Lexington, KY – The feature show jumping event of the 2018 National Horse Show, the $250,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Lexington CSI4*-W brought 35 of the sport’s upper echelon horses and athletes to the Alltech Arena to compete head-to-head for the greatest share of the purse and valuable World Cup ranking points towards the 2019 Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final in Gothenburg, Sweden. Representing the United States, Beezie Madden added to her winning streak, as she and Abigail Wexner’s Chic Hin D Hyrencourt outpaced the talented field with their careful and efficient jump-off trip to capture the coveted top prize in front of a packed house. Earlier in the day, Haley Gassel and Quite Dark 2 nabbed victory in the $50,000 Hollow Brook Wealth Management Show Jumping Hall of Fame Amateur-Owner/Junior Jumper Grand Prix.
In total, eight countries from four continents were represented in the premier contest of the evening, which is the eighth jewel of 14 in the Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping schedule, and the group of entries included a staggering amount of talent, most notably the four gold medal-winning members of the NetJets U.S. Jumping Team from the World Equestrian Games: McLain Ward, Laura Kraut, Devin Ryan and Adrienne Sternlicht.
For his final course of the week, designer Ken Krome (USA) constructed a 16-effort track for contenders that featured plenty of directional changes and a triple combination as the second-to-last obstacle, which proved to be one of the bogey fences of the evening. Out of the initial pack of combinations, only six partnerships mastered the track penalty-free within the tight 74-second time allowed to qualify for the jump-off, and four pairs faced heartbreak after leaving all the fences intact but accruing one time fault. Lucy Davis (USA), Kent Farrington (USA), Kraut (USA), Beezie Madden, Amanda Derbyshire (GBR) and Molly Ashe Cawley (USA) all returned to the show ring for a final shot at glory over the abridged jump-off course.
The first two back in the ring, Davis and Farrington both accumulated penalties on their mounts, opening the door for Kraut and St. Bride’s Farm Confu, who navigated the first double clear of the evening in 38.10 seconds. Not to be outdone, Madden and the 10-year-old grey gelding systematically sliced across the 8-fence track at a blazing clip, stopping the clock in 36.57 seconds to take over the lead with only two left to challenge them. Unfortunately for Derbyshire and Gochman Sport Horse, LLC’s Luibanta BH, two rails would come down, meaning Ashe Cawley and Cat Ballou would be the last to battle Madden and Chic Hin D Hyrencourt’s time. The pair looked to be on pace to usurp the frontrunners with a fault-free trip, but ultimately were just tenths of a second too slow, tripping the timers in 36.77 seconds to settle for second place, with Kraut and Confu rounding out the all-female podium as the final double clean pair of the class.
Currently ranked ninth in the world and the reigning FEI Jumping World Cup™ champion, Madden has been proving her prowess lately and has added numerous accolades to her ever-growing trophy case. Just one week ago at the Washington International Horse Show, she led the victory gallop aboard Breitling LS in the $135,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Washington, and has since been the queen of the National Horse Show. In addition to Saturday evening’s triumph with Chic Hin D Hyrencourt, Madden piloted Wexner’s Jiva to the winning prize in Thursday’s $35,000 Free x Rein International Jumper Welcome Speed CSI4*, second place in Friday’s Salamander Hotels & Resorts $35,000 Accumulator Class CSI4*, and third place in the $35,000 Palm Beach Masters Series International Open Jumpers Speed CSI4*. With her win Saturday, Madden walks away with not only the largest cut of the purse, but also a one-year lease of an Audi from Audi of Lexington as the Leading International Open Jumper Rider Award, plus the Dr. and Mrs. Kenneth Garber Leading Lady Rider Award.
The reserve finisher, Ashe Cawley has been taking turns with Madden at the head of the leaderboard over four days of competition, only once giving up the top spot in five classes to another rider, Farrington. In addition to her reserve championship aboard Cat Ballou, Ashe Cawley navigated Picobello Choppin PC to the highest honors in the $35,000 Palm Beach Masters Series International Open Jumpers Speed CSI4* and the Salamander Hotels & Resorts $35,000 Accumulator Class CSI4*, just a hair ahead of Madden.
Capping off an already competitive week of jumping in the Amateur-Owner/Junior ranks, the $50,000 Hollow Brook Wealth Management Show Jumping Hall of Fame Amateur-Owner/Junior Jumper Grand Prix offered the non-professionals one final opportunity for a chance at the tricolor. At the completion of the first round of riding, nine pairs were eligible for the jump-off after turning in clean and clear initial trips. Ransome Rombauer, Annabel Revers, Haley Gassel, Elli Yeager, Tali Dejong, Sophie Gochman, Coco Fath, Riley Newsome and Anna Beth Athey all qualified aboard their respective mounts.
Tackling the short course seemingly with ease, Haley Gassel and Westwind Equine Training Center’s Quite Dark 2 were able to fend off their counterparts in the jump-off, riding their second clean trip of the night in a quick 41.539 seconds to emerge as the victors. The leading pair were followed by Coco Fath and her own Huckleberry in the reserve position, who also left all the rails up but tripped the timers in a slower 41.611 seconds. Sophie Gochman and Carola BH, owned by Gochman Sport Horse, LLC, wrapped up the podium finishers as the third and final double-clean duo, laying down a foot-perfect round in 41.822 seconds.
In addition to the class winner, three other individuals were recognized for their achievements in the division or Show Jumping Hall of Fame (SJHOF) circuit. Sophie Gochman and Tali Dejong were crowned the SJHOF Eastern Conference and Western Conference champions, respectively, and Riley Newsome was awarded the National Horse Show’s division championship for her performances throughout the week.
The final day of the 2018 National Horse Show will take place Sunday, with 175 of North America’s elite equitation riders stealing the spotlight as they vie for the top honors in the ASPCA Maclay National Championship, presented by Chansonette Farms. First horse in the ring will be at 7 a.m., followed by multiple rounds of riding to determine the 2018 champion.
FROM THE WINNER’S CIRCLE
Beezie Madden – $250,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Lexington CSI4*-W champion
On her partnership with Chic Hin D Hyrencourt:
“We took him to some shows and started in the 1.35m and 1.40m classes, and we actually felt quite comfortable right from the start with him. He stepped right up to the FEI division the next week and did really well. He has continually gotten better and better. It’s a process of figuring out which bit I like the best on him and which spurs I wear on him, but really, he’s been quite simple. Hopefully, he stays that way. When he gets in the ring, he has quite a bit of blood. I would say he is a little on the hot side. I hate to compare him, but he’s a big horse like Cortes C and yet he rides pretty light. He’s apparently quick enough across the ground as we saw today. I would love to see him go do some championship events. He has the scope, carefulness and seems to have the brain for it, so I’m looking forward to the future with him.”
On the first round:
“I think probably height and dimension-wise, it wasn’t the biggest we’ve done, but I think the tight time-allowed for sure made it a lot harder than it walked in the beginning. Also, the time-allowed there, if you weren’t able to take a lot of time to the Taylor Harris jump, it kind of messed up your line to the triple and made that a little dicey. In the end, the triple jumped nice for the horses and other places caught them. You never know what’s going to happen when you walk. For sure, the time-allowed and the fact that there were a lot of bending lines, it was hard for the horses to get their eyes on it, but that is a part of indoors.”
On a mount for World Cup Finals:
“I was automatically qualified off of my win last year, so my strategy has been to make each horse eligible who I think might be eligible. I already have Darry Lou, Breitling, and now this horse Chic [Hin D Hyrencourt] eligible, so I’ll plan on using Coach early in the season since he has had a break from Spruce Meadows. I’ll see who the ‘hot’ horse is going into the World Cup Finals, which was my strategy last year.”
Molly Ashe Cawley – second place
On the jump-off:
“My horse is obviously very large and he’s just come back to the sport from a lot of time off. He had an injury and spent a year out in the field, so I haven’t gotten to do a ton of jump-offs with him. Obviously, in the jump-off with me going last, I had to push it as much as I could. I was really thrilled and pleasantly surprised with how quick and nimble he got. I really love the horse and I’m just happy to have him back. He seems to be back and better than ever, so I’m thrilled with him.”
On a mount for World Cup Finals:
“I don’t know who I would take. I was definitely leaning on D’Arnita but Cat Ballou really stepped up to the plate and did his job beautifully here. Obviously, he is super scopey and he’s quite big. I think we just have to see, for me, how the horses keep going and if I qualify for it, we will choose the horse who is at the top at the time.”
Laura Kraut – third place
On the jump-off:
“I watched the first two not have a good first fence, so my main objective was to make sure I got that out of the way. I actually was very, very good and I lost my balance a bit when I came out of the double. He turned really quick and I shifted into the left stirrup, so he had to swing back, come get me and then keep turning. That sort of slowed us down a bit, but I was very happy with him and I’m in good company.”
Ken Krome – course designer
On his track:
“I was for sure sweating it out, but you basically ride every horse in the class yourself. At some point, you want them all to go clean and at other points you say, ‘No one else can go clean.’ It’s up and down. Today, I saw that there was really a great group towards the end so I had faith but I definitely pushed them today. You want to bring your ‘A’ game and you really want the best of the best to rise to the top and for sure we got that today.”
Michael Morrissey – National Horse Show manager
On the class:
“Thanks to the three ladies next to me, they had a lot to cheer about. The crowd was really into it and there was quite an all-star cast. The National Horse Show has been rich in tradition, and proved that with bringing the Hunter Classic back last night and tonight was a spectacular class and a World Cup qualifier for the jumpers.”
Haley Gassel – $50,000 Hollow Brook Wealth Management Show Jumping Hall of Fame Amateur-Owner/Junior Jumper Grand Prix winner
On winning at the National Horse Show:
“I’ve been coming to the National Horse Show for four or five years now. It is one of my favorite horse shows to come to. It’s run super well and it’s a fun show in general, so winning something like this is an incredible feeling. I am still like, ‘Did I just win that?’ I’m super ecstatic.”
On Quite Dark 2:
“I call him a dinosaur because he’s about 18 hands high. He’s ginormous. He actually really loves the Alltech Arena. We come to Kentucky a lot being from Tennessee. He loves the Rolex Arena, he loves the Alltech Arena. I’ve never really had an issue [with his size]. I feel like sometimes if I don’t show in the Alltech Arena or in an indoor ring for a while, it takes me one or two rounds to get back in the groove because I feel like I have to compact an 18-foot stride to all of the lines. He is such a trier though. He wants to win every single class. The horse just wants to win even if you want to go nice, slow and clean. He’s 13 years old and I’ve had him for quite a while.”
Philip Richter – Hollow Brook Wealth Management President
On sponsoring the SHJOF Series:
“As a sponsor of show jumping, we looked at a lot of different things. We had sponsored individual shows which we still continue to do, but there is something about the gravitas of this series which stood out as parallel to the excellence that we impart our clients as stewards of the capital of managing their wealth. We felt that the brand was very aligned with the Show Jumping Hall of Fame series and goals and the quality of riding that the Hall of Fame brings to the sport. It was a very good alignment for our brand to be involved with the Hall of Fame. It’s an honor to be involved in the Show Jumping Hall of Fame.”
Alan Bazaar – Hollow Brook Wealth Management Chief Executive Officer
On seeing riders benefit from their program:
“To see our sponsorship dollars support the passion that these young athletes have is fantastic. It’s rewarding. Our business is predicated upon the wealth management of generations and is focused not just on managing money but also on education all the way through the generations of families. It’s nice for us — brand building — it also feels good to be able to be part of something and supporting a passion these women and girls have.”
RESULTS
$250,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Lexington CSI4*-W
Place / Horse / Rider / Country / Owner / R1 Faults / R2 Faults / Time
1. Chic Hin D Hyrencourt / Beezie Madden / USA / Abigail Wexner / 0 / 0 / 36.57
2. Cat Ballou / Molly Ashe Cawley / USA / Louisburg Farm / 0 / 0 / 36.77
3. Confu / Laura Kraut / USA / St. Bride’s Farm / 0 / 0 / 38.10
4. Creedance / Kent Farrington / USA / Kent Farrington and RCG Farm / 0 / 4 / 37.37
5. Caracho / Lucy Davis / USA / Old Oak Farm / 0 / 4 / 50.07
6. Luibanta BH / Amanda Derbyshire / GBR / Gochman Sport Horse LLC / 0 / 8 / 38.74
7. Bokai / Catherine Tyree / USA / Mary Tyree / 1 / 74.05
8. Hunters Conlypso II / Lorcan Gallagher / IRL / Dacantos Group / 1 / 74.85
9. Toulago / Adrienne Sternlicht / USA / Starlight Farms LLC / 1 / 75.71
10. CDL Cartello / Cormac Hanley / IRL / Heathman Farm LLC / 1 / 77.28
$50,000 Hollow Brook Wealth Management SJHOF Amateur-Owner/Junior Jumper Grand Prix
Place / Horse / Rider / Owner / R1 Faults / R2 Faults / Time
1. Quite Dark 2 / Haley Gassel / Westwind Equine Training Center / 0 / 0 / 41.539
2. Huckleberry / Coco Fath / Hillside Farm LLC / 0 / 0 / 41.611
3. Carola BH / Sophie Gochman / Gochman Sport Horse LLC / 0 / 0 / 41.822
4. Luron S Z / Riley Newsome / Riley Newsome / 0 / 4 / 38.442
5. Ilias / Annabel Revers / Beechwood Stables LLC / 0 / 4 / 44.584
6. For Serrano SR / Anna Beth Athey / Anna Beth Athey / 0 / 8 / 46.509
7. Waliba VDL / Elli Yeager / Elli Yeager / 0 / 16 / 44.008
8. Emorkus RE / Ransome Rombauer / Ransome Rombauer / 0 / 21 / 64.086
9. D Adermie R8 / Tali Dejong / Tali Dejong / 0 / 32 / 63.460
10. Brazzaville / Jaime Auletto / Jaime Auletto / 4
This article originally appeared on Phelps Media Group and is published here with permission. Find out more about all kinds of Events in our section on Recreation & Lifestyle - Events. Explore other interesting stories in our section on Hunter Jumpers.
