Wilmington, Ohio – Show jumping action of the 2024 Winter in the Midwest Series at World Equestrian Center – Wilmington concluded with a thrilling 11-horse jump-off in the $30,000 Standlee Grand Prix, crafted by course designer Bobby Murphy (USA).
Canada’s Sam Pegg ultimately ended the Winter Classic 18 where he started, claiming the win with his Gin Tonic 158 (Graf Top x Hauptstutbuch).
Pegg followed junior rider Izzy Beisel (USA), who posted a blazing fast time of 36.084 seconds with her 11-year-old Selle Francais gelding, Diaz Barbotiere (Messire Ardent x Quambera Barbotiere).
Pegg spoke on where he made up time around the track, “Gin Tonic is naturally really quick when he lands. I got a really good turn after the first line. I got up there in eight and turned around really quick. After the next line I went back inside to the next jump. I thought he turned in and caught a good one across the oxer and really shot into the turn with a good amount of footspeed. I did six down the last line and it was enough.”
“I had the luxury of already riding it one time. Izzy’s time with Diaz was quite close to my first horse and I did eight with her, so I thought that made the decision for me,” Pegg continued.
Utilizing his 12-year-old Hanoverian gelding’s natural footspeed, the competitive duo moved to the top of the leaderboard once again in 35.922 seconds.
Pegg spoke highly of his fiery gelding, “He has been super competitive. He knows that it’s a sport. He does everything that he can to keep the jumps up and you can really go as fast as you want. He can be slow to get started, but once I got to jump one and his blood was up, he carried me around the rest of the way.”
Pegg felt, “fantastic to end the winter on a win,” he stated. “We want to thank WEC for hosting such a lovely series of shows. We started and finished our winter here and our horses are all happy and healthy. We really appreciate it.”
Kady Abrahamson (USA) returned with her longtime partner, Any (Aljano x Nina XI), a 16-year-old Holsteiner mare, to round out the top three in 36.249 seconds.
$30,000 Standlee Grand Prix Results:
1 Gin Tonic 158, Sam Pegg, Sam Pegg | 0 | 35.922
2 Diaz Barbotiere, Izzy Beisel, Izzy Beisel | 0 | 36.084
3 Any, Kady Abrahamson, Abrahamson Equestrian LLC | 0 | 36.249
4 Retroflex, Sarah Long, Alan Manning | 0 | 39.924
5 Contigo, Izzy Beisel, David Beisel | 0 | 40.054
6 Big Girl Z, Sam Pegg, Sam Pegg | 4 | 36.465
7 Formidable Diamant, Sam Pegg, Harlow Investment Enterprises LLC | 4 | 38.945
8 Perte Totale De Res Nova, Nicole Loochtan, Nicole Loochtan | 4 | 38.996
9 Kupardie, Nicole Loochtan, Nicole Loochtan | 4 | 39.956
10 Eldorado’s Edition, Vanessa McCaughley, Vanessa McCaughley | 4 | 41.742
Luke Rinehart Caps Off Winter Series with $10,000 Horse Vans LLC Futures Prix Win
The $10,000 Horse Vans LLC Futures Prix kicked off the final Saturday of show jumping at the 2024 Winter in the Midwest Series with Luke Rinehart (USA) and Captain America 10 (Contendro) besting a field of 25 horse-and-athlete combinations.
Coming off a second-place finish in last weeks $30,000 Grand Prix, Rinehart was confident going in, “It was definitely a confidence boost. He is jumping the best he ever has. He kicked into a different gear last week. We decided to move down into this this week and we will keep going through Kentucky and the May shows here. Hopefully we will get the grand prix win soon.”
Securing the leading time by just tenths of second, Rinehart discussed where he made up the time, “There were a lot of options for turning in the jump-off. Megan [Bash] went inside to the last line, but Captain is better at running than he is at turning. I left out a stride up the first line and then went around to the last line and just galloped around the turn.”
With his 10-year-old Hanoverian gelding, Rinehart earned the victory in 34.408 seconds.
Just shy of the leading time was Megan Bash (USA) and her 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, Jackson VDL (Zirocco Blue VDL x Design O), landing the red ribbon in 34.881 seconds.
Ashley Stumm (USA) rounded out the podium in 35.214 seconds with Dawn Stumm’s eight-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, Lagerfeld (Grand Slam VDL x Happy Frau).
$10,000 Horse Vans LLC Futures Prix Results:
1 Captain America 10, Luke Rinehart, Richard Rinehart | 0 | 34.408
2 Jackson VDL, Megan Bash, Cleveland Equestrian | 0 | 34.881
3 Lagerfeld, Ashley Stumm, Dawn Stumm | 0 | 35.214
4 Wheeler, Mara Kranz, Mint Hill Farm | 0 | 35.761
5 Wildflower, Sarah Long, Mark Hayes | 0 | 36.05
6 Jadina, Kevin McCarthy, Sweet Oak Farm | 0 | 36.659
7 HJ Blind Date, Molly Kindness, Molly Kindness | 0 | 37.228
8 Zendaya, Lanie Thomas, Neil Badcock | 0 | 37.749
9 Katinka, Wilhelm Genn, Klaus Mauer | 0 | 38.781
10 Rochas Van De Brouwershoeve, Michael Janson, Kimberly Janson | 0 | 42.168
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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.