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Posted February 21, 2006 Margie Engle and Hidden Creek’s Wapino Unbeatable in $75,000 Bainbridge Idle Dice Classic at 2006 Winter Equestrian Festival
The Bainbridge Florida Classic/WCHR Spectacular CSI 3*, presented by the Palm Beach Post, wrapped up week four of the thirty-fourth annual Winter Equestrian Festival. Sunday’s feature, the $75,000 Bainbridge Idle Dice Classic Grand Prix CSI-W was scored under FEI rules for World Cup and under FEI Table A mixed, Art. 238.2.2. Time first Jump-Off. Forty-five starters went to the post for the 2 p.m. start. Jose “Pepe” Gamarra of Bolivia designed the test for today’s grand prix. Of the forty-five that started, five produced clean rounds to qualify for the timed tiebreaker. Three additional competitors jumped clean but exceeded the snug time allowed and finished with a single time fault. Eight riders had a single knockdown, while six had two rails and sixteen had three or more. Seven of the horse and rider combinations elected to withdraw or were eliminated. Twenty-four of the forty-five starters picked up time faults. Riding out of the second spot in the order, Wellington’s Margie Engle and Hidden Creek’s Wapino, owned by the Hidden Creek Farms, were the first to master the track. They were followed ten horses later by Olympic Gold Medalist Beezie Madden and Abigail Wexner’s Authentic. Another dozen competitors went by before Cara Raether became the third to qualify for the speed phase. Riding twenty-seventh on the roster, she was clear on Quilano de Kalvarie, owned by the Trelawny Farms. Three horses later, Canada’s Mario Deslauriers added his own mount Paradigm to the list. The jump-off field was then set when Markus Beerbaum, the forty-fifth to compete, went clear with Mr. and Mrs. Bertram Firestone’s Constantin 24. Engle and Hidden Creek’s Wapino returned first and set a standard that none of the remaining four competitors could catch. Engle toured the shortened speed course fault free and was under the wire in 39.88 seconds. Madden and Authentic, winners of Friday’s WEF Challenge Cup, caught Engle’s time but also caught the rail at fence 15 in the jump-off. Madden cruised home with four faults in 38.71 seconds. Following Raether’s slower four fault jump-off ride in 42.80 seconds, Deslauriers and Paradigm took over second place with the second clear ride in the tiebreaker. His time was 41.92 seconds. Beerbaum gave it a heck of a go at the end but pulled the pole at fence 5c and finished in 39.59 seconds. “You never go in and think you can’t be beaten,” said Engle following her win. “Every one of those riders, on any given day, could have beaten me.” “I didn’t love the position,” said Engle. “He’s been right there in every class but I thought this was a tough course to go early. But in the jump-off, I knew there were a lot of fast riders behind me, so I thought I had to take as big a shot as I could and hope he would leave the jumps up. I haven’t gone that fast with this horse that many times. He’s still pretty green,” she admitted. “He handled it pretty well. He got a little nervous at the end, he wasn’t sure what I wanted him to do with all the galloping. He got a little afraid of me when I was galloping and landing off the one jump. I felt him looking back at me, wondering what I wanted him to do,” she laughed. “Usually when I’m landing, I’m trying to relax him, but today off the skinny vertical, I decided to take a shot to the last fence and when I landed and started kicking he was kind of saying ‘What are you asking me to do?’ But, he finished great,” she said. “He’s got a lot of scope and a lot of heart. He really tried hard for me today.” “Yeah, I heard the roar of the crowd when Margie went clear and fast,” said Deslauriers. “And then, two or three went before me with four faults, so my plan was to go with an efficient clear round. My horse isn’t that quick, and he’s just coming back into form. He hasn’t jumped since October last year, and he’s only jumped a few weeks here,” he said. “Now he seems like he’s really getting in gear.” Engle knew the hometown crowd was one her side all the way through. “It’s a great feeling. It’s fantastic. It gives me a little extra boost when I ride here in Wellington,” she said with a smile. “When I walk in and until I’m finished, I focus on what I’m doing. I don’t hear much of anything, but when I’m crossing the finish line I hear them, and it’s really a good feeling to know they’re behind you. They’re a great crowd, and I think they’ve really become educated over the years, so it’s very exciting,” she said. Both riders were very happy with Jose Gamarra’s course today. “I thought it was a good course today,” said Delauriers. “There were a couple options here and there. I think he built a good track. There were a lot of places to get faults. I thought it was very fair. There were actually three others clear with a time fault, so I think the time allowed was just right, tight enough to push the ride just a bit to cause faults to happen.” Engle agreed. “I thought it was a good course, too. We’ve had killer courses the past couple weeks, so I thought it was kind of nice when I walked it,” she said. “I thought it was very technical and tricky in spots, but after last week it was a treat. It was a thinking course, but not a killer course.” She went on to say, “The horses can’t take jumping courses like we jumped last week every week. So it was nice to make it difficult in different ways, like with the tight time allowed.” “I got lucky again,” laughed Gamarra following the class. “I thought I did a good job. My intention this week was to make everything a little more fun for everybody. The course was tough enough, it asked enough questions, but today they seemed to jump better, more comfortable, and that was my plan.” The triple combination at 5a-b-c, accounted for 36 penalties throughout the class today and Gamarra explained, “The triple combination is always a tough test. I originally was going to do three doubles but the course designer last week did that.” “Today, more than the triple itself, was the question of the distance coming from the oxer at 4 to the triple,” he detailed. “That distance from there gave everyone a different idea on how to approach the combination. You noticed many times the A came down, or with a bad approach, they got the C coming out. But that wasn’t the distances inside the triple. They were very normal. The problem was really the distance coming into the triple.” With today’s win, Engle is at the top of the charts for the World Cup Finals in April. “I have to decide who I can take to Kuala Lumpur,” she said. “This horse (Wapino), I’m not sure is suited to a tight indoor setting, so I’d have to see what the facility is like, and Hidden Creek’s Perin, I don’t want to send that far. So, I’m not sure. Maybe Hidden Creek’s Alibi or Quervo Gold would be the two possibilities for the World Cup Finals,” she said. Today’s $75,000 Bainbridge Idle Dice Classic was the eighth of fourteen qualifying events for the FTI Rider Challenge, a rider bonus pool for $200,000 in which the riders receive points based on the number of riders in the seven Thursday and seven Sunday Grand Prix events that are part of the WEF Wellington series. And for Deslauriers, it’s a matter of keeping front runner Beezie Madden in his sights. “She’s kind of running away with it a little bit,” Deslauriers admitted. “But still, I’m staying close enough that you never know. We still have three weeks to go, six events left, so anything can still happen.” Next week’s show jumping action, the fifth week in Wellington, is highlighted by the $25,000 MJS Dealerships WEF Challenge Cup Series, Round V, CSI 3* on Thursday and the $100,000 Zada Enterprises, LLC Masters Cup, CSI-W, one of two remaining World Cup qualifiers, on Sunday. The following week, March 1-5, 2006, the Global Champions Tour makes its worldwide debut at the Wellington Open CSI 5* presented by Cosequin. Results of Class 100 $75,000 Bainbridge Idle Dice Classic CSI-W -Bainbridge Florida Classic – Internationale Arena – 2/19/06
Kelly Captures Victory in $10,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Junior Jumper Classic The DeNemethy Arena opened this morning at 9:00 a.m. with the $10,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Junior Jumper Classic, held under a Table II, Section 2(A) format. Nineteen entries participated in the class today, with only four jumping clear in the first round and qualifying for the jump-off. Today’s course was designed by Jose “Pepe” Gamarra from Bolivia.Carolyn Kelly and Rulanda, owned by Lulu Equestrian Enterprises of New York, New York, was the first to complete the initial round fault free and to return for the tie breaker. After knocking two rails, Kelly exited the arena with an eight fault score and a time of 32.159. Aimee Aron and Corofina 4 jumped their first round clear and elected to not participate in the jump-off, which automatically placed the pair in fourth. Carolyn Kelly returned to the jump-off aboard Lulu Equestrian Enterprises’ second qualified entry Lydia. Kelly bettered her previous score with a time of 33.472 and a four fault penalty. Haylie Jayne, the last to compete in the final round, piloted the Alex R. Jayne owned horse Jubulent through the timers in hopes of becoming the first to go double clear. Jayne lowered the height of the second fence on course and tripped the timers in 33.554 seconds, placing the duo in second. Kelly captured the blue with her four fault score. She led the victory gallop and took home a purse of $3,000. The next Show Jumping Hall of Fame Junior Jumper Classic will be held on February 26 in the WEF Internationale Arena during the Zada Enterprises, LLC Wellington Masters competition. The Zada Enterprises, LLC Wellington Masters will be held February 22-26, 2006. Official Results for Class # 1055: Show Jumping Hall of Fame Junior Jumper Classic, Table II, Section 2(A):
FEI Children’s International Jumping Competition Awards Team and Individual Medals The FEI Children’s International Jumping Competition concluded today with Competition 2 in the DeNemethy Arena. An identical format to yesterday’s competition was used in the class, with Rounds 3 and 4 determining Competition 2’s winners. Overall scores were tallied for all four rounds to calculate individual and team medalists. Twenty-one entries participated in today’s class. Yesterday’s winner, Julianna Fischer and Warren II, were one of two horse and rider combinations to enter into Round 4 without any accumulated faults. Victoria Birdsall and Conjour were the other fault free pair. Fischer completed the final course faultless with a fast time of 47.33. Birdsall competed last in the class and pulled two rails, finishing with a final score of 8. Fischer led the victory gallop once again for today and also captured the Individual Gold Medal for the weekend’s competition. The Silver Medal was placed around Birdsall’s neck for her ride with Conjour, and the Bronze Medal went to Kelsey Silverstein with Temps De Voler. The Team Gold Medal went to Team 4 with Julianna Fischer, Victoria Birdsall on Conjour, Kelsey Silverstein on Intrepid, and Kara Kaufman with Merlin, owned by Elizabeth Schiff. Silver Medals were awarded to Team 3, which included Sugar Daddy and Kara Kaufman, Mickey Moose and Shana Barnett, Kelsey Silverstein aboard Temps De Voler, and Taylor McMurtry on Nifty. Bronze Team Medals went to Team 5’s Victoria Birdsall and Maxim W, Julianna Richardson with Lady Grey, and Anna Kluger aboard Stepping Stone Farm’s Tirex. These riders now have the opportunity to show at the 2006 FEI Children’s International Jumping Competition World Finals, which will be held in Spruce Meadows. The FEI Children’s International Jumping World Final invites 32 riders to participate in the event. Sixteen riders attend from the host country and 16 international riders travel to the final. These participants represent the top finishers among more than 550 children competing at 41 qualifiers held worldwide. Riders are eligible to compete internationally as children from the age of 12 until they turn 15. Foreign riders compete on borrowed horses provided by the host country's riders and the organizing committee. Official Competition 2 Results:
Official Overall Competition Results:
PHOTO CREDIT: Margie Engle and Hidden Creek’s Wapino win $75,000 Bainbridge Idle Dice Classic. Photo by Randi Muster |
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Wellington,
FL – February 19, 2006 – A near record crowd of 11,784 enthusiastic
and animated show jumping fans packed into every available space at
the Internationale Arena on Sunday afternoon at the Winter Equestrian
Festival. They watched and cheered as their hometown hero, Margie Engle,
raced to an electrifying victory in the main event. 
