Lisa Goldman of Hawthorn Woods, IL, calls the Lamplight Equestrian Center "home." After capturing top honors throughout the first week of the Showplace Productions' Spring Spectacular series, Goldman returned to the LUXMAX, U.S.A. Grand Prix Ring with her string of talented mounts for the opening day of competition at the Showplace Spring Spectacular II. She vaulted to the top of the leader board in the $2,500 1.30m Open Jumpers and the $2,500 Roc U.S.A. 1.40m Open Jumpers to take a first day lead in the Open Jumper division.
After two days of downpour, the horses were fresh and ready to go in the Open Jumper divisions.The LUXMAX, U.S.A. LED screen lit up with each rider's name, but it was Goldman who held the top of the ranks in both divisions. The 1.40m Open Jumpers saw fierce competition in a six-horse jump-off, with each rider attempting to best the next. Goldman took the win aboard Morocco in an astounding 38.844 seconds, a full 3.5 seconds ahead of their fellow contenders.
"I am so excited to have Morocco back!" Goldman exclaimed. "He is the fastest thing in the world, I mean unbelievably fast. When I went into the jump-off I was thinking of trying to go nice and easy, like what we did for the first round. We still beat everyone by almost four seconds."
Goldman continued, "The course was perfect for Morocco, everything came up really easily. I had a lot of fun out there with the options, and I love being able to ride him down the long distances where we can really use his speed."
Wilhelm Genn of Lebanon, OH, showed to two of the top awards in the 1.40m Open Jumpers. He finished behind Goldman in 42.632 seconds with Welcome COR, owned by Ann Anastasio of Wayne, IL, riding to the second place. He also picked up the fifth place with his own Akida as the fastest of the four-faulters in the jump-off.
Tony Font and Kissimmee, owned by Deana Blackburn of Houston, TX, earned the third place for their double-clear effort in 42.674 seconds. Coming in fourth place was Undine with Liz Atkins in the irons, stopping the clock at 44.426 seconds without fault. The sixth place award went to Tamara Provost and Chicco 337, owned by Alliy Moyer of Carmel, IN.
Goldman continued her winning ways in the $2,500 1.30m Open Jumpers where she piloted Zacontas to the winning round in 36.034 seconds, overcoming a start list of 32 competitors. The jump-off came down to 18 horse and rider combinations, but Goldman finished at the top as the penultimate rider to tackle the track.
"Zacontas is best known as 'Rotunda' ever since he ran into the rotunda during the 2013 George H. Morris Gladstone Program at Hamilton Farms," Goldman laughed. "I got him last year in Florida, and it has taken us a lot of time to really build a partnership. We have been working to figure each other out, but with a little compromising and keeping my feel on him, he has become more consistent. He is starting to hone in on the jumps and move his feet faster. I was so proud of how he did out there today."
Tiffany Hammack and Luminous, owned by Lance Williamson of Gurnee, IL, completed the short track just behind Goldman to take the second place position, shattering Goldman's earlier time in the class, posted with Rocs to Riches. Goldman would eventually capture the third place for her time of 37.267 seconds with Rocs to Riches, while Cara Cheska pocketed the fourth and fifth place awards with Tissem, and Krake Ask, both owned by Reid Patton of Nantucket, MA. Theo Genn and Asirea Fortuna, owned by Eduardo Leon of Houston, TX, rounded out the top six with their double-clear effort posted in 38.537 seconds.
"Roc to Riches was really good today, too," Goldman stated. "I got a little slow with her when I did seven strides instead of six, I wasted time, otherwise she would have been right up there with Zacontas. Riding her first in the jump-off though allowed for me to know what to do with Zacontas to get the time and strides we needed."
"The plan is to have three horses in the $20,000 Open Welcome Stake tomorrow afternoon,"Goldman concluded. "The atmosphere here is wonderful, I just love the atmosphere. This is home to me. The grounds are gorgeous, the footing is great, and everyone is always ready and willing to help in whatever way they can. It feels so good to be here."
Showplace Spring Spectacular II June 10-15, 2014
Open Jumper 1.40M
award entry horse / owner rider prize
1 605 MOROCCO Lisa Goldman Lisa Goldman
2 640 Welcome COR ANN ANASTASIO Wilhelm Genn
3 275 Kissimmee Deana Blackburn Tony Font
4 694 Undine Benchmark Stables, LLC Liz Atkins
5 905 Chicco 337 Alliy Moyer Tamara Provost
6 643 Akida Wilhelm Genn Wilhelm Genn
7 636 Aniviero Z Amy Lefferdink Theo Genn
8 170 Vision EH Kathleen Hope Caitlin Hope
Open Jumper 1.30M
award entry horse / owner rider prize
1 607 Zacantos Z Lisa Goldman Lisa Goldman
2 854 Luminous Lance Williamson Tiffany Hammack
3 608 Rocs To Riches Lisa Goldman Lisa Goldman
4 427 Tissem Reid Patton Cara Cheska
5 701 Krake Ask Reid Patton Cara Cheska
6 631 Asirea Fortuna Eduardo Leon Theo Genn
7 788 Kaner 88 Steve Schaefer Steve Schaefer
8 430 Zoe Velvet Reid Patton Cara Cheska
© Press release from Phelps Media Group, Inc. International.