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Articles: Press Release
Eric Flameng And Mazelle Win $25,000 Palm Beach Post National Welcome
Qualifying Stake, CSI*** At The 121st National Horse Show & Family
Festival
Eric Flameng and Mazelle
Photo by Randi Muster
Contact:
Mason Phelps, Jr. of Phelps Media Group, Inc. at (561)
753-3389 or at info@phelpsmediagroup.com
WELLINGTON, FL - December 1, 2004 - Belgian rider Eric Flameng, 47, of
Chicago, IL, aboard Mazelle won the $25,000 Palm Beach Post National
Welcome Qualifying Stake today at the 121st National Horse Show & Family
Festival in Wellington, Florida. Flameng topped a field of 40 horses
and also placed fifth with Roxanne. Floriac, LLC owns both mares. As the
highest placed rider in the three-star class, which kicked off the
$341,000 Jumper Division at the National, Flameng was also awarded the
Whitney Stone Memorial Challenge Trophy donated by the late Mrs. Whitney
Stone. He earned a total of $9,000 for his performances. "You know the
song, 'I Feel Good' by James Brown - I feel good!" quipped Flameng. "It
was an excellent day. The objective of the day was to learn the field.
It was exactly what we planned. We're so, so happy."
Conrad Homfeld of Southampton, NY, designed the course in the grass
Internationale Arena of the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club. Homfeld
built a sweeping13-jump Round 1 track with Time Allowed set at 81
seconds and tested riders with a triad of double combinations -
vertical/vertical at Fence 5, oxer/vertical at 8, and vertical/oxer at
the last obstacle, 13. Every fence on course fell at least once, but two
in particular caught the most riders - 3 and 13b. "Number 3 was a little
bit higher and a little bit angled. You had to do a nice curve and come
back in three strides to the fence. And the last fence, the horses were
a little tired and the distance was short from 12 to 13a and short again
to b, and the fence was wide. The course designer is a top, top course
designer. He is amazing. He was an excellent rider, now he's an
excellent designer." Ten horses went clean for the Jump-Off.
Homfeld's eight-effort Jump-Off course with Time Allowed set at 47
seconds gave riders the opportunity for a fast gallop from the first
fence to the second (2 and 9) and then required a tight loop from Fence
9 to 13a to 10. Horses had to adjust for the double that came up
immediately after 10 at 8ab heading towards the ingate, and then turn
sharply left to finish with the last two jumps (4 and 5b) galloping away
from home. Two riders, Schuyler Riley with Ilian and Lauren Hough with
Clasiko, elected not to jump-off, saving their horses for the upcoming
Grand Prix classes this weekend, cutting the contending field down to
eight horses.
Flameng was first to go in the tiebreaker and set the pace with Mazelle,
clocking in clean at 41.48 seconds, which proved to be unbeatable. Molly
Ashe went next aboard Naomi for owner Full Cry Farm and was clear in
41.60 seconds, claiming second place. Laura Kraut riding Anthem for the
Summit Syndicate crossed the timers fault-free in 42.17 seconds and
clinched third place. The rest of the field chased the leaders but was
unable to catch them and the leadoff placings never changed. Olympian
McLain Ward riding Quickstar II Z for Double H Farm was last to go, and
had the fastest time, stopping the clock in 40.34, but tumbled two rails
for eight faults and finished seventh.
Born in Brussels, Belgium, Flameng, a Grand Prix rider with 25 years on
the circuit, is based in Chicago, but summers in Canada and spends
winters in Florida. He was the Alternate on the Belgium Team at the 1996
Atlanta Olympic Games. Mazelle is an eight-year-old Belgian mare that
Flameng and his wife Florence have owned since she was four. Their
company, Floriac LLC, is a combination of their first names. Flameng
describes Mazelle as not mature but very careful. "She hates to touch a
pole," he said. Flameng plans to show Mazelle in the bigger Grand Prix
classes in six months.
Flameng's primary Grand Prix mount is Roxanne, the fifth place ribbon
winner, a 10-year-old Belgian mare that jumped clean in the tiebreaker,
but incurred one time fault, clocking in at 47.99.
Flameng's strategy for today's competition went exactly as planned.
Already in the lead with Mazelle, when he went again as the sixth rider
in the Jump-Off, he stuck to his plan with Roxanne. "My strategy was to
stay quiet with Roxanne because she will go to the Grand Prix on
Sunday." The $100,000 Budweiser AGA Championship, CSI*** presented by
Chesapeake Petroleum is the finale of the National Horse Show on
December 5. He said that though he went quietly, he still tried to win
with Roxanne.
But it was Mazelle who aced the course. "She was faster a little bit
everywhere. That was a nice course for her because it's exactly what she
likes - the turns that she likes," said Flameng.
His wife of five years, Florence, rides all Eric's horses in flatwork
training, added, "She can run from far away to a jump, see the jump, and
back herself up." Florence also noted, "Mazelle is such a couple with
Eric. She knows what he thinks. She's unbelievable. She's a very
sensitive mare. She wants to win. He's the only rider to ever ride her
or compete her."
Flameng comes to Florida fresh off the World Cup qualifying series of
shows in Canada where Roxanne won one of the World Cup qualifying events
in Montreal. Flameng is hoping for a trip to the World Cup Finals with
her in April. Roxanne is Belgian by the German stallion Ramiro, the same
sire as Chris Kappler's Olympic mount, the late Royal Kaliber.
The 121st National Horse Show & Family Festival runs through Sunday,
December 5. The 3rd Annual Zada Enterprises Dressage At The National
begins on Friday, December 3. More than 500 of the nation's top horses
are competing for more than half a million dollars in total prize money.
Upcoming attractions on Saturday, December 4, include the Children's
Fair from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM sponsored by Wellington Show Stables,
Lenehan Builders, Barbara Conners, and Alexandra Pozzo; the Taste of
Wellington from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM; and The I.V. Technologies, Inc.
Ladies' Side Saddle Over Fences and Hack classes.
For more information about the 121st National Horse Show & Family
Festival, write to National Horse Show, PO Box 386, Greenvale, NY 11548.
E-mail: NationalHS@aol.com; Phone: (516) 484-1865; Fax: (516) 484-1982.
Web: www.nhs.org.
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