Well, coming off of a week of numerous classic wins, the Young Jumper Championships did not go quite as planned; however, we are happy with the performances of our horses, nonetheless!
CCF Yasur | PC Carol Parker
The Finals
Natasha Traurig participated in the 5-year-old section of the Young Jumper Finals with CCF Savusavu and CCF Hibiscus Coast. Though normally accomplishing effortless clear rounds, “Savu” had an unlucky rail in Round One, and two unexplainable rails in Round Two; therefore, leaving without a place in this year’s Championship standings. Our “Biscuit,” however, had a different story to tell, accurately demonstrating clean rounds in every qualifying class. Ultimately advancing to the tie-breaker jump-off between the top six 5-year-old jumpers with three faultless rounds, Biscuit tried her very best, but an unfortunate rider mistake around a turn in the jump-off concluded their final standing with a sixth place.
Michelle Parker rode CCF Yasur in the 6-year-old section of the Young Jumper Finals. Guiding a fresh “Pele” to a clean Round One, the pair walked back to the barn sporting a blue ribbon and first place standing. An unlucky rail in Round Two sparked the pressure to be as impeccable as possible in the final round on Sunday. A good boy, Pele kept his feet up while following Michelle’s precise guidance to a fault-free final round and ninth place overall finish in the Championship. Among our 7-year-olds that participated in the Young Jumper Championships, CCF Caramel and Eureka simply had some unusual tough luck, both having faults in each round of the final. Easy to say, we cannot win them all! And we are pleased enough with the progression of our young horses.
CCF Hibiscus Coast | PC Carol Parker
In other news …
Doriena and Michelle continued their success this week! A fault-free and fast jump-off placed the pair at the top of the 1.45 Jumper Class on Wednesday, and took home a seventh place finish in Saturday’s $20,000 Interactive Mortgage Horses 10&U Classic. And, of course, Cupilor could not complete his second week at Showpark without Grand Prix ribbons. Thursday’s $25,000 1.40m Markel Insurance Grand Prix was filled with 52 entries, and offered a challenging 14 horse jump-off. Cupilor’s slightly rambunctious attitude in the jump-off created a turbulent turn and a resulting rail, finishing with an eighth place. Two days later proved to be a little more lucky for Cupilor and Michelle in the $50,000 Showpark All Seasons 1.50m Grand Prix. Over a difficult course and tight time-allowed, only four out of 34 combinations returned for the jump-off – Cupilor being one of them after a brilliant first round. Taking the risk to gallop after Will Simpson’s quick time, Michelle rode slick turns and was ahead of the game until the very last jump, where Cupilor barely touched the adversary yellow rail of the wide oxer coming home. A fourth place finish, but proud moment as Cupilor continues his consistency at 1.50m Grand Prixs.
Cupilor | PC Carol Parker
Considering the weekend’s conclusion, the show exhibited a quieter atmosphere. We decided to trailer in our CCF 4-year-olds for a little adventurous outing to get them all more accustomed to horseshows. With ease and interest, hunter prospects Salsa and Solito are practically ready to begin their show career, while jumper prospect Chipotle continues his education and is coming along quite nicely. We are looking forward to the future for these youngsters!
Catch us in a week at Blenheim’s Fall Tournament!
