The Lugano Diamonds Split Rock Jumping Tour (SRJT) capped off two weeks of hunter, jumper, and equitation competition for the Split Rock Hunter Jumper at the Kentucky Horse Park with the week’s biggest event held Sunday. Serving as the finale, the $100,000 Lugano Diamonds 1.55m Grand Prix CSI3*, presented by Hagyard Equine Medical Group, proved the toughest and Molly Ashe Cawley (USA) was the only athlete to emerge with a clear first round riding Louisburg Farm’s Cappuccino 194 to the victory without the need for a second round tiebreaker.
Alan Wade (IRL) lived up to his reputation as a technical course designer, setting a track at the height of 1.55m with 13 obstacles consisting of tall verticals off of short turns and the complex SRJT triple combination (vertical-oxer-vertical) going away from the ingate. Cawley and Cappuccino 194, a 10-year-old by Comme Il Faut 5 x Sir Shutterfly, were the 16th pair to see in the order of go and were the only pair to navigate the course fault-free.
“We got [Cappuccino] a year and a half ago. He’s very talented and I think a lot of him. He brought his A-game today. I thought it was a tough course – there were a lot of tall verticals and the triple [combination] at the end [rode a bit like a gymnastic]. He dug in today for me and I couldn’t be happier with him,” Cawley commented.
As the technical nature of the course became apparent throughout the class, many athletes changed their strategy to prioritize speed in order to be fast four-faulters and earn a chance at a share of the prize money. Jessica Mendoza (GBR) and I-Cap CL Z (I'm Special de Muze x Air Jordan) finished in second place with one down and a time of 72.99 while Karl Cook (USA) and Fecybelle (Carambole x Sjapoo) rounded out the top three after finishing in 75.09 seconds. Both athletes piloted the course much quicker than Cawley whose 77-second finish still kept her well within the unproblematic time-allowed of 80 seconds.
“We love Split Rock shows, so we try to come whenever we can and we appreciate Derek [Braun]’s effort to put on a great event for exhibitors, owners, and for the sport most importantly,” praised Cawley. “We try to support them whenever we can and it’s always a great week of showing for us.”
Up next, the Lugano Diamonds Split Rock Jumping Tour will look to the West Coast of the United States for two brand new stops as it heads to Portland, Oregon with a CSI2* rating from August 3-7, and a week of national competition August 10-14, before debuting in Paso Robles for CSI2* competition September 7-11. For more information on the 2022 tour, visit our website at splitrockjumpingtour.com.