Danielle Grice And The Boy Wonder Win $5,000 Vive Magazine A-O Jumper Speed Stake

Wellington, FL - December 4, 2004 - Danielle Grice, 19, of Northfield, MN, riding her Appendix Quarter Horse named The Boy Wonder topped a field of 21 starters to claim victory in the $5,000 Vive Magazine Amateur-Owner Jumper Speed Stake, kicking off the action in the Internationale Arena this morning. Grice also finished ninth with her Good Karma. A high school graduate, Grise is currently a working student with her trainer Holly Shepherd based in Alabama. This is Grice’s second consecutive year competing at the National Horse Show and she was pleased with her win. “It felt great. It was really special,” she said.

Conrad Homfeld built a twisting course of 12 jumps that included long gallops, tight turnarounds, and combinations – a double at Fence 4 and a triple as the final element, Fence 12abc. Time Allowed was set at 91 seconds. Eight riders were able to keep all the jumps up, but Grice, who clocked in at a blazing 66.978 was almost four seconds faster than her closest competitor. Danielle Torano riding LaBelle owned by Jimmy Torano placed second in 70.734. Louis Jacobs riding Santa Cruz for Deeridge Farm was third with a time of 73.241.

Grice knew precisely where to give credit for her win. “This horse,” she smiled. She pointed out that the eight-year-old gelding’s Thoroughbred/Quarter Horse breeding is unusual in this sport. “He’s 15.2-hands, which is very small, and he’s all heart. He loves his job. He thinks he’s the coolest thing out there.” Grice purchased The Boy Wonder two years ago from a friend who kept him in her back yard as a trail horse. “She sent him to me because she had problems with him bucking and I just fell in love with him,” Grice said. “I took him to some horse shows and he decided that this was just exactly what he wanted to do. Every time we take him somewhere and think he might not be able to do it, he steps up to the plate.” Grice has concentrated on the Amateur Jumpers. “He’s done a couple of $25,000 Grand Prix,” she noted.

Grice enjoyed the track on grass in the Internationale Arena today. “It was fun. It’s always fun on the field. You get to gallop and jump big jumps. Usually the grass isn’t his favorite – it’s usually my other horse that’s faster and a speed winner, so it’s kind of shocking to me today for him to step up and do that,” Grice laughed. She noted that going earlier in the order with Good Karma and also watching the other riders helped prepare for her lightning round with The Boy Wonder. “You learn where you can make up time turning around a little bit faster,” she explained. For Grice, that spot today was from Fence 7 to 8 and then 8 to 9. “On my first horse after 8 I galloped way around to get to 9 and on my second horse I just turned around and went to it. He’s pretty handy and he’s got a very big step for a little horse. He covers a lot of ground.”

Last year’s National Horse Show was the first time that Grice had ever competed in Florida and she won the National Amateur-Owner Welcome Stake on Good Karma. “Of course I love this horse show,” she smiled. “So this year I decided to come back with two.”

The 121st National Horse Show & Family Festival runs through Sunday, December 5. More than 500 of the nation’s top horses are competing in hunters, jumpers, equitation and dressage for more than half a million dollars in total prize money. The upcoming attraction on Sunday, December 5, is the $100,000 Budweiser AGA Championship, CSI*** presented by Chesapeake Petroleum.

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.