Sophie Click and Tarantino 54. Photo by Ashley Kemp Photography.
The second day of competition at Aspen Farms Horse Trials and United States Eventing Association’s (USEA) Area VII Championships featured cross-country and show jumping. The Championship, Advanced, and Intermediate divisions navigated the cross-country courses designed by Morgan Rowsell.
In the Advanced division, Sophie Click and Tarantino 54 jumped clear with 11.2 time penalties to move up fr0m third to first.
“The course rode super well,” said Click after cross-country. “Quinn was amazing. In the spring we had a little oopsies here at Aspen Farms on cross-country, and we came out today and conquered that. I’m super happy with that.”
Karen O’Neal and Clooney 14, owned by Annika Asling, added 20 penalties at the Toklat Originals Water Complex which dropped them from first to second.
The Advanced division will show jump first at 8 a.m. in the sand ring on Sunday. Cash prizes are at stake for the top finishers, sponsored by Tin Men Supply.
Marc Grandia and GHS Calexico. Photo by Ashley Kemp Photography.
In the USEA Area VII Open Intermediate Championship, Marc Grandia and GHS Calexico, owned by Calexico Syndicate LLC, and Devin Robel and Gillou are tied for first on the overnight leaderboard.
“I had a blast,” said Grandia after his clear jumping effort cross-country. “It was a lot of fun out there. The conditions were absolutely perfect with the rain we’ve had, and the weather.”
Devin Robel was happy with the cross-country performance from her Warmblood gelding, Gillou. She has owned Gillou since he was a yearling, produced him herself, and most recently competed in Florida over this past winter with great success at the Intermediate level. Gillou is currently ranked third in Intermediate in the nation.
“I had a plan,” Robel said about her cross-country ride. “I’ve been trying to teach him to jump more out of stride. We had a lot of very nice fences, and we had some where we need to keep working on that. But overall, he was ‘game on.’ The course was great.”
Robel feels good going into show jumping Sunday: “He’s a super jumper. When I’m show jumping regularly, show jumping is great for us. But it has been hard to keep him going where we live in Oregon. Our goal tomorrow is to ride the lines well. I love Chris Barnard’s courses. He’ll jump clean!”
In the Open Intermediate division, Alyssa Schaefer and Fuego maintained their lead by jumping clear cross-country and running faster than their counterparts. All riders in the division added time penalties. Audrey Morrissey and Lord Limon are in second, and Sara Zulyniak and Ulterra Alaris, owned Nicolas Helayel, are in third.
In the large USEA Area VII Preliminary Championship, Chloe Kischuk and Dassett Endeavour switched places with Brooke Phillips and JL’s Dartagnan after cross-country to take the lead. Sara Sellmer and JB Virgin Electric, owned by Jil Walton, are third.
“The course rode so well,” said Kischuk. “When I walked the course it looked like it was going to ride well–you always hope that will be the case–and it was so perfect to ride.”
Looking ahead to show jumping, Kischuk shared: “He’s been show jumping so well at home. We’ve really been working on it. I’m excited to see how it pays off.”
In USEA Area VII Training Amateur Championship, Reese Blinks and her Hanoverian gelding, Lowmax, jumped clear to take over the lead. Lorilee Hanson and Mosaïque are second.
“The course designer did a great job using the terrain to create a course that was challenging, but still flowed and was appropriate for the level,” said Blinks. “Aspen does a great job with their footing, and the jumps are so beautiful. All this came together to provide a fun track for Championships. The double down Arion banks were really fun. My horse read the course very well.”
Blinks is hoping to finish this first year competing with her horse strong: “We’ve been pretty consistent throughout the year at Training level. He’s still a younger horse, and I’ve only had him about a year, so we are still getting to know each other. He’s a really cool horse. I’m hoping to have a fun time and a good round tomorrow.”
The overnight leaders in the USEA Area VII Novice Amateur Championship are Kimberly Johnson and her 8-year-old rescue mare Ascendance. They qualified for Championships at Young Rider Benefit Horse Trials.
“I really loved the course today,” said Blinks. “Lots of directional changes; it was a fun challenge. She’s a good horse. She’s very athletic. I have all the confidence in her. She saves me when I need saving, and I guide her when she needs some guidance. We’re a fun team.”
In USEA Area VII Junior Training Championship, Dakota McGill and her Irish Sporthorse, NSC Mettaphor, held their lead. Alexis Johnson and Encore are second, and Courtney Brandt and One True King are third.
“It felt smooth,” said McGill of her cross-country ride. “I’m really gaining speed now. I’m getting used to riding faster. I’m hoping to move up to Prelim. I’ve been working on being soft and letting him figure it out–trusting him. Show jumping is a strong phase for him. He really likes it. Tomorrow I just need to be quiet and push him on; he will be good!”
In the highly competitive USEA Area VII Open Novice Championship division, Sara Sellmer and Courious George, owned by Samantha Quinn, emerged on top of the leaderboard after a double clear cross-country ride to hold their dressage score of 27.5. Anna Stein and Our Theodore, owned by Lisa Escobar, are second on 27.8. Marc Grandia and Obligado VD Watermolen, owned by Melissa Jaten, went just one second over time to move from tied first to third. The top ten pairs in the division are all within one rail of the leader.
“In the warm-up Marc [Grandia] and I were having fun razzing each other,” said Sellmer, referring to their tie after dressage. “He went slow trying to get as close as possible to the optimum time and put the pressure on me. I was watching him and I thought he was so brave! I thought for sure he got it, so I went too fast! I knew I had too much time at the last fence. But at the end Marc’s mom let me know he went one second over, so we broke the tie. George was lovely on course; he’s a really honest ‘blue collar’ boy. A lot people might pass him over, but he wins everything. I’m building him for my friend Sam. He’s going to be her Novice packer champ, and he’s turning out to be all those things! He’s a lovely horse.”
In the USEA Area VII Junior Beginner Novice Championships, Addisyn and her Dutch Warmblood gelding Parahoniak ADR’s Fausto are first, Carsyn Ritter and MR. CURIOSITY are second, and Rita Caiado and Makin It Big In Hollywood are third.
“It was amazing,” Parahoniak shared after her cross-country ride. “It was really fun. I’m excited for show jumping tomorrow, but it’s a lot of pressure to be in first. Show jumping is not his strongest phase, but he’s usually very good.”
Sunday over $35,000 worth of cash and prizes will be awarded to the the top finishers in the Horse Trials and USEA Area VII Championships thanks to generous show sponsors. In addition, there is an opportunity for an Amateur/Rider to win a free custom Arion saddle in The Arion Challenge. To win, an Amateur Rider and horse combination must have won their Amateur/Rider division at the June Aspen Farms Horse Trials and repeat the win this weekend.
“Super excited to be doing The Arion Challenge for the second year in a row,” said Stacy von Marenholtz of Arion. “We love that it gives Amateur riders the opportunity to win a great prize. It’s a good incentive that is unique from anything anyone else is offering. We’re cheering on all the riders; we hope we have another winner this year!”
Follow along with more show coverage on Aspen Farm’s Facebook Page and on Instagram @AspenFarmsHorseTrials.
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