Cody Auer Pilots Timo to $15,000 DG Ventures Speed Derby Win at Silver Oak Jumper Tournament
Hampton Falls, NH – August 10, 2013 – Following a day and night of steady and sometimes heavy rain,Saturday at the Silver Oak Jumper Tournament couldn’t have dawned more beautifully. Brilliant sunny skies, low humidity and an afternoon high in 70’s made for absolutely ideal conditions as the big weekend in Hampton Falls, NH got underway. The well maintained grass field withstood all that mother nature could deal out over a fourteen hour period and was still in almost perfect condition for today’s five class agenda.
The $15,000 DG Ventures Speed Derby drew a total of twenty-one starters to compete over Olaf Petersen, Jr.’s 1.35m derby track that included a total of sixteen numbered obstacles with nineteen jumping efforts. Petersen utilized the big Silver Oak bank and the ditch (or “grob”) and a number of natural obstacles on the big grass field. He also employed three double combinations, one early at #3ab, another just before the long home stretch at #12ab and finally as the penultimate elements at #15ab.
Only one entry from today’s starting field was able to master the track. With a spotless journey over the grueling test, Fairfield, CT’s Cody Auer stormed to victory, completing the course in 93.958 seconds for the win
“I just wanted to make sure I got the clean round, so I didn’t go crazy fast, just neat and tidy,” Auer said. “It was a long, tough test, so I was thrilled that Timo jumped around without a fault. It was a very exciting class, a fun one to win.”
“Yeah, for sure you get tired after jumping nineteen jumps,” she laughed. “It’s a long way around a very big grass field.”
“It’s great to be here. This is a lovely facility and riding out on the grass is something we don’t get to do that often. The field is in beautiful shape, even after all that rain that we had yesterday,” Auer said.
With just a single knockdown over the long track, Paul Halpern finished second with Kathleen Kamine’s Super G. Halpern’s time would have been good enough for the win, had the rail not come down. He crossed the finish line in 93.670 seconds, but with the 4 second penalty added for the knockdown, his final time ended up to be 97.670 seconds.
Less than a second behind in third place was Ambitious with Cody Parker riding for Kevin McCarthy. The pair scored a time of 98.278 seconds.
Fourth place went to Ollywood’s Des Horts, owned by Remarkable Farm LP and ridden by Ramiro Quintana in 99.609 seconds.
Rounding out the top six were Cequilla from the Oakland Ventures piloted to fifth place honors by Darragh Kenny (101.149) and Fair Play Farm’s The Man to See (102.402) and rider James North.
In the Low Junior-Amateur/Owner Jumper Classic, Allyson Shryoc piloted her mount, Cheval D’Espoirz to the top spot, defeating a starting field of twenty-one and ten others in the dash for cash. Shryoc breezed to an easy win, two seconds faster than the next best, hitting the timers in 33.673 seconds.
Valdez, owned and shown by Olivia Jack finished in second place, going double clear and posting a time of 35.394 seconds. Third place went to Ashley Prusak on the Top Story LLC entry of Rabin. Prusak tripped the timers in 36.775 seconds. For Prusak, today’s third place finish along with two earlier second place awards was enough to take home the Championship in the Low Junior Amateur Jumpers.
Today’s winner, Allyson Shryoc picked up Reserve Champion honors and then detailed her victorious jump-off ride. “I think primarily from one from one to two. I really angled fence number one and left out a stride to number two,” Shryoc said. “I actually added a stride to fence number three, but that allowed me to make a great cut back to the red and black oxer. I think that turn was a big part of today’s win too.”
“I just got her at the end of March. It’s really just come together for both of us. I don’t show that much anymore, maybe three or four shows in the summer because I have a three year-old son. I try and catch the shows as I can find babysitting services,” she laughed. “Which is why I really love coming here. I grew up in the area, and my parents are here. That gives me automatic babysitting services. They’re here and they bring my son to the horse show and I get to ride.”
“It’s great,” she said of the show. “I wish there were more shows in America like this one. They have spectators, they have fabulous footing. You know, we don’t get to jump on grass very much anymore. It’s really just a pleasure to be here. I wish they had more weeks at this facility.”
Rounding out the top six in the Low Classic were Sarah Flink and Aracona Z finishing fourth, coming home fault-free in 36.936 seconds. Flink was followed by Tricolor’s Charlie Brown and Tori Ganz in 37.123 and then Orleen and owner rider Sarah Ryan in sixth, breaking the beams in 37.258 seconds.
The High Junior-Amateur/Owner Jumper Classic was won by Nicole Bellissimo with the only double clear round of the class on Bellissimo LLC’s VDL Bellefleur. One of only three that went clear from the original starting field of thirteen, Bellissimo toured the jump-off course fault-free in 36.619 seconds.
As the first to return for the tiebreaker, she explained that she wanted to be fast enough to put the pressure on the other two coming behind her. “I went first, and with only two following me, I thought just a nice, efficient clear round would work. Fast enough to put the pressure on, but nothing too crazy so that I wouldn’t be clear,” she detailed. “Luckily, that worked in my favor.”
“It’s beautiful. It’s really an amazing venue, the field has held up really great and Olaf (Petersen, Jr.) is really good with moving all the jumps. We’re really lucky to be here,” Bellissimo said.
Second place went to Balboa 6 and Martin Guerra and third in the Classic was awarded to Prof de la Rogue from the Postage Stamp Farm and rider Annabelle Gundlach. Gundlach secured the Championship in the High Junior-A/O section.
In the Masters Classic, the first event on Saturday morning agenda, it was Christine Blair riding to a dominating victory on Foxgate’s Joker, owned by John Blair. The Tiverton, RI resident raced through the timers in the jump-off in 27.503 seconds for the win. Show Chairman, Jeff Papows finished in second place on Eurostar, but his time of 30.708 seconds was over three seconds off the winning pace set by Blair. Third place honors went to Watkiekie, owned by Ariane Stiegler and piloted by James Buchanan. Fourth place went to Jamie Prusak on the Top Story LLC entry of Waldo de Kalverie and fifth was Golf 96 owned by Danielle Stacy and ridden by Michelle Stacy.
The Champion from the Developing Jumpers, Alan Griffin from Ox Ridge, was the winner of the Herb Chamber Auto Group Piaggio Typhoon 50 scooter. With a one in five chance, Griffin drew the winning key that started the motorcycle.
The $75,000 Equestrian Estate Planning Group Grand Prix highlights tomorrow’s schedule in Hampton Falls as an elite group of top riders will vie for big prize money in the class and the $25,000 Boston Strong Bonus. The $25,000 cash prize will go to any horse and rider combination that win both the $75,000 Equestrian Estates Planning Group Grand Prix at Silver Oak and the Grand Prix at Fieldstone next week. Sunday’s Grand Prix is preceded by the $15,000 Agero Speed Classic.
Our thanks to Carolina Arena who has donated a 5 foot Drag-N-Fly Groomer to the Children’s Wish Foundation International Silent Auction. The drag can be pulled with an ATV or 3 pt. hitch tractor and the package comes with draw bar for an ATV. The retail price is $2600. The Groomer will be sold to the highest bidder on Sunday.