Source:  News Release

Andres Rodgriguez flawless in $33,000 ACTC Grand Prix

Calgary, Alberta – The conditions were ideal for an afternoon of competition in the $33,000 ACTC Modified Grand Prix in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. A nice warm day, with just the right amount of cloud cover to keep the temperature perfect.

The view of the Synoil Grand Prix ring from Goby's Grill was amazing. From the gathering crowd to the beautiful green grass and the nervous anticipation of the riders waiting to walk, they eagerly watched FEI course designer Volker Schmidt put the final details on his course.

A great field of 29 took on the 16 jumping efforts, including 3 combinations, over the 510 metre long course. It was a flowing course, one which the competitors needed to keep on pace in order to avoid being caught by the time or a possible rail.

It was such a fun and electric first round that saw so many horse and rider combinations coming close to being clear. The first to master the course and time was Calgary’s own Jim Ifko on the very talented Dublin Street. So many challengers were nipping at the heels of Jim in trying to force the jump off, but in the end only one other horse and rider jumped flawlessly and in the time. That was amazing duo from Venezuela Andres Rodriguez and Aberdeen 33.

With the two tied for the lead after the first round with flawless performances, the only way to break the tie was over the jump off track. There were so many other riders that came so close to making it into the jump off, however $33,000 on the line and valuable FEI points the course reflected the challenge of bringing home the lion’s share. Of those that came close to going clear, 3 combinations had just one time fault and 6 challengers ended up with only one rail a piece. Easily could have been a 11 horse jump off.

First back in the Battle of the Nations, was Canada’s Jim Ifko and Dublin Street with two fences down at speed they left the door open. So the Venezuelan knew what he had to do, go clear for the win aboard his 8 year old stallion, who also happens to be the USEF horse of the year, for this pairs first International win.

“I wanted to leave all the doors open a little bit, I knew that letting him go was not going to affect his result. So just in case something happened along the way in the jump off I still wanted to make sure that I could catch the time.” said Andres. “And by the time that I turned to the last line I started to take a little bit more of my time and jump clear and I knew that I had the win.”

“It is my first time out to Rocky Mountain Show Jumping and I am really happy. The facility is great. The reason why I came to this horse show is first of all because of the quality of the venue and second of all because of the amount of Longines World Ranking points that this show offers to the riders.” noted Andres. “There are two weeks with two International Grand Prix, with the final of $100,000 and this represents for the riders a big effort from the horse show because it is hard these days to put on shows of this level. This is a very important win for myself and my country as we are accumulating points together and then the FEI, based on ranking, who goes to the Nations Cup Finals.”

“I thought the course was great, the time allowed was just tight enough which kept just a few people out of the jump off. Volker put a wall in the middle of the course which he put at 1.50m which definitely changed the results,” remarked Andres, “which was just something big in the middle of the course, which challenged the horses a little bit and his results were great. All the fences went down except for fence 1 and the results were pretty even and fair.”

The wonderful sponsor of tonights events was the Aspen Creek Training Centre and Dagmar Formuller. “Dagmar has been such a great supporter of Rocky Mountain Show Jumping. She is showing a bunch of her own horses here and her kids are showing.” remarked John Anderson, President of Rocky Mountain Show Jumping. “For her to step up to the plate with her Aspen Creek Training Centre and sponsor some Grand Prixs here at Rocky Mountain Show Jumping each year really helps the sport. Dagmar is a really true horsewoman and understands the importance for venues to raise prize money and she is very complimentary about the work we are doing. It is such great pleasure to have her, she does a fantastic job supporting us here at Rocky Mountain.”

Rocky Mountain Show Jumping hosts its tournaments at Anderson Ranch in Calgary’s south end, a world-class facility featuring permanent stabling for 300 horses and a grass grand prix field complete with natural obstacles.  For more information on Rocky Mountain Show Jumping, please visit  www.rmshowjumping.com.

Competition continues Saturday night for the $100,000 Synoil Grand Prix at the Rocky Mountain Classic II, August 17, 2013.

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