The $15,000 Adequan® Young Jumper Six-Year-Old Final was held in the International Ring Fridaymorning with a win for Adolpho Franco aboard Beth Franco’s Mia. Anthony D’Ambrosio (USA) set the course for 45 entries, and yielded 24 to advance to the jump-off. The jump-off was held with an a/b option for riders to either jump the short course immediately following their round or wait until the end. Franco jumped at the end of the class and returned for his jump-off last to go with Mia, clocking the winning time of 33.98 seconds. The pair finished well ahead of second place finishers Ronan McGuigan and Blythe Masters’ Maximus, who jumped off immediately after their earlier round in a time of 36.26 seconds. David Beisel and Harlow Investment Enterprises’ For Sunday also jumped off at the end with a time of 37.14 seconds to finish third. James Wingrave and his own Casio-Royale also took the b option and finished their jump-off round in 37.80 seconds to place fourth. Class winner, Mia, is a six-year-old Holsteiner mare by Quick Star x Contender, owned and home bred by Franco and his wife, Beth Goodwin Franco. Speaking of his winning mount, Franco stated, “Since she was four years old she has just been nice, wanting to go, and wanting to do the right thing. She just took care of me. I do not know if she is going to jump big classes like 1.60m or 1.50m, but whatever she does, she will do very well. “My wife rides her more than I do, but she is nine months pregnant, so I took the ride,” Franco noted. “Whatever she does, and for whoever it is, she is going to give her best every single time. Even at home when she is flatting, she is a happy horse. She is always lovely. She is just a great horse.” Franco explained that week six of WEF was the first time that he got a good feel for how competitive Mia could be. “In week six in the Mogavero Ring, that was the first time that I actually went for it in the jump-off with her, and she loved it,” he stated. “When I came in here (in the International Ring), I knew that I could go for everything and that she would give me everything. She is a small horse, but she has very long legs. If you keep her contained, she has a nice sized stride, but when you open her up, her stride is huge. I knew I could count on that. From jumps one to two, everybody else did eight or nine strides, and I did eight short. To the oxer by the in-gate, it looked like she knew where she was going, but she came flying and then when I did the turn I think she saw something outside the ring and she jumped it way inside. I really have no idea how she cleared it, but then she ran for the last two, and finished great.” The $10,000 Gut Einhaus Young Jumper Five-Year-Old Final was held Friday morning, awarding prize money for clear rounds overall from the promising young horses of show jumping sport. Thirteen entries jumped clear rounds to be rewarded for their efforts. Concluding the day in the International Ring on Friday, Alonso Valdez Prado and Chichester 3 won the $2,500 MAYBACH – ICONS OF LUXURY High Amateur-Owner Jumper power and speed.
