Kentucky Summer Horse Show Wrap-Up
RELEASE: July 29, 2009
AUTHOR/ADMINISTRATOR: Sarah Evers
The Kentucky Summer Horse Show was held the week of July 22-26, 2009, at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. The competition was managed by Kentucky Horse Shows LLC, and jumper highlights included the $25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic and the $40,000 Kentucky Summer Grand Prix.
Jumper Highlights Wednesday through Sunday
Wednesday was opening day of the Kentucky Summer Horse Show. It featured the $5,000 1.40m Open Jumper Welcome Class in the newly built Sheila C. Johnson Ring at the New Outdoor Stadium. Angel Karolyi of Aiken, SC, had a strong performance with both of his horses and came away with first and second place.
After a damp day of rain showers, ten competitors participated in the main event. The newly resurfaced footing Stadium held up beautifully throughout the wet conditions, and the course, which was designed by Olaf Peterson Jr., was extremely inviting for the first day of this week's competition.
Max Amaya and Wintina Deux , owned by New York City's Senartmont Management, were the first to take on the course. They lowered the height of the oxer at 3b and finished in 61.450 seconds, well within the 79 second time allowed. Sharn Wordley piloted Zorro next in the order. They too accrued four faults; however their penalty occurred over a vertical at fence 10. They came home in 62.716 seconds. Zorro is owned by Filip Amram of Ocala, FL.
Aaron Vale and his mount Kryptonite were the first duo to come home clear. Stopping the clock in 72.023 seconds, Kryptonite, owned by ABC 4 Horses, took over the top spot. However, the lead quickly changed hands when Angel Karolyi executed a quick clear round aboard Galant, topping the leader board in 63.900 seconds.
Martine trotted in the ring next with Luis Larsava in the irons. They lowered the height of one fence, scoring four faults in 65.869 seconds. Juan Pablo Gnecco produced the next clear round aboard his own mount Ukoon. Their prompt time of 69.213 seconds would hold up for third place.
Antonio Martinez had an unfortunate 12 faults with his horse Aramis Van Het, and Sharn Wordley exceeded the time allowed with Swept Away Farm's Andiamo Pyon, adding seven time faults to their score with a time of 85.056 seconds. Sayre Happy added another name to the clear list when she guided Tarzan La Cantera, owned by Daniel Rihan, to a faultless finish in 70.516 seconds.
Karolyi rode his second mount, James T. Kirk, for another brilliant round, tripping the timers without penalty in 69.055 seconds. James T. Kirk finished in second place behind his first mount Galant.
"We did good," Karolyi smiled. "Galant is McLain Ward's horse. He's a super horse, and he's 19 years old. He just knows his job. He is in perfect condition to keep on jumping, so we still have him in the ring and he enjoys his job."
He continued, "The other one [James T. Kirk] is Abigail Walker's horse. He's a great horse that has come a long way since last year. This was a warm-up for him. That's why I didn't go quite as fast as Galant," he explained. "Galant does smaller grand prixs at other places, but this is really his height where he's really a winner."
Karolyi explained that the weather was not a factor for him today. "You know what? I'm so happy," he said. "Ok, the weather, yeah, it could be sunshine right now, but thank God for Kentucky. I'm so happy with it," he expressed. "It's been pouring rain all day, and the footing is just wonderful. You could go a million miles an hour and be alright. So it's lovely to finally have a place in the United States with top, top footing and top everything. They are doing a wonderful job for next year for the World Equestrian Games." Karolyi resides in Aiken, SC, and works for Andrea King.
Thursday night, Pablo Barrios and his mount La Gran executed an incredible performance in the $25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic Grand Prix. Barrios bested a field of 40 horse and rider combinations for the win