Grey is the New Blue as Taylor Flury & Cosmea Z Top the $25,000 WEC Grand Prix

Gray is the new blue tonight as Taylor Flury made her second trip to the winner’s circle aboard Cosmea Z (Calvados Z x Zianne) after the pair took top honors in the $25,000 WEC Grand Prix. Earlier in the week she rode Calano Z (Calato Z x Calvacolle Z) to victory in the $5,000 Welcome Stake 1.35 m.

$25,000 WEC Grand Prix

Tonight’s course for the $25,000 WEC Grand Prix was designed by Bobby Murphy of Lexington, Kentucky, and featured three combinations placed throughout the first round. The first clear round of the Grand Prix was laid down by Taylor Kain aboard The Gelt Group’s Shuttergold (Silvio I x Famose). The pair kept a steady rhythm, jumping a clear round in 76.896 seconds, about three seconds under the time allowed of 80 seconds.

Taylor Flury and Cosmea Z jumped flawlessly through their first round.

Next in the ring was Taylor Flury aboard Aliboo Farm, Inc.’s stunning gray mare Cosmea Z. Flury and Cosmea Z showed intense concentration throughout the course, jumping clear in a time of 74.688 seconds. Shortly after Flury and Cosmea Z’s round, Jason Berry entered the ring aboard Lee Cesery’s Quantos (El Darodo). Berry and his scopey mount also jumped a clear first round in a time of 75.129 seconds.

Taylor Flury took to the ring aboard her second mount, another stunning gray, Aliboo Farm, Inc.’s Calano Z, with whom she had won the $5,000 Welcome Stake 1.35 m earlier in the week. Though the pair were fast, stopping the clock at 73.402 seconds, they had one unfortunate rail. Finally, Taylor Kain and her own Caphur (Cardento x Phuria) rounded out the clear first-rounders, finishing the course in an impressive 72. 806 seconds, the fastest first round of the class.

Four entries returned for the jump off with Taylor Kain and Shuttergold first to go. The pair stopped the clock at 39.303 seconds, but with one unfortunate rail. Next to go was Taylor Flury aboard Cosmea Z who turned up the heat, with both horse and rider looking determined to win. They went clear and blazed through the timers at 38.271 seconds, challenging the last two entries to beat their round.

Taylor Kain and Caphur clear the World Equestrian Center fence.

Jason Berry was next to return aboard Quantos. Quantos matched his scopey first round until the final fence where an unfortunate misstep caused a rail. The pair were still quick, though, stopping the clock at 37.096 seconds. Last to go was Taylor Kain aboard Caphur. The pair seemed to have the win until the final fence where a rub pulled the front rail, costing them four faults. Kain and Caphur were slightly faster than Berry and Quantos at 37.029 seconds, moving them into second place and leaving Taylor Flury and Cosmea Z atop the leader board. Flury and Cosmea Z received a $100 Dandy Products gift certificate and a prize pack from Horse First for their win, on top of their other prizes, and Cosmea Z’s groom, Sarah March, received the Groom’s Award which included $100 cash and a $50 WEC Gift Card for Cosmea Z’s beautiful turnout.

Taylor Flury of Aliboo Farm in Minooka, Illinois stuck around after the class to chat with us for a few minutes. “This mare was my first horse to go and she was really good. She jumped really well and I was really happy with her,” said Flury. She went on to explain her strategy for the short round, “My plan in the jump off was just to be smooth and have a nice, easy round. Cosmea Z hasn’t done many big classes, so I thought I stuck to my plan and she jumped well and she felt really good tonight. Cosmea Z’s groom who received the Groom’s Award, Sarah March, is really excited for the win tonight. She has been Cosmea Z’s groom for years, and through all of our ups and downs she always tells me I need to believe in her and that she’s a great mare. So tonight is really great for her too, she really loves the horse.”

She added that she would like to thank fellow professional Sam Pegg for his help this week with Cosmea Z, “I need to make a shout out to Sam Pegg, because last week I struggled with this mare. I called him on Wednesday and he came right up to the ring and helped me. He suggested this new bit and tonight would not have been possible without him. It’s nice to have other professionals that are willing to be helpful as opposed to always being competitive!”

$25,000 WEC Grand Prix Results

Cosmea Z, Taylor A. Flury – 0 | 0 | 38.271
Caphur, Taylor Kain – 0 | 4 | 37.029
Quantos, Jason Berry – 0 | 4 | 37.096
Shuttergold, Taylor Kain – 0 | 4 | 39.303
Calano Z, Taylor A. Flury – 4 | 73.402
Hilma, Sam Pegg – 4 | 73.953
Elation, Michael A. Grinyer – 4 | 74.510
Chardonay Haras Des Barrages, Shelly Zimmerli – 8 | 69.475
United M, Robert Mendoza – 16 | 75.747
Florian, Robert Mendoza – 24 | 77.689

$7,500 Futures Prix 1.30 m

Tonight’s course for the $7,500 Futures Prix 1.30 m sponsored by Voltaire was also designed by Bobby Murphy of Lexington, Kentucky, and featured a similar course to that in the Grand Prix, but one less combination. While there were many clear first rounds in the class and six double clear rounds, there were two entries whose impressive jump off times stood out from the rest. The first of those two was Taylor Kain aboard Eirecon Equine Sales’ Gipsy 1134 (Corlensky G x Landina). The pair were one of the faster first-rounders, jumping the course in a time of 75.907 seconds. The pair continued straight to the jump off of the Table II event, racing through the course and taking an impressive inside turn that had yet to be attempted, which shaved seconds off of their time. Kain and Gipsy 1134 stopped the clock with a clear jump off at a time of 31.531 seconds, a full four seconds faster than the competition.

Kain and Gipsy 1134 held their lead for several rounds, until Raquel Scharyj and her own Artiflex R entered the ring. The pair were slightly slower than Kain and Gipsy 1134 in the first round, jumping clear in a time of 76.317 seconds. Scharyj and Artiflex R continued straight to the jump off, matching Kain and Gipsy 1134’s inside turn and jumping the rest of the course at a blistering pace. The pair stopped the clock at 31.476 seconds, just fractions of a second quicker than Kain and Gipsy 1134, moving themselves to the top of the class. With their quick time and clear round, Scharyj and Artiflex R held their lead throughout the remainder of the class to ultimately take the win.

Raquel Scharyj was thrilled with Artiflex R’s performance in tonight’s class.

We caught up with Raquel Scharyj after the $7,500 Futures Prix 1.30 m to chat about her win. “I’m just super excited for my horse,” Scharyj grinned, “I’ve done the Futures Prix a couple times now, and we actually haven’t gone clear in it before, so this is exciting for us! Artiflex R is really a fast horse and he’s pretty careful, so he makes it easy for me. It’s just exciting for us to be able to compete in a class like this. I work full time, not in horses, so to come here and do some big stuff and have a night class to help get me ready for the Grands Prix is really great.” When asked about her future plans with Artiflex R, Scharyj explained, “Right now I’m just trying to balance work and horses. I’m originally from Atlanta, then moved to Columbus for work after college, then just moved to Cleveland after taking a job as Head of Merchandising for Schneider Saddlery. I got Artiflex R last Fall, and we’ve come a long way. In the future, I’ll probably just keep him at the 1.30 m – 1.35 m and just have fun with him and keep learning at this height.” Scharyj rides with Cari Gleeson and Emily Alinen at Stepping Stone Farm, based out of Chagrin Valley Farms in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.

$7,500 Futures Prix 1.30 m Results