it was the younger riders who topped the leader board on Saturday night with Nayel in first place and his Stanford classmate, 19-year-old Lucy Davis (USA) in second. “I was excited for her and it was really nice for us to end up one and two,” Nayel said. Lucy started the class off with a bang, going first in the 28 horse field and jumping clear with Nemo 119 (Old Oak Farm, owner). Lucy and Nemo have been together for two and a half years and Lucy said, “We really know each other inside and out. He’s been so solid for me and taught me so much.”

Though Lucy and Nemo made it look easy, the challenging course set by renowned course designer Richard Jeffery asked questions that only a few riders had the answers to. “My first criterion was to build the course as a World Cup Qualifier rather than base the course design on the horses in the class. It was important to me to be up to standard,” Richard commented.

Nayel certainly noticed the high standard of the class. Despite his young age, Nayel has a large amount of international riding experience under his belt and has showed across Europe, Asia, and North America. “I think the level of showing here in the United States is getting more and more like it is in Europe," he observed. "I think especially this grand prix class was more of a World Cup level than other qualifiers I’ve been to. The course was really well built, especially the first three jumps with the tight rollback into the rail to the triple combination.”

Nayel Nassar signs autographs alongside the other top riders
Photo: Flying Horse Photography

Riders had to be able to adjust their stride throughout the course, such as riding forward to clear a triple bar oxer and then collect immediately to fit in three strides to the next vertical set with a white plank as the top element, causing a number of faults. After the vertical, they had to ride a collected, bending line to a one stride, but still have enough power to jump out over the high oxer.

It was a tough night for many of the professionals and several had just one or two unfortunate rails which kept them out of the jump off. But professionals John McConnell (USA) and Jennifer Crooks (Ireland) both jumped clear to join Lucy and Nayel in the jump off. Twenty-year-old Meimei Zhu (China) also jumped clear in the first round, but elected not to participate in the jump off, thus settling for fifth

Lucy was up first in the jump off, but she didn’t let the pressure bother her. “Sometimes I prefer going first because you can’t think about it as much," she explained. "You just have to go in and do it and I usually do better that way.” Lucy could not have ridden better and laid down a clear, fast round of 40.75 seconds, which put pressure on the other three riders. With Meimei’s scratch, Nayel was able to watch and analyze Lucy’s round as he waited to enter the arena.

“I saw Lucy get five strides between the first two fences and so I decided to leave out a stride and do four there,” Nayel explained. “I also noticed that she widened the turn to the blue oxer, so I figured I could catch her there and shave a little bit off of that turn. She was really pushing everywhere else and so the rest of the way we were pretty even, but I saved just a little bit of time on those two spots.” He saved just enough time with his bold tracks to finish in 39.00 seconds with every rail in place. Though Jennifer and John both tried to catch Nayel, each had rails that put them into third and fourth place, respectively.

Lucy and Nayel have quite a few things in common, primarily that they have both proven themselves to be up and coming riders on the grand prix circuit. Lucy won her first grand prix at age seventeen at LEG's Memorial Day Classic and won four grand prix events in a row at HITS Thermal in 2011. Though she’s shown all over the United States, Lucy will always have a soft spot for the LA Equestrian Center. “I grew up showing here as a little girl riding ponies," She elaborated. "This is my hometown, and I’m really happy to be here. I have a lot of family and friends who came out to watch so it was really special to do well tonight.”

Nayel made quite an entrance this past winter on the American show circuit when he won the 2012 Artisan Farms Young Rider Grand Prix Series in Florida. Nayel was originally born in Kuwait and lived in Cairo, Egypt, which is the country he shows for. In 2009, he moved to California to attend Stanford, where he is studying economics. Nayel previously trained with Markus Beerbaum and Jörg Naeve, and most recently with Laura Kraut when he showed in Florida. However, Nayel confessed, “I’ve been pretty much on my own for the past six to eight months and doing my own training.”

It was Nayel’s first time showing on the West Coast. “I thought the facilities and the footing at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center were great. The competition and the crowd were amazing at the grand prix. It was really a good show to gain experience.”

Lucy and Nayel also balance the rigorous academics of Stanford with the intense traveling and energy of competitive show jumping. “I flew in Friday, did the grand prix on Saturday, and then I fly out Sunday morning,” Lucy said. “I came specifically for this class so I’m really glad it worked out.” Nayel admitted that balancing the two can be pretty difficult. “It’s been really tough. I try and get as much done during the week so I’m not so stressed about school when I’m riding. I’ve been riding a long time and I competed all throughout high school, so I think learning to manage my time from such a young age has really helped me as I’ve gotten older.” Both riders are also hoping to qualify for the World Cup Finals and Nayel hopes to qualify for the Olympics for Egypt in 2016.

Nayel was particularly happy to have his brother and his parents at the show to cheer him on. “My parents live and work in Kuwait and they flew to Los Angeles for this week and will come with me to Las Vegas next week. It was my mom’s birthday on Wednesday so it’s also a birthday celebration for her. I’m really glad I could get this win for her.”

Scores for $50,000 Grand Prix of Los Angeles

Before the grand prix class, the winning team from the inaugural West Coast Junior-Amateur Jumper Championship stood on the podium and received their accolades from the crowd. The West Coast Junior-Amateur Jumper Championship includes an individual and team competition. Riders jump three rounds for the individual competition and two rounds for the team competition. For the team competition, “Team McAllister” ruled the day. The team consisted of Marnye Langer and Amanda McQuady, Susan Azad, and Tammy Chipko.

Steve McAllister was the team’s Chef d’Equipe and helped put together a team for the championship. “We knew everyone on our team," Steve explained. "Marnye and Amanda ride with us, Susan is the president at the Flintridge Riding Club, and Tammy’s a friend. But even though we put them together, they didn’t actually all know each other. It was nice to see new people meet each other and develop a friendship.”

Fun and keen competition were the names of the game as six teams of four competed against each other. Everyone got into the spirit with fun team names like “Blazing Saddles,” “Hap’s Hopes,” and “Guy and Dolls.” Team mates, barn mates, trainers, and friends all gathered on the sidelines of the Equidome to cheer on competitors. “There were a lot of people watching for a Saturday class at noon time,” Steve observed. “It was great to see people cheering.” Marnye agreed and noted, “It was neat to see all the camaraderie it created.”

After the first round of the team competition, Team McAllister and Team Pegasus were tied with 0 faults. Team Pegasus comprised Michael Endicott’s students, son Mitchell Endicott, Kelsey Maloney, Nicolas Nierenberg, and Katie Buchanan.

Going into the second round, the pressure was on both teams to go clear. First to go was Amanda McQuady aboard her Picardo for Team McAllister. “I was glad I went first because I wasn’t able to change my mind and second guess myself,” Amanda said. “I had a rail in the second round so I really had to count on the rest of my team to go clean.”

Amanda’s rail left the door open for Team Pegasus, and Mitchell quickly took advantage and put in a clear round on Quiver (Pegasus Show Stable, Inc.). Riding next for Team McAllister was Susan on her Zaluto. Susan commented, “It was my first time jumping 1.25M so I was a little nervous, but the team was so supportive and I didn’t want to let the team down.” Susan certainly did not let her team down and rode a clear round while Team Pegasus member Katie had eight faults on her Vinusz. After Marnye put in a clear round for Team McAllister on LEGIS Rockstar (LEGISequine.com, owner) and Nicolas dropped a rail for Team Pegasus aboard his Akkro, it was all down to the fourth and final rotation with the anchor riders.

Tammy rode in the anchor position for Team McAllister on her Lisone. “I put Tammy in the anchor position because she has the most miles of all of the riders and has done a lot of the bigger competitions like Spruce Meadows,” Steve explained. Tammy added, “It was a lot of pressure going into the last round as the anchor. I definitely felt it, but all you can do is try to jump clean rounds.” Tammy was cool under pressure and brought home the win for Team McAllister with a clear round. Her team exploded in applause and cheers as she cleared the final fence.

“I love my team!” exclaimed Amanda. “They took care of me with my rail and did such a good job. It was my first time doing a team thing and it was a really cool experience.” Susan was equally exuberant and stated, “It was so much fun to cheer for the team. We were all in it together and it was a great way to bond. The team aspect was definitely the most fun part of the class.”

All of the members of Team McAllister were positive about their experience with the team competition. “I am such a huge supporter of this,” said Tammy. “It’s the first year they’ve done it and I think they did a phenomenal job. I think it’s a huge thing for the sport and for the amateurs because we don’t get the opportunity to do team competitions like the juniors do.” Steve added, “The biggest thing is looking at how the sport is evolving with the quality and type of classes that are offered, like here at this show and what some of the other managers are doing to put in fun classes and get riders involved with them.” Susan gushed,” This is the most fun I think I’ve ever had riding and I can’t wait until next year!”

Alison Locke locks in the win in the amateur individual section of the West Coast Junior-Amateur Jumper Championship Photo: Flying Horse Photography

In the individual portion of the West Coast Junior-Amateur Jumper Championship, it was Alison Locke who won the blue ribbon in the amateur section for her two clear rounds on her Dublin Street. “Dublin Street is super, super careful and he loves to win. He’s just an all-around great horse,” said Alison. Alison tied with Courtney Shattuck who rode Wylie (Horseworks Etc., Inc., owner) to two clear rounds, but it was Alison’s leading time of 71.937 seconds in the first qualifying round that gave her the win.

Alison was excited to win the individual championship and also learned lot from the team competition. “I really appreciate the fact that the Langer Equestrian group put together the team competition so we get a chance to practice under a lot more pressure than we’re used to,” Alison stated. “I think it’s really helpful for rider development and it is a welcome addition to the show.”

Mitchell Endicott follows in his father's footsteps as an up-and-coming jumper rider Photo: Flying Horse Photography

On the junior card, 14-year-old Mitchell Endicott took home the win with two clear, effortlessly fast rounds. “Quiver is a great horse and he’s really, really quick, but he has the scope enough to go clean,” Mitchell noted. “We’ve had him for about six months now and he’s really going well. It’s good mentally to have the win and to get back in the game a little more. I took a break for a few weeks, so now I’m getting back into it and I’m ready for next year.” Mitchell plans to show in the 1.40M classes next year and hopes to start grand prix classes in 2014.

Mitchell’s father, acclaimed rider Michael Endicott, gave Mitchell a few words of wisdom before he went in for his final course. “My dad told me to just relax, to not tense up, and ride it like any other course,” Mitchell recalled. “The horse jumped great and I went in and tried my best and I guess it paid off. My dad was proud of me and I think he was pretty excited when I won.”

The LA Season Finale (Nov 16-18) wraps up LEG's 40th Anniversary show season, but more jumping excitement is right around the corner when the shows start up again in January.

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