The third day of the Showplace Productions Spring Spectacular III opened with a bang on Thursday as the skies threatened another day of torrential rain. Luckily for the Lamplight Equestrian Center, the grey clouds lifted and the sun returned to the facility in enough time for a full day slated with action. The Grand Prix Ring was alive with action early in the morning with the Young Jumper Championships, but the heat turned up later in the day when riders faced off in the $20,000 Open Welcome Stake, sponsored by The Novak Family. The master of speed, Lisa Goldman captured the win aboard Morocco with the blazing time of 42.015 seconds, breaking their three-week drought. Only eight of the 23 competitors were able to master Anderson Lima's Welcome Stake track. It was a course that asked questions and demanded answers, showing its technical nuisances through a vertical-vertical combination, an oxer-vertical combination, rollbacks and long runs between fences. The jump-off proved no easier for those who qualified. Tracy Fenney was the first to take on the shortened track, setting a four-fault trend as she pulled a rail at one of two problematic verticals with MTM Reve du Paradis. Dorothy Douglas and S&L Elite followed in her footsteps, while Paul Yanke and Chill Haze found fault at the same spot but raced through the timers to take the fourth place finish as the fastest of the four faulters with the astounding time of 39.996 seconds. Lina Rojas was the first to clear the course, racing through the timer with Ramdam de Dry in 42.269 seconds. Megan Moshontz-Bash followed closely after with the second of the clean jump-off rides; however, she rode it more conservatively, falling shy of Rojas' pace with Pourkoipa Fontaine in 43.416 seconds. Lisa Goldman was the last of the eight to take on the track, but today the best came last. Goldman rode Morocco through the course in 42.015 seconds, focusing on going double clear versus running the speedster off his feet.
The third day of the Showplace Productions Spring Spectacular III opened with a bang on Thursday as the skies threatened another day of torrential rain. Luckily for the Lamplight Equestrian Center, the grey clouds lifted and the sun returned to the facility in enough time for a full day slated with action. The Grand Prix Ring was alive with action early in the morning with the Young Jumper Championships, but the heat turned up later in the day when riders faced off in the $20,000 Open Welcome Stake, sponsored by The Novak Family. The master of speed, Lisa Goldman captured the win aboard Morocco with the blazing time of 42.015 seconds, breaking their three-week drought. Only eight of the 23 competitors were able to master Anderson Lima's Welcome Stake track. It was a course that asked questions and demanded answers, showing its technical nuisances through a vertical-vertical combination, an oxer-vertical combination, rollbacks and long runs between fences. The jump-off proved no easier for those who qualified. Tracy Fenney was the first to take on the shortened track, setting a four-fault trend as she pulled a rail at one of two problematic verticals with MTM Reve du Paradis. Dorothy Douglas and S&L Elite followed in her footsteps, while Paul Yanke and Chill Haze found fault at the same spot but raced through the timers to take the fourth place finish as the fastest of the four faulters with the astounding time of 39.996 seconds. Lina Rojas was the first to clear the course, racing through the timer with Ramdam de Dry in 42.269 seconds. Megan Moshontz-Bash followed closely after with the second of the clean jump-off rides; however, she rode it more conservatively, falling shy of Rojas' pace with Pourkoipa Fontaine in 43.416 seconds. Lisa Goldman was the last of the eight to take on the track, but today the best came last. Goldman rode Morocco through the course in 42.015 seconds, focusing on going double clear versus running the speedster off his feet.