Halifax, MA - The third day of the Fieldstone Spring Festival got underway this morning at the Fieldstone Show Park in Halifax, MA. Jumper exhibitors gathered to take on the courses in Jumper Ring 5 with earnest as they put their skills to the test in the $1,500 1.30m Open Jumpers, High Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumpers and the Low Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumpers. It was James North and Wardetta S who rode to the top of the ranks in the 1.30m Open Jumpers with the fastest double-clear effort in 32.328 seconds.

 

Keith Bollotte of Culleoka, TN, designed the course for today, creating a track built with 12 efforts to test horse and rider alike. The course consisted of rollbacks, tight lines, an oxer-vertical double combination, vertical-oxer double combination and bending lines. The short track opened over a blue-and-yellow oxer set on the diagonal, and riders then had to make a left rollback to a green-and-white oxer. Upon landing, they then made a right rollback over the red vertical and then moved through the vertical-oxer combination. A final left turn required a large gallop of the pairs as they approached the final vertical to trip the timers and claim their spot on the leader board.

 

Penny Brennan was the first to take on the 1.30m Open Jumpers course. Although she posted a fault-free first effort in 63.347 seconds with Pay It Forward, owned by Wright Star Outsourcing LLC of Cos Cob, MT, she opted to retire from the jump-off. With the $25,000 Fieldstone Grand Prix approaching tomorrow afternoon, she wanted to conserve her horse for competition. James North and The Man To See, owned by Fair Play Farm of New York, NY, were the next to take on the course. Although they posted a clear effort during the first round, they had a rail down at the last fence during the jump-off. Their time of 30.506 seconds proved unsurpassed, but the four faults eventually earned the duo the third place prize.

 

It came down to the final two horses in the 1.30m Open Jumpers. Amanda Derbyshire took over the lead from North with David Gochman's Attach II. She posted a double-clear effort in 37.536 seconds, using the course to be neat and tidy while leaving the rails in their cups. North had no intention to let her score stand.

 

He entered the ring aboard Wardetta S, owned by Fair Play Farm of New York, NY, showing her for the first time since the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, FL. After doing plenty of homework, and working on her consistency in the ring, North has grown to understand his more recent mare far better, and today they shined. After clearing the first round in 64.053 seconds, they immediately moved into the short course. Although North's other mount was speedy with his stride, it was Wardetta S' neat turns that secured them the first place finish, capturing the title with both speed and accuracy. They completed the jump-off in 32.328 seconds to seal the victory.

 

"This is a new horse; I imported her this year from England. I bought her from Peter Charles. I am super pleased with her right now. We got to know each other in Florida, and she was a bully," North laughed. "She would drag me around one day, but have a great day, and then drag me around again. We took her home and did some schooling and today she just was on."

 

North continued, "With this mare I thought about maybe not doing the inside turns, because she can sometimes be tough, but she was so good that I did all the inside turns on her and she made it easy. We wanted it to look flowing. She's been such a good girl; the homework is paying off."

 

"I showed at Fieldstone many years ago, and I was scheduled to go to Old Salem but I wanted to add a horse this year, and they were so overbooked, that I revisited Fieldstone and I am so glad I did. The improvements are just fantastic," North concluded. "It is a good place to start again after Palm Beach. I will definitely come back. We hope to come back next year."

 

Amanda Derbyshire and Attach II were awarded the second place award, while James North took home the third place finish with The Man To See. Penny Brennan and Pay It Forward took the fourth place finish, and Gregory Magnan and Dr. J captured the fifth.

 

The High Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumpers also saw fierce competition earlier in the day, and it was an international rider who emerged victorious. Myrto Iliadis-Koutsikos of Athens, Greece, guided Corprizia to the first place finish. She piloted her mount to a speedy first round, and immediately moved into the jump-off upon completing the course will all rails in place. Iliadis-Koutsikos picked up a blazing speed, staying forward as she made neat turns and maintained her pace throughout. Under the tutelage of North, she is hoping to take her riding to the next level, and today was an example of how far she has come. She was able to post the quicker of only two double-clear efforts, completing the short track in 31.576 seconds.

 

"She's a very nice mare but a little bit spooky, so I was worried about that," Iliadis-Koutsikos said. "I just went into the ring and tried to relax. She didn't spook as much, which made me very happy and let me relax for the rest of the course."

 

Iliadis-Koutsikos continued, "She takes a forward ride; I am a European rider, so I believe that riding with the two-point forward system is the only way to do it. I think it was a clever course; it was nice and I enjoyed it. This is my first time showing at Fieldstone. It is a very nice show facility. We are aiming for the High Classic and the Grand Prix tomorrow."

 

Addison Gierkink and Lady Macbeth DH came in a close second place to Iliadis-Koutsikos. They posted the only other double-clear effort, but her time of 34.582 seconds proved more conservative. Iliadis-Koutsikos also nabbed the third place award with Voila HE, while Abby Bertelson and Sandra Z finished with the fourth place ribbon.

 

"Lady Macbeth DH is really cool because she is very careful and fast. She turns really sharp, and she is just really fun. She's a little different from my other horses because she likes to steady to the jumps a little bit," Gierkink stated. "I have to get her going a little bit more to the base. I see my distance and I push her past it a little and she jumps right up into my hands and does really well that way. My plan was to ride her the way she likes. She is a lot better at turning than my other horse; she's a little bit more sophisticated. I was happy with how she went today, and I think she will be great tomorrow."

 

The Low Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumpers continue to gear up for their Low Junior/Amateur-Owner Classic on Sunday, and Gierkink plans on being at the top of her game.

 

"I love Fieldstone, my favorite part is being able to ride in the field," Gierkink said. "I love when they have jumper classes out on the field. I think it is really fun to show here."

 

Although her time in the High Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumpers was only good enough for the red ribbon, the Low Junior/Amateur-Owners was an entirely different story. She rode Pikpardin, owned by Kadley Holdings LLC of Harpswell, ME, to the top of the standings with a speedy jump-off in 38.624 seconds. They unfortunately had one rail down, but no other rider was able to clear the first course to challenge Gierkink's effort.

 

Gierkink concluded the Low Junior/Amateur-Owner Hunters with the winning ride, while Samantha Kasowitz rode to the second and third place finishes with El Sueno's Cantalupi and Opening Statement, respectively.

 

"I have had Pikpardin for two years, and she is really funny-kind of sassy, you kind of just have to jump the jumps and not worry about all of her fussiness," Gierkink smiled. "She always tries her hardest, and I thought the course was good. I'm going to do her in the Low Classic on Sunday, and we will see how it goes."

 

Saturday begins the fourth day of the Fieldstone Spring Festival. The Grand Prix Field will welcome Junior and Amateur-Owner riders to the High Junior/Amateur-Owner Classic. The jumpers will continue to raise the heat in the Jumper Ring as they get prepared for the approaching Low Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic on Sunday, as well as the $25,000 Fieldstone Grand Prix to take place tomorrow afternoon. For more information on Stadium Jumping and the approaching Fieldstone Spring Festival, please visit www.showfieldstone.com. You can also follow the Fieldstone Horse Shows on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/fieldstone.equestrian.