Lucy Davis Wins the $25,000 Memorial Day Grand Prix and Forbes Strikes it Rich in the USHJA Derby
Experience battled the newcomer in the $25,000 Memorial Day Grand Prix (May 31), and Lucy Davis won her first grand prix in what promises to be an illustrious show jumping career for the seventeen year old rider. Veteran Susie Hutchison gave Davis a run for her money, but in the end the day belonged to newcomer Davis and True Love (Old Oak Farm, owner).
Scott Starnes’ course proved difficult, and it was starting to look as though the jump off would be among four-fault rides. Finally, halfway through the class, up-and-comer Davis broke the cycle and left all the rails in place aboard True Love. And when it seemed that there might not be a jump off challenger, Susie Hutchison laid down a clear round with Cantano (El Dorado 29, owner). As if to prove her first clear round wasn’t an accident, Davis went clean again with Nemo 119 (Old Oak Farm, owner) and then Michael Endicott was the fourth and final entry into the jump off with Zico 13 (Fred Bauer).
Davis threw the gauntlet down when she set a blistering jump off pace and stopped the timers in 39.225 seconds with no rails down. Hutchison, determined to catch her, made a daring inside turn, but her time of 41.085 was not fast enough to catch Davis. Aboard Nemo 119 Davis slid behind Hutchison with a time of 41.992, and Endicott finished the jump off with one unfortunate rail and a time of 43.009 to settle for fourth.
“It felt amazing!” gushed Davis (Meadow Grove Farm, trainer). “I entered to get some experience competing at a higher level against some really amazing riders, so I was not expecting great results. Competing against them really inspires me to rise to the occasion.”
She said that she enjoyed all of the activities that went into making the grand prix a special event. “It’s really nice. The riders put in a lot of work and the horses are great, and it’s nice to have the recognition. It was really fun.”
Davis has only been showing since she was 12 and she just made the move from junior jumpers to the grand prix ranks this year. Until the Memorial Day Classic, Davis’ highest grand prix finish was a third. “I have really enjoyed the opportunity to be able to rise up to some of the bigger classes. The junior jumper division is lucky enough to have some really technical courses, so the main difference for me with the grand prix is trying to manage the height with the technicality.”
Despite settling for second, Hutchison had nothing but praise for the event. “Scott (Starnes) did a great job course designing. It was set for green horses and young riders, but it was good for the experienced ones too.” She noted that her horse was a bit spooky causing him to jump a little higher, resulting in more hang time and less ground covering gallop. “It was a great class and a lot of fun. Lucy rode great and has two nice horses. It was nice to see her get the win.”
From the first bars of the attention grabbing music to the activities on the field after the grand prix, the entire day was magnificent and the capacity crowd seemed elated. The patriotic opening ceremonies saw the retirement of Mark Watring’s grand prix horse Sapphire. Decked in a wreath of flowers, Sapphire took his final public tour followed by a moving tribute to the those who have honorably served the United States as is befitting on Memorial Day. At the conclusion of the event, spectators were invited on the field for the autograph signing, to meet Sapphire up close, and to pose with the magnificent flag horse and his rider resplendent in his uniform dress whites and gleaming medals.
Resplendent properly described Forbes (Tonia Cook Looker, owner) and Jenny Karazissis who captured the $10,000 Memorial Day Classic Chronicle of the Horse USHJA Hunter Derby for the second year in a row.
“He’s fantastic,” Karazissis said of the nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood, a horse she has been riding for two years. Karazissis noted that they call him a specialty horse, because they only brought him to the show for the derby. In addition to his wins at the Memorial Day Classic, Forbes has earned consistent high prizes in other derbies and qualified for last year’s inaugural derby championship. After watching the riders before her, Karazissis was going to play it safe and put in a more conservative ride but changed her mind. “He was so rideable in the first round I decided to go for it. I took every inside track and tried to keep my turns as tidy as possible.”
Chris Collman’s course in the handy round sent the riders out of the arena, to what is usually the warm-up area, to negotiate two fences and a bounce through two hedges before jumping back into the arena. Riders had to quickly make a tight rollback to a trot fence before continuing the rest of the course. Riders had a number of opportunities to choose varying tracks and option jumps. “I wanted to give the riders a lot of options to pick what would help them show off their horses.”
Keri Kampsen piloted On Top (Two Goals Farm LLC, owner) to a close second behind Karazissis and Forbes. For Kampsen, the derbies are a fun combination of hunters and equitation. “I live for these derbies,” she said. “They are my favorite class.” Karazissis was equally positive, “I think it brings so much excitement for the hunters,” she said of the derby. “It really gets us pumped up and excited.”
Excited was how professional Tasha Visokay described her feeling after winning a trip to Maui. The Memorial Day Equitation Challenge features teams of three riders, a professional, an amateur, and a junior. The professional of the winning team gets a week long stay at the Marriott Maui Ocean Club Resort courtesy of Langer Equestrian Group, while the junior and amateur each win nifty beach bikes. Visokay rides for the Karen Healey Stables and this was her first time participating in the class. “I’ve never had a horse I could do it on. I’m very grateful to Kristi Siam for letting me borrow Krosus this year.” The seven-year-old Krosus normally competes in the Low Amateur Owner Hunters with Siam.
“The thing I liked the most about the class was having a team to walk the course with and be in the schooling ring together,” Visokay recalled. “That was fun.” She noted that her team’s strategy was to be smooth and consistent through both rounds, and the strategy paid off. “I cannot wait to go to Hawaii,” she added. “I’m taking my boyfriend, and we’ve never gone away together.”
Junior member Theo Boris commented that, “It was fun to be with the team. This is such an independent sport that you don’t get that very often.” Boris felt that although the Maui trip provides good motivation for the competing team members, the opportunity to work as a team and build teamwork skills are a valuable part of the experience. As for Visokay winning the trip, he said, “I’m really happy for Tasha. It couldn’t have happened to a more deserving, hard working person.”
“It’s something different from what you’ve done all year,” added Michelle Morris, the amateur member of the victorious team. “It was really a lot of fun.”
Fun was on the minds of car afficionados. O’Gara Coach Company joined the Memorial Day Classic as a sponsor, and the test drives they offered of their fine cars proved quite popular, especially among the dads and husbands. Drivers could select among a Lamborghini, an Aston Martin, a Bentley, and other fine automobiles. Horse show dad Ralph Lewis was thrilled to see O’Gara Coach Company at the Memorial Day Classic. “I have been going to horse shows for years and it is fun to watch the riders, but . . .” he tactfully trailed off. Having fine cars around proved a great diversion for Lewis. “The O’Gara staff was great for guys like me who are into cars. They were full of knowledge and I could talk cars for hours. I took a Bentley Super Sport for a test drive and we went out on the freeway. I was really impressed and I think I know what I’ve set my sights on!”
People stopped by the O’Gara lounge to ogle the cars, kick back and watch sports on the big screen TV, and to snack on the goodies provided. “This was the best horse show ever,” said Lewis. “The great synchronicity between horses and great cars is perfect.”
The Memorial Day Classic also serves as a fundraiser for the California Professional Horsemen’s Association Foundation. George Chatigny, general manager of the Los Angeles Equestrian Center and secretary of the CPHA Foundation, was looking for a fun and interesting fundraiser for the organization. “I’ve enjoyed bowling all my life, so I suggested this and took the lead on it.” In the five years it has been running, the bowling benefit has raised $2,500 to $3,000 each year. It also provides a chance to have fun and enjoy some camaraderie with team mates outside of the barn. The CPHA uses the proceeds to fund its scholarships for children of professionals and financial aid for professional horsemen in need. Many barns field teams and enjoy a fun night.
For complete show results, visit the Langer Equestrian Group website at http://www.langershows.com/laec/show_details.php?show_id=150.
Horse showing will return to LAEC June 16-18 for Gold Coast 4. Meanwhile, the action moves over to Hansen Dam June 5-6 for Verdugo Hills/Lake View 5, then heads north for the Woodside Circuit Opener June 23-27. In Colorado, the show season will resume July 1-4 for the Colorado Circuit Opener.
Learn more about Langer Equestrian Group and all the shows at www.langershows.com.
