The $25,000 Welcome Grand Prix was the highlight of the day in the SmartPak Grand Prix Ring at Equifest I at Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, IL. Thirty-one entries took a swing at the Manuel Esparza designed course. Esparza, of Mexico City, Mexico, was an Assistant Designer for the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing in 2008. Tracy Fenney and Andrew Kocher took the top five spots in the class. Thirteen horses cleared the first track to move into the jump-off with jump number seven, an oxer after a left hand turn with wavy planks, coming down frequently along with a skinny vertical after the triple bar in a short five strides, also taking its toll on the riders. Esparza set a wide oxer at the end of the track riding away from the gate, which cost more riders their chance at the jump-off. Kocher, of Lake St. Louis, Missouri, had seven chances for the top check with five of those chances moving into the jump-off phase. Tracy Fenney of Flower Mound, TX had three horses in the class with all three making the jump-off. Kocher rode Filip first to test out the jump-off track but left the ring with 8 faults. Fenney went back first on MTM Grand Slam and also added 8 faults to their score, having rails at the in-and-out. Kocher then had his chance on Ora Del Te Di La San Giorgio, owned by Ora Del Te LLC, and was the first clean of six, setting the pace at 38.011 seconds. The Fenney-Kocher chase continued as Fenney rode MTM Dumbledorf to a clear round, but not quite fast enough to catch Kocher with a 41.578 second ride. Kocher took another turn, this time with Bologna, owned by Shalanno Farms, Inc., putting in another fault-free trip with a blazing time of 37.380 seconds to take over the lead. Holly Shepherd tried to break up the battle with Loretta Patterson's Triomph, but wasn't quite fast enough with her 42.719 seconds. But Kocher and Fenney weren't done yet. Kocher and his own Le Conte, clocked in at 39.864 seconds with Fenney yet to go on MTM Reve Du Paradis. The Texan pulled out the big guns for a neat and tidy round, tripping the timer in 36.155 seconds to steal the lead. For an exciting round on Casino Royal, Kocher's last ride, he galloped across the ring to catch the fastest time of the class, 35.782 seconds, but caught a rail in the in-and-out, leaving Fenney and MTM Reve Du Paradis the winners. Kocher took the second place spot with Bologna, third with Ora Del Te La San Giorgio and fourth with Le Conte. Fenney and MTM Dubledorf finished fifth and Holly Shepherd and Triompf were sixth. "I really love this horse's willingness and he's super brave and gives a good effort every time," Fenney said of the big 10-year-old gray. "I never really got to see Andy (Kocher) go but I watched Dory (customer Dorothy Douglas) go and she was slow from one to two. I saw her go around the oxer and do four in the last line; she did 38 (seconds) so I knew I could go around and still be fast."
The $25,000 Welcome Grand Prix was the highlight of the day in the SmartPak Grand Prix Ring at Equifest I at Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, IL. Thirty-one entries took a swing at the Manuel Esparza designed course. Esparza, of Mexico City, Mexico, was an Assistant Designer for the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing in 2008. Tracy Fenney and Andrew Kocher took the top five spots in the class. Thirteen horses cleared the first track to move into the jump-off with jump number seven, an oxer after a left hand turn with wavy planks, coming down frequently along with a skinny vertical after the triple bar in a short five strides, also taking its toll on the riders. Esparza set a wide oxer at the end of the track riding away from the gate, which cost more riders their chance at the jump-off. Kocher, of Lake St. Louis, Missouri, had seven chances for the top check with five of those chances moving into the jump-off phase. Tracy Fenney of Flower Mound, TX had three horses in the class with all three making the jump-off. Kocher rode Filip first to test out the jump-off track but left the ring with 8 faults. Fenney went back first on MTM Grand Slam and also added 8 faults to their score, having rails at the in-and-out. Kocher then had his chance on Ora Del Te Di La San Giorgio, owned by Ora Del Te LLC, and was the first clean of six, setting the pace at 38.011 seconds. The Fenney-Kocher chase continued as Fenney rode MTM Dumbledorf to a clear round, but not quite fast enough to catch Kocher with a 41.578 second ride. Kocher took another turn, this time with Bologna, owned by Shalanno Farms, Inc., putting in another fault-free trip with a blazing time of 37.380 seconds to take over the lead. Holly Shepherd tried to break up the battle with Loretta Patterson's Triomph, but wasn't quite fast enough with her 42.719 seconds. But Kocher and Fenney weren't done yet. Kocher and his own Le Conte, clocked in at 39.864 seconds with Fenney yet to go on MTM Reve Du Paradis. The Texan pulled out the big guns for a neat and tidy round, tripping the timer in 36.155 seconds to steal the lead. For an exciting round on Casino Royal, Kocher's last ride, he galloped across the ring to catch the fastest time of the class, 35.782 seconds, but caught a rail in the in-and-out, leaving Fenney and MTM Reve Du Paradis the winners. Kocher took the second place spot with Bologna, third with Ora Del Te La San Giorgio and fourth with Le Conte. Fenney and MTM Dubledorf finished fifth and Holly Shepherd and Triompf were sixth. "I really love this horse's willingness and he's super brave and gives a good effort every time," Fenney said of the big 10-year-old gray. "I never really got to see Andy (Kocher) go but I watched Dory (customer Dorothy Douglas) go and she was slow from one to two. I saw her go around the oxer and do four in the last line; she did 38 (seconds) so I knew I could go around and still be fast."