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Traverse City, MI - July 28, 2008 - Week two at Horse Shows by the Bay wrapped up yesterday with the feature event, the $25,000 Grand Traverse Bay Grand Prix. Scott Lenkart of Delano, MN, continued his great success at the equestrian festival when he and Impulsive took the top prize over Kirsten Coe on Starlight and David Beisel with Moet Walk.

The Michel Vaillancourt-designed course was testing enough, and it put through six riders to the jump-off. The jump-off course featured tight rollbacks and a long gallop to the final vertical at the Mackinaw Bridge jump.

Lenkart and Impulsive, a 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, were second to go in the jump-off. Last week, the pair was second in the Sunday grand prix, and last year they won two out of three grand prix events at Horse Shows by the Bay. Lenkart and Impulsive made good turns, but their fastest part of the course was the run to the final jump. Impulsive cleared all the jumps and stopped the timers in 40.209 seconds.

Lenkart thought he made up time on course in multiple places. He explained, "I was probably fastest to the vertical, the third jump. I went wider than everyone else to the in and out; I didn't see it early enough. I was definitely fast to the last jump. (The bridge was) the last jump in the jump-off, (and) you had to make sure you were straight to it. I was really worried about that. My horse is pretty careful to a vertical. I can go as fast as he can go to a vertical, and nine times out of ten he's going to leave it up."

Lenkart said that what he loves about riding Impulsive is that he "tries (at) every single jump. If he goes and makes a mistake, it's my fault. It's very rare that he comes home without a prize or a ribbon," he said.

Jumper Highlights - Wednesday through Sunday

The highlight jumper class for the first day of the week's competition on Wednesday was the Low Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumpers. It was Ann Arbor, Michigan resident Erin Haas who took the win in the class with All of a Sudden.

The week's jumper courses in the grand prix ring were designed by Michel Vaillancourt of Canada. There were 25 entries in this class, 21 had
a clear round to advance to the jump-off, and 13 of those were double clear.

Haas went in the middle of the class and was chasing a time of 31.704 seconds set by Laura Pfeiffer of Temperance, MI, on Jordy. Haas and All of a Sudden, a 14-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding, had very good turns with a very fast pace to take the lead in 29.711 seconds. Other riders were able to go clear, but none were able to match her time.

Haas has competed at Horse Shows by the Bay for all five years and has seen it grow into a major competition on the summer circuit. Thanks to people like the Haas family of North Face Farm, Horse Shows by the Bay has prospered.

Thursday's highlight class in the Team Elmer's Grand Prix ring was the $3,000 NAL Open Speed. For the second week in a row at Horse Shows by the Bay, Steven Weiss took the blue ribbon with Sil, owned by Laura Connolly of Rye, NY. Close behind in second was David Beisel with Irish Hunt, while Weiss finished third on VDL Nuit de Pomme.

The early leader in the class was Irish Hunt, ridden by David Beisel, who blazed around the track in 61.650 seconds and with the first clear round. Five trips later, it was Weiss and Sil who brought the winning time down to 60.884 seconds.

Sil, the 10-year-old Warmblood won last week's NAL Open Speed class as well, and Weiss noted that he is "fast" and that the class was "great preparation for the grand prix on Sunday."

The $10,000 Welcome Prix, sponsored by AmberWay Equine Solutions of Ortonville, MI was held on Friday and Addison Phillips and Trezebees were two for two, winning the class at both Horse Shows by the Bay Series I and II.

Over twenty riders attempted to make it around, but only seven managed to make it to the jump-off. Phillips was all smiles when she rode into the ring to accept her ribbons. "Winning two weeks in a row feels great. I have had this horse for four years now, so it is nice to win on such a great horse; she makes riding so much fun," said Phillips.

Victoria Birdsall of Topsfield, MA, won her second big class in a row on Saturday when she took home the top prize in the $10,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame (SJHOF) High Junior/Amateur Jumper Classic, sponsored by PhelpsSports.com, with Jerremy. Michigan rider Erin Haas finished second with Chianti 67, while Kimberly Seay of Mason, OH, rode to third place with Belvedere. 

Birdsall was second to go in the jump-off with Jerremy, an 18-year-old Warmblood gelding that has been winning in the jumpers for years. They made very tight rollbacks through the first three jumps on course and kept a quick, consistent pace. They finished with a clear round and stopped the timers in 37.122 seconds, which would prove to be unbeatable for the duration of the class.

It was another great win for Birdsall, who took home the blue ribbon in the same class last week. Her partnership with Jerremy has gotten better with each show, and they are proving to be one of the top junior jumper combinations in the nation.

Earlier in the day, the winner of the $2,500 Low Junior/Amateur Jumper Classic was Erin Haas on All of a Sudden.

Hunter Highlights - Wednesday through Sunday

Week two kicked off on Thursday with the 15-17 year old Equitation class in ring 4. The morning started off with a group of twenty-three competing in the over fences class. Winning top honors in the class was Elizabeth Perry of Kalamazoo, MI and her fifteen year-old Holsteiner, Londeur.

Following that class was the Platinum Performance USEF Talent Search, which was won by Johanna Hyyppa of Portland, CT and Radscha A.W. owned by Heritage Farm.

During Friday's competition the Taylor Harris Insurance Services (T.H.I.S.) National Children's Medal and the Ariat Adult Medal classes were both held in ring 3.

With a class of twenty-six competing in the T.H.I.S. National Children's Medal, the top four were called back to test. The test consisted of several simple changes of lead down the long side, a trot jump, a roll back turn to a canter jump, halt and then a two-stride line down the other long side to finish it off. The top four riders all executed the test very well, but it was Meghan Caraway of Grosse Pointe, MI and her horse Feuertanz who came away with the win.

Following Caraway in the top four line-up was Lacey Gilbertson of Lake Forest, IL and her horse Umiro Van Beek in second place. Third place went to Isabella Tillman of Beverly Hills, MI on her bay mare Enchantress, and fourth place honors went to Shelby Benjamin of Lake Forest, IL with Cardoso.

Following the children's medal class in the afternoon was the Ariat Adult Medal class. Just eight riders competed and the best four were again placed to test for top honors. The adult test consisted of cantering the diagonal line, trotting one fence, halting in the middle and then cantering the last fence. Julie Fontaine of Wellington, FL and her horse Romanof completed the test flawlessly and were victorious in the class.

Fontaine trains with Rob Bielefeld and has had Romanof for four years. The eleven year-old horse has been great for her. During the day's competition, Fontaine and Romanof not only won the Ariat Adult Medal class, but they were also champions of the Adult Equitation division.

Coming in just behind Fontaine in the top four of the Ariat Adult Medal was Kathleen Hendges of Clarklake, MI with her horse Manhattan for second place. Third place went to Sue Hehl of Temperance, MI on Something's Cookin' and fourth place was awarded to Terri Dandino of Monclova, OH on her horse Foreign Encounter.

Saturday evening featured the $10,000 ASG Software Solutions/United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) High Performance International Hunter Style Derby Classic. Janet P. Read of Wellington, FL generously sponsored the evening's class, which was won by Tammy Provost and Peridot, owned by Stephen Martines of Lafox, IL, and trained by Lynn Jayne.

The Hunter Derby was a very exciting and highly anticipated class, unlike any other held at the horse show. The class was created by the USHJA to bring back the deeply rooted tradition of the discipline of hunter riding and this was the first time that Horse Shows by the Bay had a chance to host such an event.

Fifty-one horses and riders competed in the first round of the competition, but only the top twelve were brought back to ride the handy hunter course in the second round. In the end, it was the combination of both round scores that gave Provost and Peridot the win and the honor to be the first winners to have their names engraved on the Horse Shows by the Bay Stanley Rheinheimer Memorial Trophy.

The course was designed by course designer JP Godard along with the help of show manager Dean Rheinheimer's fence designs.

After round one, Jamee Crawford of El Paso, TX and her horse Tuscan Sun were in the lead and Tammy Provost and Peridot were in second place, just two points behind them. However, the second round handy hunter course switched up the first round places quite a bit and it was Provost and Peridot who pulled it out for the overall win.

Along with Janet P. Read's generous sponsorship of the hunter derby class, there was also an exhibitor derby dinner thrown beforehand. The dinner, catered by Outback Steakhouse, was co-sponsored by Hillside Farm, Heather Irvine and family, as well as Brookwood Farm and Carl and Rush Weeden. Everyone at the event also got to enjoy live entertainment from the band The Saucecats thanks to their generous sponsorship.

Sunday wrapped up the second week of equestrian competition at Horse Shows by the Bay. Another successful week came to a close in ring 3 with the Adult Hunter championships.

The Adult Amateur Hunters competed in ring 3 in the 18-35, 36-50 and 50 and up age groups. The first division championship of the day went to Marianne Cochran and Clever Z in the Adult Amateur Hunters 36-50 years old.

Cochran and 5-year-old Clever Z have been training with Peter Pletcher for the last 5 years. They were not only champions of the Adult Amateur Hunter 36-50 year-old division, but they also came away with enough points to be awarded with Adult Hunter Grand Champion as well. The Grand Hunter Champions at Horse Shows by the Bay are honored thanks to the generous sponsorship of Mr. And Mrs. Forrest Shook of Fenton, MI. Series II champions received their championship coolers courtesy of Custom Fox Tack Shop of Temperance, MI and their generous sponsorship.

Following Cochran and Clever Z in the Adult Hunter 36-50 division, coming in just two points behind them, was Beth A. Bidgood and her horse Northern Crown. Bidgood, who trains with Saturday's Hunter Derby winner Tammy Provost, was thrilled about winning reserve champion in the division and how well her horse performed.

Next up for the day's competition was the Adult Amateur Hunters 50 years old and over, sponsored by Camping World and Ila Lemonis of Lake Forest, IL. Taking the top honors in this division was rider Stephen Martines and his horse, Bitelli. Martines, of Wellington, FL trains with Lynn Jayne and has been riding for 25 years. 

Martines is also the owner of Peridot, the horse that won the Hunter Derby Saturday night with Tammy Provost aboard. "That was the most exciting thing that ever happened," Martines exclaimed about the win.

Reserve champion of the Adult Amateur Hunters 50 years and over was Mary L. Hepler and her horse Engaged. The pair, who trains with Heather Irvine, had a successful two days of competition and managed to come in just behind Martines in points.

The final Adult Amateur Hunter division of the day was for the 18-35 year olds and it was rider Tracy Scheriff who won it with the handsome gray horse Absolut. R. Bruce Duchossois of Aiken, SC sponsored the division.

Scheriff, who trains with Havens Schatt, is 25 years old, from Ramsey, NJ. The horse, Absolut, is just 6 years old. Reserve champion of the 18-35 year old division of Adult Amateur Hunters went to Francesca Senior and her horse The Park After Dark. Senior, who trains with Peter Pletcher, was also the winner of the $1,000 Horse Shows by the Bay Adult Hunter Classic with her other horse, The Red Villain. Fresard Pontiac Buick GMC of Ferndale, MI sponsored that class.

Horse Shows by the Bay starts up again on Wednesday, July 30, and concludes on Sunday, August 3. For more information and full results, please visit www.horsesportsbythebay.com.

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