[SACRAMENTO, CA] - The Saturday night festivities at the Sacramento International Horse Show at the Murieta Equestrian Center were without a doubt entertaining for both riders and spectators. Between the obstacle course of the Battle of the Sexes and a World Cup qualifying Grand Prix, the competition was fierce. The evening began with a Battle of the Sexes competition, men versus women, through an obstacle course, placings based on time and completion of the obstacles over five rounds. The riders were assigned a horse to catch ride through the obstacle course in unfamiliar western tack. The classes' riders were made up of mostly riders in tonight's Land Rover Grand Prix of Sacramento, including: Enrique Gonzalez, Kara Chad, Karl Cook, Eduardo Menezes, Kristin Hardin, Jack Hardin Towel, Susan Artes, Nayel Nassar, Toni McIntosh and Brianne Goutal. With the arena split down the middle to allow for mirror courses, the riders faced off on their new partners. A spectator said, "I have never seen a competition like it where they face off in the arena, it was great!" Some horses were happy to complete the course, and others had more difficulty obliging to their rider's requests. The course required the teams to gallop down the long rail towards the announcer's booth and complete pole bending through three poles. They then had to pick up a pitcher of beer and move it from one platform to another, trying not to spill! After, they rode a figure eight around two barrels, then jumped over straw bales to gallop to the finish line. The men overtook the women, 4-1 in the competition. Next was the exciting Land Rover Grand Prix of Sacramento, a World Cup and Thermal Million qualifying event. With 35 entries, the competition was tight and the riders left it all in the arena. They kept the turns very tight and nine riders completed the first phase with zero faults, advancing to the jump off. With nine riders in the jump off, only four went clean, including: Rich Fellers, Juan Pablo Gnecco, Jack Hardin Towel and Catherine Pasmore with one unfortunate rail for Brianne Goutal, Juan Pablo Gnecco, Susan Artes and two rails for both Vinton Karrasch and Susan Hutchison. Fellers and Flexible held their clear round and their time of 43.15 seconds for the remainder of the jump off. It was a very tough time to get close to, with Juan Pablo Gnecco coming in over three seconds behind Fellers. Fellers took home the blue, winning the Land Rover Grand Prix of Sacramento for the third time.
