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Danielle Torano Speeds to Victory in Amateur-Owner Gambler’s Choice, While Addison Phillips Goes 1-2 in Junior Jumper Gambler’s Choice at Winter Equestrian Festival
The Gambler’s Choice classes are a fun addition to the show schedule and offer great prize money to the competitors. Those who showed in the class were also given a gift basket from the generous sponsor, Solaray, a nutritional supplement company. Each participant was given 50 seconds to complete a course of their own over jumps that were each given a different point value that ranged from 20 to 120. They were only allowed to jump each fence twice, and cannot jump it again if they have a rail down. After they finish, they are given the option of jumping the Joker fence, which would add 200 points to their total if they leave the fence up, but will decrease their point total by 200 if they knock it down. In the Junior Jumpers, it only took five horses before the crowd was treated to their first high score of the day. Addison Phillips, on Halifax Farm’s Rastella, rode a controlled course with a definite plan. They made a rollback after one fence and attempted to go back the opposite way of their course, just missing one more fence before the buzzer. She passed through the timers (used in case of a tie) in 59.955 seconds for 780 points. She then attempted the Joker fence, going clear and adding 200 more points for a total of 980. It took eight more horses before anyone came near Phillips’ successful ride. Mon Gamin and Brianne Goutal, who rode for the Cloverleaf Farm, also rode a well-planned course. They stayed and circled around the lower jumps, but racked up 530 points. “I did a completely different course from everyone else because my horse isn’t the scopiest,” Goutal explained after the class. “The big point jump was a little too big for him, scope-wise, but he is really good at turning and going straight away, so I concentrated on the bigger point jump at this end. I just tried to keep making turns, and he was really good.” After their clear attempt at the Joker fence, Goutal had 730 points. Eleven horses later, Phillips’ entered the ring again, this time on her own horse, Flight. Phillips took the same track as earlier, but was quicker in her rollback and made one last jump before the buzzer sounded. They were also clear at the Joker jump to end up with 1060 points. No other competitor after her came within 400 points of her score. The key to their win was that Phillips’ and Flight had no rails or refusals. Many horses had never shown at nighttime in the large field, and shadows played tricks with many. Goutal, who ended up in third place, said, “I was happy I went early, because it was lighter out.” Phillips’ was able to stick to her plan, whereas many others were unsure of where to go when they knocked a fence down or their horse was too scared to jump. Phillips commented, ”I had the advantage of having two in the class, so I saw where I could go faster with the next one.” Both girls agreed that that the Gambler’s Choice class is a fun class to compete in. Phillips related, “It’s so different from any class we do. You never get to make up your own course and just go as fast as you can. It’s a fun change. It’s not about winning as much as just going out there and having fun. That’s what is so special about this; there’s no pressure.” Danielle Torano, who won the Amateur-Owner Gambler’s Choice class, acknowledged, “I actually like these classes, because it’s different. A lot people don’t, because if you mess up it’s really hard to figure out where you’re going to go next. We always do the same kind of classes, so this makes it a little bit more exciting for us.” Torano won the A/O Gambler’s Choice with tough competition from Georgina Bloomberg. Bloomberg went ninth in the class with a very quick horse, Action, owned by Gotham Enterprizes. Bloomberg’s plan was to stay around the high point jumps, and flew over one last fence as the buzzer sounded for 650 points. After a clear attempt at the Joker fence, Bloomberg took the lead with 850 points. Seven horses later, Lara Gay rode Cannon Boy, owned by RCG Farm LLC, in a fast, clear round. She had 660 points and would have taken the lead, but took more than 20 seconds to jump the Joker fence and did not accumulate any more points. Bloomberg also went second to last on her other horse, Lumina 2. She was faster this time, but had a rail down at one jump. Their 860 point total was higher after they cleared the Joker jump, but it was not enough to catch Torano. Danielle Torano and Sir Ruly’s Capitano were only two horses after Gay. The bay gelding jumped high over the jumps with a very careful hind end. They did not seem to be going as fast, but they cleared every jump for 780 points. Torano revealed that she and husband Jimmy Torano had planned not to attempt the Joker jump if she had more than 500 points. However, she divulged, “I turned around to look at Jimmy and he started waving, go and jump it! I would have been second not jumping it, so we took a little bit of a risk and it paid off.” The Gambler’s Choice class is only the third time Torano has ever ridden Capitano. Her husband, Jimmy, gave the horse to Torano to try out. She explained, “He gave him to me to ride in the Amateurs for a little while. It’s nice and totally unexpected.” The new pair had a big win in their first class together and they plan to continue winning when they compete in the Amateur-Owner Jumpers. Official Results- Class 1056- $15,000 Solaray Junior Jumper Gambler’s Choice- March 4, 2005- Internationale Arena
Official Results- Class 1024- $15,000 Solaray Amateur-Owner Jumper Gambler’s Choice- March 4, 2005- Internationale Arena
The nighttime festivities continue next week when eight international teams and the United States compete in the Samsung Nations’ Cup on Friday, March 11, at 7 p.m. The Nations’ Cup, an international team show jumping competition recognized by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), is one of the highlight events that culminates the Winter Equestrian Festival’s stay in Wellington before it moves on to Tampa from March 23 through April 2. This will be the fourth consecutive year that the Winter Equestrian Festival is hosting the Samsung Nations’ Cup, presented by CN. The CN Finale, featuring the nation’s only outdoor Nations’ Cup competition, is expected to draw the largest and most exciting international field of competitors for any single event ever held in the United States. Photo Credit: Capitano and Danielle Torano, winners of $15,000 Solaray Amateur-Owner Jumper Gambler’s Choice. Photo by Randi Muster. |
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Wellington,
FL- March 5, 2005 - It was another exciting night under the lights of
the Internationale Arena during the Cosequin Wellington Open at the
Winter Equestrian Festival. Last night, 36 Junior Jumpers and 21 Amateur-Owner
Jumpers competed in their $15,000 Solaray Gambler’s Choice classes.
The junior jumpers were originally scheduled for last week, but were
moved to last night due to the rain. 
