The heat was on at the Bay Area Festival (June 24-28) when seven horses and riders returned for the jump off for the Bayfest Grand Prix. Course Designer John Manning gave the riders the opportunity to show how fast they could gallop, how well they could turn, and how brave they were. The crowd was treated to quite a show as each rider rose to the occasion. Guy Thomas, who is thrilled to have Peterbilt (Peterbilt LLC, owner) back in the show ring, left no doubt in anyone’s mind that he and the spectacular bay stallion are a force to contend with. Guy started off with a bold pace, and after dropping down the double drop at the bank, he found the water jump out of a bold gallop. They sped through the double in the grob and showed their turning ability after the triple bar. Their final gallop to the oxer in front of the Carousel Club stopped the timers in 44.913 and no one could touch them. Robert Blanchette aboard his Lazur slipped into second with a bold jump off that stopped the timers in 47.769. Daniel Zilla gave it his all with Venice B (Branscomb Farm LLC, owner) and finished third with a time of 47.803. Amateur rider Blake Gardner aboard his own Cyrus rounded out the top four with at time of 48.158. Midway through the grand prix, the show took its customary break to toss t-shirts into the crowd, and everyone saw the start of a very entertaining new half time event inspired by Nancy Thomas of Millennium Farm and Harper, who is owned by Nancy’s business partner, Jill Hamilton. After recently winning the Women’s Division of the Dog Mile Race World Championships, Nancy accepted the opportunity to show off her and Harper’s prowess by challenging anyone with a dog to a race. While Nancy and Harper ran a sub-six minute mile, she was willing to race in a sprint around the grand prix field. Chris Collman and his crew threw in a few challenges, including requiring the racers to dash up the bank and around the ramp, jump a small jump, and then, just before the finish line, they laid a swath of dog treats on the ground hoping to distract a few dogs.
