Ocala, FL – Thirty-two rising stars of show jumping showcased their skills at the WEC Grand Arena during the highlight event of the afternoon, the $15,000 Buckeye Nutrition Futures Prix. Peter Grant’s (CAN) tracks proved to be quite the challenge as only three horse-and-rider combinations managed to yield a double-clear effort. Ultimately, it was Daniel Coyle (IRL) who secured yet another feature class victory, this time riding Lovely Boy P (Arezzo VDL x G-Trio P), owned by Ariel Grange.
Leading the way, Daniel Coyle and Lovely Boy P made light work of Grant’s first-round track, securing a spot in the immediate jump-off. “I knew I could be quick, and I was early to go, but the classes here can be really competitive,” he shared. “[Lovely Boy P] does everything correct, but he’s actually a very fast horse over the jumps and from one to another.”
Coyle piloted the eight-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding to a blistering fast track in an untouchable 38.616 seconds to ultimately gallop away with the victory.
Coyle spoke about the promising young gelding, “He came from the Wellington Sport Horse Auction as a five-year-old. He always goes very correct and has been a special horse since the beginning. He is a lovely horse, so the name suits him,” laughed Coyle. “He didn’t know the sport too well at first. Actually, our other rider, Vaclav Stanek showed him at Spruce Meadows this past summer and he really developed there. After our round today, it looks like he’s grown up a lot and I’m looking forward to more from him.”
“Today was a stepping stone to see where he is at, he will probably do another one of these or two to see how he goes. If all goes well, we may try a national grand prix. But this class is so great because it’s like a grand prix, not at the height, but the same type of competitiveness. It’s amazing for the young horses and the horses coming back to the top of the sport.”
Rachel Schnurr (CAN), last week’s Futures Prix winner, secured second place aboard her own 10-year-old Warmblood gelding Copain De Picobello Z (Cicero Z Van Paemel x Only Picobello Z), delivering a speedy jump-off round in 41.190 seconds.
Rebecca Conway (USA) was the only other athlete to find a double-clear effort. She piloted Hilington Farm’s 14-year-old Swedish Warmblood mare Jersey Girl (Careful x Julie Rose) to a swift round just a hair slower than Schnurr in 41.416 seconds to round out the top three.
$15,000 Buckeye Nutrition Futures Prix Results:
1 Lovely Boy P, Daniel Coyle, Ariel Grange: 0 | 0 | 38.616
2 Copain De Picobello Z, Rachel Schnurr, Rachel Schnurr: 0 | 0 | 41.190
3 Jersey Girl, Rebecca Conway, Hilington Farm: 0 | 0 | 41.416
4 House, Megan Wexler, MacKenzie McGehee: 0 | 4 | 41.163
5 Ashton Dakota, Rowan Willis, Rowan Willis: 0 | 4 | 41.910
6 Bonjour BF, Penny Brennan, Penny Brennan: 0 | 4 | 43.045
7 Hunter Van’t Spoor, Clayton Fredericks, Clayton Fredericks: 0 | 8 | 48.349
8 Take-Off Diara PS, Rodrigo Lambre, Rodrigo Lambre: 0 | EL
9 Callypso De La Hamente Z, Maya Denis, Maya Denis: 4 | 75.765
10 Flugel Der Freiheit, Peter Leone, Lionshare Jumps LLC: 4 | 78.066
Visit HorseShowing.com for final results.
Spectators are welcome! From now until March 24, 2024, experience the thrill of the 2024 Winter Spectacular Show Series at World Equestrian Center – Ocala. Explore the daily class schedule, orders of go, class counts, and final results on HorseShowing.com. For real-time scoring, check out Ryegate.Live.
A limited number of weekly stalls remain for the 2024 Winter Spectacular Show Series, book your stall today!
Photos courtesy of Andrew Ryback Photography.
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