Jacob Pope (USA) fulfilled a lifelong dream Saturday afternoon, scoring his first grand prix victory in the $30,000 Traverse City National Grand Prix at Great Lakes Equestrian Festival (GLEF), presented by CaptiveOne Advisors, aboard Highway FBH. As one of ten pairs to jump clear over Bernardo Costa Cabral’s (POR) first-round track, Pope’s strategy in the jump-off paid off and he took home top honors aboard a horse he recently just met.
“This is only my third class with him,” Pope said of the 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Plot Blue. “He’s just incredible. We got him two weeks ago and I did a 1.30m and a 1.40m, then the Grand Prix. You can just keep kicking and he keeps jumping higher. Needless to say, I’m super happy with him and pumped for the future.”
Of the ten jump-off contenders, Pope went third, so he did not know what would be required to take the win but strategized well regardless. “My strategy was to not go as fast as I possibly could but just to be tidy and clear and that seemed to be what really made it happen today,” Pope explained. “Everyone after [me] was trying to do one less in the first line or turn even tighter and ended up having rails. In the end my tidier clear track going early was a smart move.”
Several pairs were quite quick on the clock but pulled rails, awarding Pope the win as the class came to a close. Second place went to Taylor Madden with Fata Morgana Di Villagana in 33.765 seconds, and Ty Simpson took third place with the Copperline Farm, LLC entry Maestro Van De Volkaert in 34.596 seconds.
Final Results: $30,000 Traverse City National Grand Prix
1. Highway FBH / Jacob Pope / Team Rakowsky Equestrian LLC / 0/0/33.194
2. Fata Morgana Di Villagana / Taylor Madden / Taylor Madden / 0/0/33.765
3. Maestro Van De Volkaert / Ty Simpson / Copperline Farm LLC / 0/0/34.596
4. Haitie / Sandra Dalman / Dalman Show Jumping / 0/0/34.700
5. Castelissimo / Tiffany Sullivan / Tiffany Sullivan / 0/0/35.386
6. High Nitro / Cathleen Driscoll / Margaret Frank / 0/4/31.806
7. Sunny Boy 372 / Shawn Casady / Rabbit Root Stables LLC / 0/4/34.083
8. Eastpoint / Hillary Johnson / Hillary Johnson / 0/4/37.408
9. Fire Flash Toltien / Jamie Sailor / Carolyn Mittler / 0/8/32.376
10. Escapado S / Jamie Sailor / Mountain View West Farm LLC / 0/8/33.622
11. Contonio / Mavis Spencer / Georgy Maskrey-Segesman 4/70.182
12. Aladin Des Brimbelles / Lisa Carlsen / Jenna Lee Gottschlich / 4/71.396
“This is only my third class with him,” Pope said of the 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Plot Blue. “He’s just incredible. We got him two weeks ago and I did a 1.30m and a 1.40m, then the Grand Prix. You can just keep kicking and he keeps jumping higher. Needless to say, I’m super happy with him and pumped for the future.”
Of the ten jump-off contenders, Pope went third, so he did not know what would be required to take the win but strategized well regardless. “My strategy was to not go as fast as I possibly could but just to be tidy and clear and that seemed to be what really made it happen today,” Pope explained. “Everyone after [me] was trying to do one less in the first line or turn even tighter and ended up having rails. In the end my tidier clear track going early was a smart move.”
Several pairs were quite quick on the clock but pulled rails, awarding Pope the win as the class came to a close. Second place went to Taylor Madden with Fata Morgana Di Villagana in 33.765 seconds, and Ty Simpson took third place with the Copperline Farm, LLC entry Maestro Van De Volkaert in 34.596 seconds.
Final Results: $30,000 Traverse City National Grand Prix
1. Highway FBH / Jacob Pope / Team Rakowsky Equestrian LLC / 0/0/33.194
2. Fata Morgana Di Villagana / Taylor Madden / Taylor Madden / 0/0/33.765
3. Maestro Van De Volkaert / Ty Simpson / Copperline Farm LLC / 0/0/34.596
4. Haitie / Sandra Dalman / Dalman Show Jumping / 0/0/34.700
5. Castelissimo / Tiffany Sullivan / Tiffany Sullivan / 0/0/35.386
6. High Nitro / Cathleen Driscoll / Margaret Frank / 0/4/31.806
7. Sunny Boy 372 / Shawn Casady / Rabbit Root Stables LLC / 0/4/34.083
8. Eastpoint / Hillary Johnson / Hillary Johnson / 0/4/37.408
9. Fire Flash Toltien / Jamie Sailor / Carolyn Mittler / 0/8/32.376
10. Escapado S / Jamie Sailor / Mountain View West Farm LLC / 0/8/33.622
11. Contonio / Mavis Spencer / Georgy Maskrey-Segesman 4/70.182
12. Aladin Des Brimbelles / Lisa Carlsen / Jenna Lee Gottschlich / 4/71.396