Jacob Pope (USA) had been waiting on the special moment that he would score a Grand Prix victory with his mount Jecibelle (Boyfriend du Seigneur x Ogano Sitte), and that day came on Saturday of week five of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival, presented by B&D Builders, in the $116,500 The Dexter CSI3* Grand Prix. The pair posted a blazing-fast jump-off time, unseating already quite competitive pairs, and claimed their first international victory together.
“It's a huge win any time to win a Grand Prix and I’m so happy to have done it with Jecibelle,” Pope reflected after the win. “I've had her just a year and I feel like our partnership is just really starting to come together in a really great way. The win today has been the culmination of a lot of hard work with a nice horse, getting to know her and letting her shine the way that she wants to. I'm so happy with her.”
The jump-off welcomed six competitors. While it wasn’t the largest field, it produced an extremely fast battle for the top spot. Prior to Pope’s turn, Erynn Ballard (CAN) – who had already pocketed two FEI wins for the week and was seeking a third, posted a new leading time on Chatadel PS (Chacoon Blue x Conthargos), just to be outdone immediately by Hunter Holloway (USA) on Henry Jota Ariel (Picadilly Tame x Casparo). Both of their times were fast, and they were separated by a very slim margin.
“I was actually down at the gate already when Hunter was in the ring and she’s always a fast rider,” Pope shared. “I really admire how she rides so I was definitely watching how she rode all the turns. I tried to do the same thing and I just barely nipped her. I’m happy for her and excited we were one-two.”
Pope believed Jecibelle, an 11-year-old Belgian Sporthorse mare had the speed required to go faster, but he didn’t want to interfere with her confidence.
“She is naturally pretty fast,” he said of his jump-off approach. “Katie and Henri [Prudent], who I work with, are known for going really fast. Jeci can get a little rattled if she goes too fast, so Katie told me between one and two I should just let her go. I thought that was great advice. Everything came up out of stride and she was so great; she was with me everywhere.”
His winning time was 35.49 seconds, while Holloway took second aboard Henry Jota Ariel in 35.91 seconds. Ballard claimed third with Chatadel PS in 36.07 seconds, meaning only about half a second separated the top three finishers.
Pope spends quite a bit of his year in Traverse City, so it is essentially home for him. To win at home is tremendously special, but it’s even more special knowing the caliber of horse and rider he was able to beat.
“It’s been a couple years since I won an FEI class here so it means a lot,” he reflected. “Sherri [Crawford], who owns Jecibelle, has been a huge supporter of mine so for her horse to win is really exciting for both of us. We got the horse from Katie and Henri so it’s a team effort. It means a lot for us to have won here.”
