Wilmington, OH – Another picturesque spring day set the scene for the highlight event of the week, the $25,000 Dandy Products Grand Prix. A talented field of horse-and-rider combinations showcased their skills over Bobby Murphy’s (USA) technical tracks, but it was Francisco Goyoaga Mollet (ESP) who forged two new successful partnerships to secure podium finishes.
Four talented combinations managed to jump clear over Murphy’s first round track, leading to a jump-off battle among Spain, Ireland and the United States.
Mollet successfully piloted both of his entries, Livingstone Van Het Peggershof and Pst De Muze, both owned by Ashland Farms, to the jump-off. He returned first aboard the 13-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding, Livingstone Van Het Peggershof (Ogano Sitte x Thunder Vd Zuuthoeve).
Just having one jump school on Livingstone Van Het Peggershof the week before, Mollet was confident in the horse’s abilities, “He’s a brand-new horse we just got from Europe a week ago. I jumped him once at home, and he was amazing, so I was expecting a good day of jumping.”
Mollet delivered with his new partner, clocking in an uncatchable 37.028 seconds to ultimately gallop away with the victory.
“My plan was to try to win the class with [Livingstone Van Het Peggershof] and go fast. With my second horse, Pst De Muze, we just got her last Monday, so I’ve only had her for a few days. I didn’t want to go too fast; I wanted to save her for the big grand prix coming up. She’s a naturally quick mare, so it was easy to get a good placing.”
Thursday’s Welcome Stake winner and today’s Futures Prix winner, Kevin Gallagher (IRL), snagged second place honors aboard Freedom Group’s Campinas 4 (Capitello x Aluta). Gallagher and the eight-year-old Westphalian gelding flew around the track, stopping the clock just shy of the winning time at 37.921 seconds, sliding into second place on the leaderboard.
Nikko Ritter (USA) and Wendy Peralta’s Kandle (Kannan x Ceska) gave a good effort but couldn’t quite match the pace, finishing in 38.923 seconds.
Mollet had one more opportunity to add another top placing to his roster. He and his other new partner, Pst De Muze (Vigo D Arsouilles Stx x Angela De Kreisker), a nine-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare, secured third place with a time of 38.514 seconds.
Mollet has enjoyed his time riding outside at World Equestrian Center – Wilmington. “I’ve shown here indoors in the winter, but this is my first time competing outside,” he shared. “I think the arena is great. The footing is fantastic, there is great material and beautiful jumps. The pond feature in the middle of the ring makes it feel really fancy. It’s a fantastic show.”
$25,000 Dandy Products Grand Prix Results:
1 Livingstone Van Het Peggershof, Francisco Goyoaga Mollet (ESP), Ashland Farms: 0 | 0 | 37.028
2 Campinas 4, Kevin Gallagher (IRL), Freedom Group: 0 | 0 | 37.921
3 Pst De Muze, Francisco Goyoaga Mollet (ESP), Ashland Farms: 0 | 0 | 38.514
4 Kandle, Nikko Ritter (USA), Wendy Peralta: 0 | 0 | 38.923
5 Jazil Du Houssoit, Kady Abrahamson (USA), Abrahamson Equestrian LLC: 0 | 4 | 37.407
6 Covert Enigma, Patricio Rodriguez (ARG), Patricio Rodriguez: 4 | 73.781
7 Any, Kady Abrahamson (USA), Abrahamson Equestrian LLC: 4 | 74.098
8 Hj Bline Date, Molly Kindness (USA), Molly Kindness: 4 | 74.220
Kevin Gallagher and Ninja Bf Prevail in the $7,500 Futures Prix
Nineteen future stars of show jumping gathered at the beautifully decorated Outdoor Jumper Ring at World Equestrian Center – Wilmington. Bobby Murphy (USA) designed the intricate courses that resulted in six double-clear efforts, but it was Ireland’s Kevin Gallagher who clinched victory by just two tenths of a second aboard Richard Kirby’s Ninja Bf (Chacoon Blue x Pearl).
Despite being only six years old, Ninja Bf, a KPWN gelding, has already achieved notable success, according to Gallagher. “We just got him in January of this year, and he won the Six-Year-Old Young Jumper Finals in Wellington, Florida, this winter. This was his first test since the final. It felt easy for him; he jumped around like an eight- or nine-year-old.”
Gallagher and Ninja Bf made light work of the first round track, leaving all rails in place to advance to the immediate jump-off. “He’s naturally not as fast as some of the other horses in the class, so to win, I had to take a tight inside turn. He handled it quite well.”
With a time of 33.074 seconds, Gallagher and Ninja Bf emerged victorious. Gallagher was aiming for this class for the aspiring superstar. “I picked this show because it’s the perfect class to step him up without making too big of a leap. It’s just a little bit bigger than the six-year-old classes, and now he just needs to mature a bit more. He has all the making to be a grand prix horse in the future.”
Gallagher couldn’t be happier with his results this week, “This is my fourth week showing here. We did a show in October and November. It’s an incredible venue. It feels like a five-star competition; the surfaces are unbelievable, and we’ve had a great experience each time we’ve been here. My eight-year-old won the Welcome Stake on Thursday and was second in the [$25,000 Dandy Products Grand Prix] today, so it’s been an amazing week!”
Nikko Ritter achieved yet another podium finish this week, this time aboard Oak Meadow Ranch, LLC’s nine-year-old Zangersheide mare, Posey Girl Z (Presley Boy x Qroqant Z), with a swift jump-off time of 33.224 seconds for second place.
Maria Costa rounded out the top three on Ravello Farm, LLC’s Iceman B Sfn (Mylord Carthago x Pammela) with a time of 35.832 seconds.
$7,500 Futures Prix Results:
1 Ninja Bf, Kevin Gallagher, Richard Kirby: 0 | 0 | 33.074
2 Posey Girl Z, Nikko Ritter, Oak Meadow Ranch, LLC: 0 | 0 | 33.224
3 Iceman B Sfn, Maria Costa, Ravello Farms, LLC: 0 | 0 | 35.832
4 Goldfish, Melissa Donnelly, Fawn Lake Farm LLC: 0 | 0 | 35.989
5 Vancouver, Kady Abrahamson, Abrahamson Equestrian LLC: 0 | 0 | 36.355
6 Ballerina-Hoem, Kelly Arani, Marigot Bay Farm, LLC: 0 | 0 | 37.193
7 Jackson Vdl, Megan Bash, Marigot Bay Farm, LLC: 0 | 4 | 33.548
8 Early Moon Du Favil, Catalina Peralta, Wendy Peralta: 0 | 4 | 34.399
9 Igor Van Gogh, Amy Taylor, Amy Taylor: 0 | 4 | 35.269
10 Destiny, Megan Bash, Courtney Pisani: 0 | 8 | 37.563
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Results can be found at horseshowing.com.
All horse show images are provided by Winslow Photography and can be purchased onsite at WEC – Wilmington or online through their website.