Joao Eduardo Ferreira De Carvalho knew he had a winner on his hands with And Action. He proved it to all in attendance at Flintfields Horse Park on Saturday of the third week of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival (GLEF), as the duo took top honors in the $30,000 Traverse City National Grand Prix.
Over a track built by Bernardo Costa Cabral (POR), the duo was one of eight to jump clear and advance to the jump-off, going up against other top international athletes for the biggest prize. Hoping for her second win of the week in the Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel, Cathleen Driscoll posted a quick time to beat aboard Magnolia, owned by Plain Bay Farm. But, ultimately placed second after her time was improved upon by Ferreira De Carvalho. Jacob Pope and Hannah Hink’s Casper claimed third place with another double-clear effort.
And Action, an 11-year-old Oldenburg mare owned by Evergreen Stables LLC, has miles up to the CSI5* level, but since Ferreira De Carvalho acquired the ride, the horse has been most comfortable at the 1.45m height.
“The horse is from Teddi Pritzker; she is a client of Team KPF,” Ferreira De Carvalho said. “It's a pleasure to ride the mare, and she’s a super, super mare. I've been riding her since the end of last year. We’ve had great results in the 1.40m. I won four or five classes, and now we’re building her to the grand prix level again. She’s going really well.”
The mare was up for the task Saturday, but it helped them being second to last in the jump-off order. Ultimately, the win was a step in the right direction towards their goal. “It was a good step because the jump-off had eight so it was really fast,” Ferreira De Carvalho remarked. “I had to push a little more than normal and she was perfect.
“We were lucky to go at the end,” Ferreira De Carvalho continued about his jump-off strategy with And Action. “We saw [Cathleen Driscoll] jumping off and saw what she did. I think I turned really tight to the last vertical and did nine strides to the last line, so that made us faster than she was at the end of the jump-off.”
While the win is a big move in the build-up of the horse, they don’t have any major expectations as the mare continues to progress. “We go day by day,” he explained. “We don’t have big plans so we go step by step.”