Kocher and Navalo De Poheton bested a large class of 53 entries, as each horse and rider combination tried to capitalize on the difficult track set by Oscar Soberon (MEX). Only seven pairs advanced to the jump-off round, with three of the qualified riders incurring four jumping faults. The time was tight to beat in the first round, nearly adding five more combinations to the jump-off, but a single time fault kept them from taking their turn around the short course.
“I think course building is hard. It’s hard to get it right, but I thought that Oscar [Soberon] did a great job tonight,” said Kocher. “He used a lot of old fashioned elements around the track. There was that hedge and some filling in the jumps that I think made some horses look or even get a bit more careful.”
“The smaller ‘S’ curve in the middle of the track caught people off guard and A to B of the triple combination started to back people off a bit, but he got seven in the jump-off, which was the number you were really looking for,” he added.
Knowing that a strong contingent of fast riders was slated to enter the George H. Morris Arena behind him in the jump-off, Kocher was prepared to produce a fast round, but wanted to try and avoid making risky errors, which he admitted are typically is downfall.
“The mistakes that I usually make are going way too fast and having rails down. I knew I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to go fast, but be comfortable and try to leave two out in the last line. I got lucky with Kristen [Vanderveen]. I think she could have left three out and would have beat me by a mile,” he laughed.
Navalo De Poheton, a 2001 Selle Francais gelding (Cumano x Double Espoir) owned by MKO Equestrian LLC, spent most of his upper level international career with U.S. rider Schuyler Riley before changing hands to Kocher and team earlier this season. Originally purchased as a potential sale horse for an amateur rider, Kocher quickly realized the gelding had not yet had enough of the grand prix atmosphere.
“He was Schuyler Riley’s top horse for many years. He injured himself shipping back from Spruce Meadows and had been laid up and rehabbing for some time. I anticipated selling him as a Low Child/Adult jumper, but he can get a bit strong and has an attitude, so I decided to try and jump him myself and the rest has been history,” he explained. “He’s probably my top horse at the moment. When we first started together, he won two grand prix classes in Tulsa, OK, and then we went to Devon and won there too.”
Kristen Vanderveen captured the FEI Leading Lady Jumper Rider Award presented by Meg Atkinson of Town & Country Realtors once again this circuit, based on her winning performance in the $35,000 Suncast® Commercial Welcome Stake CSI 3* on Thursday aboard Bull Run’s Faustino De Tili and her fifth place finish in this evening’s grand prix. Andrew Kocher’s groom, Chance Williams, was presented with the Absorbine® FEI Groom’s Award, which honors the groom of the winning grand prix combination, shining well-deserved light on their hard work and commitment to the care and well-being of the winning mount.
Click here to view final results for the $130,000 Ariat® Grand Prix CSI 3*.
