Will Simpson and The Dude Do It Again in the Showpark All Seasons Grand Prix

Saturday afternoon highlights at the Del Mar Horse Park included the $50,000 Showpark All Seasons Grand Prix and the $20,000 Interactive Mortgage Horses 10 & Under Futurity Final. Catsy Cruz of Mexico set the tracks, with her educated eye on encouraging the young horses and challenging the 1.50m show jumpers. Will Simpson and The Dude (Nicole Walker, owner) illustrated their dynamic partnership once again by leading the grand prix victory gallop, and Bjorn Ikast rode his nine-year-old, Supernatural, to the win in the futurity finals.

"I enjoyed setting for this class. The material here is fantastic and this ring gives you a lot of room to set these courses," FEI course designer Cruz said. "In the grand prix, I set the triple at the end of this course to test the riders' ability to keep their horses focused. I also set some fences that might present riders with some problems, like the triple bar to the tight skinny vertical. I made the time quite fast; they must keep the pace, especially on the long gallops."

With the variety of questions asked, jumps fell throughout the 16 effort track, but as noted, the 'A' element of the triple combination came down repeatedly. As Cruz expected, the time allowed was tight, and over half the class incurred time faults. Two riders finished with time faults only, just missing the chance to ride the shortened course for the blue.

Four of the thirty-four entries returned for the jump-off. First to go was Lane Clarke aboard Georgy Maskrey-Segesman's Balu U. Double clean and opting for both inside turns, he set the pace with a time of 37.84 seconds. Next in was Simpson and The Dude. Taking all the inside turns and never missing a beat, the pair clocked in with a very quick time of 35.86, shaving almost two seconds of Clarke's lead.

Eager to catch Simpson's blazing fast time, Michelle Parker rode Cross Creek Farm, Inc.'s Cupilor around a speedy track but barely rubbed and dropped the last rail, picking up four faults in 36.23. Last in the jump-off, Hanna Mauritzson aboard Parkmore Lux, chose to go for a clean, smooth ride, and succeeded in 37.97.

"Today I really kicked on the afterburners, which I love to do," Simpson mused. "We schooled early, so I got off the horse and went up to watch the horse before me. I learned that trick from my good friend, Mclain Ward. He always does that, watches on foot before going in. I did that today and it worked out really well. I came back and got on my horse so I knew the striding for both the eight-stride lines."

"The Dude has such an amazing gallop, you can see a fence that looks like it's a mile away and you go for what you think is a really long distance and you always get there gathering, which is a really fun thing in the jump-off," Simpson said. "He is a 10-year-old superstar. He won on Thursday and he came back and jumped even better today. It's amazing to have a horse at the end of the year that's as fresh as he is. It's an honor to be able to ride a horse with this kind of talent."

RESULTS
$50,000 Showpark All Seasons Grand Prix
Place - Entry Number - Horse - Rider - Owner - Faults/Time
1. 442 - The Dude - Will Simpson - Nicole Walker - 0/0/35.869

2. 321 - Balu U - Lane Clarke - Georgy Maskrey-Segesman - 0/0/37.840
3. 332 - Parkmore Lux - Hanna Mauritzson - Ritz Fuente, LLC - 0/0/37.972
4. 190 - Cupilor - Michelle Parker - Cross Creek Farms, Inc. - 0/4/36.237
5. 460 - Butterfly Tibri Z - Lindsay Douglass - Lindsay Douglass - 1/72.602
6. 234 - Venice B - Daniel Zilla - Branscombe Farm, LLC - 2/73.543
7. 374 - Concorde - Chris Pratt - Epic Group, LLC - 4/67.790
8. 484 - Anton - Jaime Azcarraga - Jaime Azcarraga - 4/68.964
9. 241 - Camerone - Lindsay Archer - Rhys Farms, LLC - 4/71.128
10. 212 - Dubai - Mavis Spencer - Neil Jones Equestrian, Inc. - 4/71.562
11. 228 - Conejito - Carol Wright - Carol Wright - 5/72.279