Mark Jungherr of Amesbury, MA, riding Conte Couleur was victorious in the $30,000 Manchester & The Mountains Grand Prix on Saturday, August 6, during week five of the Vermont Summer Festival. The Vermont Summer Festival runs for six consecutive weeks from July 5 through August 14, 2016, at Harold Beebe Farm in East Dorset, VT. Jungherr and his winning mount Conte Couleur, owned by Ronald Francoeur, were the only pair to leave all the rails in place over the track set by course designer Manuel Esparza of Mexico. They did it at the expense of one time fault for exceeding the 84-second time allowed, eliminating the need for a jump-off. Seven other competitors had a single rail down for four faults, with time determining the final placings. The fastest four-fault round was posted by Michael Hughes, 20, of Morristown, NJ, who stopped the clock in 78.87 seconds riding Virginia W Z, a ten-year-old Zangersheide mare owned by North Run of Warren, VT. Catherine Tyree, 22, of Chicago, IL, and Don’t Go, the winners of Thursday’s $10,000 Overland Open Welcome Stake, placed third in 80.46 seconds while Addison Gierkink of Harpswell, ME, placed fourth with a time of 80.80 riding S & L Slingback for owner Kadley Holdings, LLC. For her performance, the 20-year-old was honored with the Kastel Denmark Ladies Style of Riding Award. Ireland’s Cormac Hanley, 19, rounded out the top five riding Captain Caruso to a four-fault finish in a time of 82.24 seconds. While the rest of the top five finishers were at least 40 years his junior, Jungherr, 66, used his experience as a rider, trainer, and coach to best Esparza’s track.
