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Articles: Press Release
Ali Wolff and Hertel Landman Perfect $15,000 Bluegrass Derby at Kentucky Spring Horse Show
 Photo: Ali Wolff and Hertel Landman, winners of the $15,000
Bluegrass Derby at the Kentucky Spring Horse Show. Photo (C) 2008 Jenny
Ross.
Contact:
Jenny Ross of
Phelps Media Group, Inc.
at (561) 753-3389 or at pmginfo@phelpsmediagroup.com
Lexington,
KY - May 10, 2008 - Sunny skies welcomed show jumpers this morning as they
walked the course for the $15,000 Bluegrass Derby at the Kentucky Spring Horse
Show. The derby, held in the Sheila C. Johnson Arena, challenged riders to
gallop up and down the large grass bank. The small table bank was also
incorporated into the course with in-and-out obstacles. Richard Jeffery of Bournemouth, England, was the course designer,
and 36 horse and rider combinations participated in the 1.40m Table III, Faults
Converted, class.
The lead changed hands multiple times throughout the derby,
and riders continued to increase their speed. Candice King and Rupert, owned by
Skara Glen Stables of Pittsburgh, PA, were the first to execute a competitive
clear ride when they crossed the finish line in 91.750 seconds. Aaron Vale soon
upped the ante with his ride aboard Electric with a faster time of 91.041
seconds. Electric is owned by ABC 4 Horses of Oxford, MS. New York, New York's
Georgina Bloomberg surpassed Vale when she piloted Gotham Enterprizes' Star
Apple to a clean round in 90.616 seconds. Two rounds later Pablo Barrios of
Wellington, FL, bettered Bloomberg's score when he broke the 90 second barrier
in 88.281 seconds.
Todd Minikus and Romy, owned by the Diamond Group, then
superseded Barrios when they soared around the course, moving quickly down the
bank and clocking in at 87.033 seconds. Minikus resides in Loxahatchee, FL. Ali
Wolff and Hertel Landman, owned by Blacklick Bend Farm of New Albany, OH,
galloped in and performed an incredibly polished ride. They meticulously
sharpened their turns and met every fence with absolute accuracy, stopping the
clock in 85.064 seconds and topping the leader board.
Despite the efforts of Shane Sweetnam and Spy Coast Farm's Victor
III, whose fast time of 85.440 seconds secured the second place position, and
Candice King, who guided Skara Glen's Rebozo home in 88.045 seconds, Wolff's
refined ride locked in the win for the 18-year-old high school student. Hertel
Landman led the victory gallop for top honors, and one of the derby's youngest
competitors proved to be the very best.
"Hertel Landman is 15 years old, so he's had some
experience," explained Wolff after her impressive win. "I've had him for about
four or five years. He does the High Amateurs with me, and he's just great. You
kind of have to go in and plan on winning with him because he's so careful, and
I know he'll do the job. He's a natural."
She described Jeffery's course as "nice and flowing" and added,
"The way to win it was to be smooth and quick. Everything worked out to my
advantage. He has a right drift, and a lot of the turns were to the right. Also
he's good with naturals, so he did them like a pro. We've had some practice
over bank jumps, so I now know he's comfortable with them as long as we keep
our pace. He was perfect today."
Wolff, who will attend the University of Tampa
in the fall, revealed that the Kentucky Spring Horse Show is an annual
tradition for her. "It's great because I'm an Ohio resident, and it's only about a two
hour drive. It's pretty much a home base show for me. I've shown here since I
was about seven, and it's always fun and a great experience."
She will compete tomorrow in the High Amateur-Owner Classic
with her horses, Residenz and Oberon, and she will also ride in the $55,000
Commonwealth Grand Prix CSI 3* with her mount Lanoo.
Wolff trains with Michelle Grubb of Wellington, FL.
"I have to say it was a picture-perfect round," smiled Grubb.
"She and that horse are like magic. She got to watch some go today, and she knew
exactly what her plan was - and she rode exactly what she wanted to ride. It just
kept coming up the way she wanted it, and I just thought it was spectacular."
After
the $15,000 Bluegrass Derby, the Johnson Arena hosted the High Junior and
Amateur-Owner Table II.2(b) classes. Catherine Pasmore finished first and
second in the junior jumper class with Haddon House Carlson and Rouge Orion.
Both mounts are owned by Berkley Stables in Charlottesville, VA.
In the High A-O class, Jessica Leto of Foxpoint,
WI, earned the top award with her
horse Kruimel.
The Kentucky Spring Horse Show will conclude tomorrow at the
Kentucky Horse Park, and the Amateur-Owner and Junior Jumper Classics will be
held prior to the $55,000 Commonwealth Grand Prix CSI 3*. The Kentucky Spring
Classic will be held next week at the park from May 14-18, and highlights will include
the $30,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic Grand Prix 3*, the $20,000 Bluegrass
Classic, and the $55,000 Mary Rena Murphy Grand Prix CSI 3*, which is a member
event of the AGA Grand Prix Series.
For more information on the Kentucky Spring Horse Show and
the Kentucky Spring Classic, please go to www.kentuckyhorseshows.com.
Results of $15,000 Bluegrass Derby. Table IIIHorse Name NAT Jump 1 625 HERTEL LANDMAN ALI WOLFF 0.00 0.00 85.064 85.064 BLACKLICK BEND
FARM 2 957 VICTOR III SHANE SWEETNAM 0.00 0.00 85.440
85.440 SPY COAST FARM 3 302 ROMY TODD MINIKUS 0.00
0.00 87.033 87.033 DIAMOND GROUP 4 246 SKARA GLEN'S
REBOZO CANDICE KING 0.00 0.00
88.075 88.075 SKARA GLEN STABLES 5 553 LA GRAN PABLO
BARRIOS 0.00 0.00 88.281
88.281 PABLO BARRIOS 6 1248 MASERATI CHRIS KAPPLER
0.00 0.00 89.213
89.213 MARCIA DAMMERMAN 7 1313 ARISTIDE SHANE
SWEETNAM 8.00 0.00 81.922
89.922 BARBARA KELLY 8 1278 STAR APPLE GEORGINA
BLOOMBERG 0.00 0.00 90.616 90.616 GOTHAM ENTERPRIZES LLC 9 465 ELECTRIC AARON VALE 0.00 0.00 91.041 91.041 ABC 4 HORSES 10 247 RUPERT CANDICE KING 0.00 0.00 91.750
91.750 SKARA GLEN STABLES 11 661 UNDINE SCHUYLER
RILEY 4.00 0.00
87.913 91.913 TURTLE HALL FARM PARTNERS 12 1326 JULIA
DU BRIO AMANDA KNOWLES 0.00
0.00 93.683 93.683 BAYSHORE FARMS Photograph may be used only in relation to this
PMG press release.
ABOUT PHELPS MEDIA GROUP Phelps Media Group, Inc. International 12230 Forest Hill Blvd., Suite #100 Wellington, FL 33414 P: (561) 753-3389 / F: (561) 753-3386 pmginfo@phelpsmediagroup.com
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