Wilmington, Ohio – Exhibitors crowded the outdoor jumper arena at World Equestrian Center – Wilmington for the $25,000 Grand Prix of Summer II. Izzy Beisel ultimately had a banner evening, claiming first and second place honors.
Michael Pegg (CAN) crafted a first-round track that allowed four horse-and-athlete combinations to move onto the jump-off phase, where Beisel and her Vegas H were the only duo to jump a double clear effort.
Returning first for the short course with Vegas H, Beisel planned “to be speedy but also clear. I knew Luke [Rinehart] and Sarah [Meier] were behind me and they are both really fast, so I wanted to put the pressure on just a little bit. I planned the leave out from two-to-three in the jump-off, but it wasn’t really there. I felt good knowing that if I had a rail down on Vegas I could go in with Diaz and jump clear and win.”
With David Beisel’s 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding, Beisel coasted around the jump-off track crossing through the timers in 36.239 seconds to ultimately secure the blue ribbon.
As the final to contest with her speedy 11-year-old Selle Francias gelding, Diaz Barbotiere (Messire Ardent x Quambera Barbotiere), Beisel posted the fastest time of 36.115 seconds with four faults on her score for second place.
“I was just having fun! I wasn’t too worried about being double clear, I just wanted to jump the jumps and have a little fun. That’s all you can do,” Beisel laughed.
Sarah Meier (USA) and her own 11-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding, Nightshade SCF (Baldev x Olisina), rounded out the top three in 50.917 seconds.
$25,000 Grand Prix Results:
1 Vegas H, Izzy Beisel, David Beisel | 0 | 36.239
2 Diaz Barbotiere, Izzy Beisel, Izzy Beisel | 4 | 36.115
3 Nightshade SCF, Sarah Meier, Sarah Meier | 5 | 50.917
4 Captain America 10, Luke Rinehart, Catherine Rinehart | 8 | 37.039
5 Fire Fly, Kelly Soleau-Millar, M. Michael Meller | 4 | 70.035
6 Lagerfeld, Ashley Stumm, Dawn Stumm | 4 | 73.714
7 Contigo, Izzy Beisel, David Beisel | 4 | 75.548
8 Topgear SR Z, Lizzy Traband, Ll Show Jumpers LLC | 4 | 76.373
9 Triskel De Kerliven, Cooper Beisel, Liz Hutchinson | 4 | 78.25
10 Just Happy Hero Z, Jack Towell, Lauren Wood | 7 | 82.035
Sarah Sturges & Labyrinth Clinch $7,500 Dandy Products Futures Prix Win
The $7,500 Dandy Products Futures Prix kicked off featured competition Saturday afternoon at World Equestrian Center – Wilmington Summer II, where Michael Pegg (CAN) designed the tracks for a field of 15 developing horse-and-athlete combinations.
Six pairs moved onto the immediate jump-off phase, but it was Sarah Sturges (USA) and her own homebred, Labyrinth (Zirocco Blue VDL x Warone), that were unable to be caught.
“I thought the first round rode really nice. I personally was a bit concerned about jump three. That blue jump has been my nemesis the last three horse shows here,” Sturges laughed. “It feels great to win this with him. He is awesome and I am so lucky to have him. Just hoping for more days like this moving forward!”
Sturges entered eighth in the posted order with a time to beat of 40.621 seconds set by Lizzy Traband (USA) and Regina Liu’s seven-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding, Rublin VD Berghoeve (Dublin Van Overis Z x Argenta VD Berghoeve).
Moving onto the jump-off, Sturges noted, “I lost a little bit of time to the blue oxer because I held out in the turn, but he has such a big step that I ended up leaving out a stride in the last couple lines.”
“He was so good to me. I left out into the combination and he got his knees up out of the way. He covers a lot of ground so I make up a lot of time that way.”
Crossing the timers in 39.816 seconds, Sturges clinched her first futures prix win, moving Traband into second place.
Having developed her eight-year-old American Warmblood gelding from his very first rides, Sturges spoke on his development at WEC – Wilmington, “I did ‘Ziggy’ here a bunch as a young horse and I like that there are so many classes here for horses like him,” she shared. “With a developing eight-year-old, sometimes you take them to other big shows and your only option to jump this height is against 45 to 100 people in the 1.35m for $1,000, whereas here, you can jump for $10,000 or $7,500. It presents a level of difficulty for the young ones without being too overwhelming. For me, it is in the backyard. It’s great for me and all of my clients. We are so lucky to have it in our backyard.”
Maelyn Taule (USA) and her own 12-year-old KWPN gelding, Haufom (Otangelo x Utopia), rounded out the top three in 43.24 seconds.
$7,500 Dandy Products Futures Prix Results:
1 Labyrinth, Sarah Sturges, Sarah Sturges LLC | 0 | 39.186
2 Rublin VD Berghoeve, Lizzy Traband, Regina Liu | 0 | 40.621
3 Haufom, Maelyn Taule, Maelyn Taule | 0 | 43.24
4 Kasper, Karston Gundry, Kim Gundry | 0 | 44.139
5 K T Miel, Claire Austin, Claire Austin | 4 | 36.71
6 Light Show, Cooper Beisel, Diane Masters | 4 | 37.238
7 Riviera BF, Leah Harrison, Leah Harrison | 4 | 67.921
8 Spicebomb, Sarah Meier, Sarah Meier | 4 | 72.005
9 Billionaire, Alexandria Nelson, Sarah Meier | 4 | 73.912
10 Destiny, Megan Bash, Courtney Pisani | 4 | 73.919