East Dorset, VT — July 17, 2005 – Jimmy Torano of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, riding Edesa’s Caruso for owner James B. Pirtle and the Caruso Group won the $30,000 Battenkill Grand Prix at Manchester Summer Festival on Sunday, besting a field of 24 horses. Danielle Torano, placed second with Capitano owned by Sir Ruly Inc. Beth Underhill aboard Magdaline owned by Darryl B. Williams was third.

As the announcer commented at the close of the 10-horse jump-off, “It was Torano Time!” The husband-and-wife team competed two horses each in the Grand Prix and qualified three of them for the jump-off. Ironically, Jimmy’s horse Aguila, who won this class in 2001 and 2004, had a rail in the first round and did not move on to the tiebreaker, instead finishing in 11th place.

“That’s a very careful horse,” Torano said of his winning mount, Edesa’s Caruso. “He’s not typically as fast as some of the others. Honestly I didn’t think I could be that fast, but there were already a couple ahead of me that went really fast - Beth Underhill was really fast - and I told Danielle, ‘We have to go for broke now’.” Torano noted that there was a line across the middle of the course in the jump-off that all the riders rode in eight strides, but “Danielle and I were the only two that did seven. That’s probably where we got it.”

Anthony D’Ambrosio designed the technically challenging 14-obstacle, round one track, which included double combinations at Fences 4, 8, and 11, and a sweeping long gallop from Fence 6 to 7. The time allowed was set at 93 seconds. Ten horses conquered the track fault-free and moved on to the Jump-Off. The seven-jump shortened course retained the 11AB combination and added two new fences, oxers 12 and 13, heading for home. Danielle Torano notched the first clear and set the time to beat at 42.382 with Gibson owned by Sir Ruly, Inc., but with five more riders logging double-clear performances, including Danielle on her second mount, Capitano, they ended up finishing 5th.

Christine Tribble aboard Laddidor edged Torano out of the lead with her trip in 42.156, but finished in fourth place. Caitlin Venezia gave the leaders a run for the money with a clear aboard Garoucha in 42.77, which proved to be good enough for sixth. Randall Johnson made his bid for the win aboard Tornado, but his clear round in 49.234 was only good enough for seventh.

Then the intensity of the jump-off heated up when Canadian Olympian Beth Underhill and Magdaline set fire to the course, clocking in clean in 39.969, which eventually landed her third. Daniel Damen with Jewel Thief posted the fastest time in the jump-off, 38.172, and proved Underhill could be caught, but a rail down dropped him to eighth.

The last jump-off contenders put the pedal to the metal to catch Underhill, and it came down to the two Toranos. Jimmy and Edesa’s Caruso blazed around the course in 38.507 seconds to capture the lead. Last to go, Danielle, the only rider to qualify two mounts for the jump-off, aboard Capitano aced the course in 38.833, just edged into second place by split seconds, giving Jimmy the victory.

With recent Grand Prix wins this summer at Saugerties, Lake Placid, and now in Vermont, Jimmy acknowledged that he’s on a roll. “Hopefully it’s not going to end any time soon!” he said with a laugh. “It feels great. It always feels great to win. Someone’s looking down on me, I guess.”

Torano has had the ride on Edesa’s Caruso, a 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood, for two years. “He had an injury so he sat out for a year unfortunately,” Torano explained, who has only shown the horse lightly this year. “I thought now was his time to step up and go back to the Grand Prix ring and he proved me right.” Torano noted that Edesa’s Caruso, Aguila, and Gibson all came from Paul Hendrix in Holland.

Torano said that having his wife as the last challenger to his lead did not influence how he rode the course or how he coached her. “Even after I had the lead, I went over the course with her and still gave her what I thought was the winning path,” Torano said. “She was right on my heels. I just got her. I was screaming for her the whole way around. If she had won, that would have been great also.”

Asked how it feels to be winning and to tell another rider how to beat you, Torano laughed and said, “She’s my wife! We’re in the same class but we’re not in competition. We’re a team. In the end, it all goes to the same place. Whether she wins or I win, it’s all the same really.” The Toranos won $18,000 in combined prize money for their performances in the Grand Prix.

The featured $30,000 Battenkill Grand Prix wrapped up the first exciting week of hunter/jumper competition at the five-week Vermont Summer Festival. Show jumping action continues at the Harold Beebe Farm in East Dorset, Vermont, next week with the Manchester Classic Horse Show, July 20-24.

$30,000 Battenkill Grand Prix

PLACE - HORSE - RIDER - J/O FAULTS/TIME - PRIZE
1 Edesa’s Caruso - Jimmy Torano - 0/38.507 - $9,000
2 Capitano - Danielle Torano - 0/38.833 - $6,600
3 Magdaline - Beth Underhill - 0/39.969 - $3,900
4 Laddidor - Christine Tribble - 0/42.156 - $2,400
5 Gibson - Danielle Torano - 0/42.382 - $1,800
6 Garoucha - Caitlin Venezia - 0/42.777 - $1,500
7 Tornado - Randall Johnson - 0/49.234 - $1,200
8 Jewel Thief - Daniel Damen - 4/38.507 - $900
9 Pamina - Juliana Starbuck - N/A - $900
10 Castle Tweed - Michael Kirby - N/A - $600
11 Aguila - Jimmy Torano - N/A - $600
12 Argensohn - Robert Ross - N/A - $600

Featured Classes Upcoming at Vermont Summer Festival
As per tradition, the Vermont Summer Festival will feature a $10,000 Mini Prix every Friday, as well as a $30,000 Grand Prix held each Sunday for the first four weeks. New for 2005, the Vermont Summer Festival will conclude with a grand finale, the $50,000 Vermont Summer Celebration Grand Prix. Each of the five weeks will also feature a $10,000 Show Jumping Hall Of Fame High Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper class, part of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series. Marshall & Sterling and North American League (NAL) classes are also held throughout the five weeks of competition.

For further information on the 2005 Vermont Summer Festival, please visit www.vt-summerfestival.com, e-mail: info@vt-summerfestival.com or call (802) 496-9667 or (802) 362-9023.

ATTACHED PHOTOGRAPH
Jimmy Torano and Edesa’s Caruso - Photo credit: David Mullinix Photography