The Kentucky sunset offered a picturesque backdrop for the first feature class of the weekend at the Bluegrass Festival Horse Show. A total of 43 horse-and-athlete combinations took to the Rolex Stadium to vie for top honors in the $25,000 Bluegrass Classic. At the completion of an exciting 12-horse jump-off, it was Lorcan Gallagher and Hunter’s Conlypso II who closed out the evening at the top of the leaderboard, with Samantha Schaefer and Frasier following closely in second, and Celso Ariani aboard Ukulman De La Nutria finishing in third.
Set for the occasion, course designer Peter Grant (CAN) built the 1.50m course around the large arena testing horse-and-rider partnerships with wide oxers, a triple combination, and a one stride. Giving some trouble to the first few entries, the crowd did not see a clear round effort until eighth in the order. Samantha Schaefer and Frasier, owned by Bonne Vie LLC, put their partnership to the test by laying down the first fault-free effort of the night with a time of 77.661 seconds. Immediately following was Jimmy Torano aboard his own Chewbacca, who blazed through the timers clean and within the time allowed at 78.369 seconds. The trend continued as Filippo Pignatti aboard Ideaal ES, and Ariani aboard Ukulman De La Nutria added their names to the 12-horse jump-off list.
The shortened track consisted of eight elements, including 8A and 8B, tight rollback turns, and one vertical that was not included in the first round. Jump-off contenders were not phased by the new track as they put their best rides forward in order to take home top honors.
Jumping off in the order they qualified, Schaefer and the 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding set the bar high as they jumped clean and quick to a time of 41.193 seconds. Next to contend over the shortened track was Torano and the 10 year-old Holsteiner gelding. Leaving all the jumps up, the pair rode to a clean round time just short of Schaefer’s at 43.950 seconds. Pignatti and Ideaal ES laid down the third fault-free ride of the night over the jump-off track with a time of 48.131 seconds, keeping them out of top contention.
Ariani and the 14-year-old Selle Francais gelding were next to compete under the lights. The pair produced another fault-free round, but a mere two seconds kept them from earning the top prize as they cleared the final fence at 43.720 seconds. Kalvin Dobbs and Evita DKG were next to contest, leaving all the jumps up and riding to a time of 46.200 seconds to ultimately place 6th overall. Halfway through the jump-off order, Sarah Hubbard and Latino Van De Looise Hei took to the stadium with speed, but an unfortunate refusal and parting of ways at fence 8a landed the pair in 12th overall.
Strong jumpoff contender, Kelli Cruciotti-Vanderveen and Isabella Van De Zuuthoeve laid down their second clear effort of the night, landing them in fourth place overall with a time of 43.939 seconds. Nearing the end of the jump-off list, Gallagher and the 14-year-old Hanoverian gelding took on the challenge to contest with Schaefer’s 2-second lead. The pair wasted no time in the air and covered the ground with efficiency as they rode to the new fastest time of 40.524 seconds, knocking Schaefer into second place by 0.6 seconds.
Not to be outdone by the professionals, the accomplished junior rider Augusta Iwasaki and her mount Fresca carefully dashed around the shortened track in hopes of stealing the lead. Iwasaki piloted Fresca to a new fastest time 39.444 seconds, but an unfortunate knockdown at the final oxer left the pair settling for a 10th place finish. Kara Jones and End Game, Chris Ewanouski and Echo VH Gerendal Z, and Mattias Ekeroth aboard Haydee M all completed the shortened track, but none were able to shake up the top three placings.
For Gallagher, winning today’s class was a special one for him and his partner of five years. “I haven’t been showing [Hunters Conlypso II] a lot due to an injury last year, so this is his first Grand Prix back,” commented Gallegher. “He is always a mister reliable for me.”
REULSTS $25,000 Bluegrass Classic
Place / Horse / Rider / Owner / Time / Faults
1. Hunters Conlypso II / Lorcan Gallagher / Dacantos Group / 78.068 | 0 / 40.524 | 0
2. Frasier / Samantha Schaefer / Bonne Vie LLC / 77.611 | 0 / 41.193 | 0
3. Ukulman De La Nutria / Celso Ariani / Ricardo Romero / 79.651 | 0 / 43.72 | 0
4. Isabella Van De Zuuthoeve / Kelly Cruciotti Vanderveen / Serenity Farm / 81.022 | 0 / 42.939
5. Chewbacca / Jimmy Torano / Jimmy Torano / 78.369 | 0 / 43.95 | 0
6. Evita DKG / Kalvin Dobbs / Treesdale Farms / 80.644 | 0 / 46.2 | 0
7. Echo VH Gerendal Z / Chris Ewanouski / Sky Group / 81.590 | 0 / 47.702 | 0
8. Ideaal ES / Filippo Pignatti / Take The High Road LLC / 83.3111 | 0 / 48.131 | 0
9. End Game / Kara Jones / Kara Jones / 83.352 | 0 / 48.514 | 0
10. Fresca / Augusta Iwasaki / Iwasaki & Reilly & Huckleberry Farm / 81.400 | 0 / 39.444 | 4
11. Haydee M / Mattias Ekeroth / Mattias Ekeroth LLC / 80.976 | 0 / 48.875 | 4
12. Latino Van De Looise Hei / Sarah Hubbard / Hubbard Horses LLC / 76.406 | 0 / EL
