Friday morning at the Kentucky Spring Classic opened with the $5,000 1.45m Open Jumpers to kick off jumper competition in the Rolex Stadium, which saw 32 horse-and-rider combinations test over Kelvin Bywater’s (GBR) 13-effort track. Seven pairs produced clear rounds to ride to an immediate 6-obstacle jump-off where Andy Kocher and Eye Candy Jumpers’ Darius De W captured the fastest time of 31.915 seconds to earn the first win of the morning. Following in second was Ryan Genn, with Hardin Towell finishing in third. Genn set the early pace with the first double-clear finish in a quick time of 32.139 seconds aboard Taylor Reid’s Dieta. The time set forth by Genn and the 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare would remain unbeatable through a large duration of the class as athletes chased the pair’s double-clear effort. Towell and his Oakmont Stables LLC entry, Joli Jumper, a 10-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding, challenged Genn 12 rounds later with the next fault-free jump-off round in 34.737 seconds, but fell short of the leading time. Kocher and the 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding followed after three combinations to produce the next double-clear round, flying to the fastest time of 31.915 seconds to best Genn and Towell’s top two times. All three leading riders topped the class aboard new mounts for the 2019 show year. In his early partnership with Kocher, Darius De W marked his first big victory Friday morning at the Kentucky Spring Classic. FROM THE WINNER’S CIRCLE Andy Kocher – $5,000 1.45m Open Jumpers winner On Darius: “He’s just stepping up to this level. One of my owners, Eye Candy Jumpers, bought him last year in England and we’ve slowly been bringing him along through WEF and now here to Kentucky. I’m hoping he’s going to be a nice 1.50m horse or more. We’re just getting going and I would say this is his first big win. He has won some 1.40m classes, but this is his first 1.45m win so we’re excited about him.” On the course: “Jacqueline [Steffens] who works for me was first to go in the class and I was tied up so I wasn’t able to walk the course, but I came and watch her go. I didn’t really know the course or the strides, so I had Jackie explain and set jumps. She wanted to tell me the jump-off and I thought ‘oh, she can tell me later.’ I went clear so I ran over to the in-gate and she told me the jump-off then. He jumped really well and I got lucky and we won a class.”
$5,000 1.45m Open Jumper
1. Darius De W / Andrew Kocher / 0 | 66.281 / 0 | 31.915 2. Dieta / Ryan Genn / 0 | 59.961 / 0 | 32.139 3. Joli Jumper / Hardin Towell / 0 | 65.845 / 0 | 34.737 4. Chaccomo 11 / Theo Genn / 0 | 66.286 / 0 | 41.874 5. Freaky Liefhebber / Jacqueline Steffens / 0 | 63.668 / 4 | 33.166 6. Chippendale’s Boy DZ / Sloane Coles / 0 | 65.586 / 4 | 34.398 7. Vragance Manciaise / Teddy Vlock / 0 | 62.202 / 4 | 36.004 8. Randon Pleasure / Fabio Costa / 4 | 60.038 9. E’special P.S. / Karl Cook / 4 | 61.831 10. Bull Run’s Prince Of Peace / Kristen Vanderveen / 4 | 62.281 11. Firewall / Theo Genn / 4 | 63.412 12. Imogen De Regor / Callan Solem / 4 | 63.553
Friday morning at the Kentucky Spring Classic opened with the $5,000 1.45m Open Jumpers to kick off jumper competition in the Rolex Stadium, which saw 32 horse-and-rider combinations test over Kelvin Bywater’s (GBR) 13-effort track. Seven pairs produced clear rounds to ride to an immediate 6-obstacle jump-off where Andy Kocher and Eye Candy Jumpers’ Darius De W captured the fastest time of 31.915 seconds to earn the first win of the morning. Following in second was Ryan Genn, with Hardin Towell finishing in third. Genn set the early pace with the first double-clear finish in a quick time of 32.139 seconds aboard Taylor Reid’s Dieta. The time set forth by Genn and the 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare would remain unbeatable through a large duration of the class as athletes chased the pair’s double-clear effort. Towell and his Oakmont Stables LLC entry, Joli Jumper, a 10-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding, challenged Genn 12 rounds later with the next fault-free jump-off round in 34.737 seconds, but fell short of the leading time. Kocher and the 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding followed after three combinations to produce the next double-clear round, flying to the fastest time of 31.915 seconds to best Genn and Towell’s top two times. All three leading riders topped the class aboard new mounts for the 2019 show year. In his early partnership with Kocher, Darius De W marked his first big victory Friday morning at the Kentucky Spring Classic. FROM THE WINNER’S CIRCLE Andy Kocher – $5,000 1.45m Open Jumpers winner On Darius: “He’s just stepping up to this level. One of my owners, Eye Candy Jumpers, bought him last year in England and we’ve slowly been bringing him along through WEF and now here to Kentucky. I’m hoping he’s going to be a nice 1.50m horse or more. We’re just getting going and I would say this is his first big win. He has won some 1.40m classes, but this is his first 1.45m win so we’re excited about him.” On the course: “Jacqueline [Steffens] who works for me was first to go in the class and I was tied up so I wasn’t able to walk the course, but I came and watch her go. I didn’t really know the course or the strides, so I had Jackie explain and set jumps. She wanted to tell me the jump-off and I thought ‘oh, she can tell me later.’ I went clear so I ran over to the in-gate and she told me the jump-off then. He jumped really well and I got lucky and we won a class.”