Thermal, Calif. – Jan. 22, 2022 – Show jumping athletes took to the Grand Prix Arena on Saturday afternoon for the $40,000 Go Rentals Grand Prix to compete for top honors and the lion’s share of the prize money. Twenty-nine horse-and-rider combinations took to the first course, designed by Ken Krome, in an attempt to navigate it clear and within the time allowed.
With a total of six clear first rounds, the athletes moved forward into the shortened course, where speed became the name of the game. At the end of the class, it was Karl Cook and Signe Otsby’s Kalinka Van’t Zorgvliet who emerged victorious and took the win. The $1,000 EquiFit U25 Classic was held as an overlay with the feature class, and taking the win was Mitch Endicott and the Bridgeport Farms LLC entry Chaccrobat.
Krome set a winding course of 13 obstacles and 16 jumping efforts total, featuring bending lines, a vertical-oxer-vertical triple combination, an oxer-vertical double-combination, and a careful liverpool vertical. Fences fell across the course, but most notably at fence one and down the triple combination, which was a very careful one-stride to two-stride set off a long approach.
First to jump the track clear and within the time allowed was Bruno Diniz Das Neves and Adele XIII. Returning for the jump-off, Diniz attempted to set the time to beat and put pressure on the remaining five entries, but had a rail down that would eventually place him fourth. Kaitlin Campbell and Mitch Endicott each accumulated faults as well, leaving just three to go and no double-clear efforts to that point. Cassio Rivetti, fresh off major Grand Prix wins at both National Sunshine Series and Desert Holiday in 2021, took to the short course with Cristal De Menardiere, a 10-year-old gelding owned by Delaney Batter, and quickly jumped to the top of the leaderboard posting the first double-clear round in a time of 41.288 seconds. Lisa Carlsen and Livestream 2, a 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding, picked up the pace and ultimately beat Rivetti’s time, but with one rail down to place third overall.
Karl Cook, who had captured the final Grand Prix win of Desert Holiday with the same mount, an 11-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare, was the final contender for the short course, and the pair galloped from fence one to two in fewer strides than most of the other entries before wrapping tightly to the double combination and effortlessly flying across the Grand Prix Arena, keeping all fences intact. He crossed the timers in 39.981 seconds, claiming the lead and winning the class.
Source: Press release
Photo: Tori Bilas
With a total of six clear first rounds, the athletes moved forward into the shortened course, where speed became the name of the game. At the end of the class, it was Karl Cook and Signe Otsby’s Kalinka Van’t Zorgvliet who emerged victorious and took the win. The $1,000 EquiFit U25 Classic was held as an overlay with the feature class, and taking the win was Mitch Endicott and the Bridgeport Farms LLC entry Chaccrobat.
Krome set a winding course of 13 obstacles and 16 jumping efforts total, featuring bending lines, a vertical-oxer-vertical triple combination, an oxer-vertical double-combination, and a careful liverpool vertical. Fences fell across the course, but most notably at fence one and down the triple combination, which was a very careful one-stride to two-stride set off a long approach.
First to jump the track clear and within the time allowed was Bruno Diniz Das Neves and Adele XIII. Returning for the jump-off, Diniz attempted to set the time to beat and put pressure on the remaining five entries, but had a rail down that would eventually place him fourth. Kaitlin Campbell and Mitch Endicott each accumulated faults as well, leaving just three to go and no double-clear efforts to that point. Cassio Rivetti, fresh off major Grand Prix wins at both National Sunshine Series and Desert Holiday in 2021, took to the short course with Cristal De Menardiere, a 10-year-old gelding owned by Delaney Batter, and quickly jumped to the top of the leaderboard posting the first double-clear round in a time of 41.288 seconds. Lisa Carlsen and Livestream 2, a 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding, picked up the pace and ultimately beat Rivetti’s time, but with one rail down to place third overall.
Karl Cook, who had captured the final Grand Prix win of Desert Holiday with the same mount, an 11-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare, was the final contender for the short course, and the pair galloped from fence one to two in fewer strides than most of the other entries before wrapping tightly to the double combination and effortlessly flying across the Grand Prix Arena, keeping all fences intact. He crossed the timers in 39.981 seconds, claiming the lead and winning the class.
Source: Press release
Photo: Tori Bilas