Posted February 27. 2006

Robert Smith Topples Nick Skelton as Great Britain Reigns Supreme in the $100,000 Zada Enterprises, LLC Masters Cup at the Winter Equestrian Festival

Wellington, FL– February 26, 2006 – A quick-moving early morning storm front was the precursor to further overcast skies and much cooler temperatures for Sunday afternoon’s $100,000 Zada Enterprises, LLC Masters Cup at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington. However, the crowd that braved the elements and stuck it out were treated to a dandy of a jump-off in the main event at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club.

In the end, it came down to the “Battle of Britain,” as Robert Smith and Gerry Maguire raced past Nick Skelton and Arko III for the hard fought victory.

Sixty starters gathered for the 2 p.m. event, scored under FEI Rules for World Cup (Art. 655) and FEI Rules for Jumping, Table A mixed. Article 238.2.2. Time First Jump-off. Venezuela’s Leopoldo Palacios-Jugo designed today’s $100,000 Masters Cup challenge.

Nine horse and rider combinations qualified for the timed jump-off with first round clears. Fifteen riders had a single rail down for four faults, while another seventeen duos had two knockdowns. Nine had more than eight, and four were eliminated or withdrew.

The jump-off field featured a single American rider doing battle against eight foreign competitors for the top prize.

Eric Lamaze of Canada and Torrey Pine Stable’s Hickstead had the drawback of returning in the first spot in the jump-off, but did not for a moment let that stop them from laying down a fantastic trip with a very fast time. Lamaze never let up and raced home with a clear go in 39.97 seconds, a time that would hold up for the third place finish.

Belgium’s Eric Flameng and Roxanne, owned by Floriac, LLC, also produced a tiebreaker clear, but clocked in at 42.65 seconds, well behind Lamaze. Another clear followed immediately from Leopold Van Asten of the Netherlands. Aboard VDL Groep Fleche Rouge, owned by Stoetery Duyselhof, Van Asten moved ahead of Flameng with a clear go in 42.14 seconds.

Francois Mathy of Belgium returned next with Calmero Orion. Mathy topped Lamaze’s time by 2/10ths of a second, but knockdowns at fences 8 and 12 on the speed course produced a score of eight faults. His time was 39.79 seconds.

Nick Skelton and the fabulous stallion Arko III took over the top spot with a brilliant ride. Skelton met every spot perfectly and managed to shave 4/10ths of a second off of the Canadian’s time, coming home in 39.48 seconds to take the lead.

The lone American rider in the jump-off, Laura Kraut and the Summit Syndicate’s Anthem challenged next. Kraut appeared to be on a pace to take the lead, but Anthem dropped a rail at 11b and then another right away at 12. Kraut then let off the gas, but still managed to trip the timers in 39.89 seconds.

Canada’s Mario Deslauriers and Naomi also had two rails down (8-9) and his final time was 42.51 seconds.

Then it was time for Robert Smith and Gerry Maguire. Winners of the tremendously fast Acorn Hill Speed Challenge on Friday, the duo put in another stellar performance against the clock, racing home 9/10ths of a second faster than countryman Skelton for the win. Smith broke the beams in an incredible 38.54 seconds.

Yann Candele of France with Tyra, owned by Ashland Stables, wrapped up the class with three knockdowns. Their twelve fault score was accompanied by a time of 41.85 seconds.

“It’s our first week here, and we couldn’t get a much better start really,” smiled Smith following the win today. “I thought it was a quite difficult course with a lot of very good horses in the class. It was a clever course. And the ground was very good, it held up beautifully today. And I think he got a crackin’ jump-off as a result,” he said.

“I knew Nick was quick,” Smith detailed. “And I had nothing really to lose. My horse was jumping good and felt really well, so I thought I’d give it a bit of a go. I know he’s really quick, that horse of mine. He’s a real blood type and he’s fast, so I was all to giving him a chance to win,” he said with a smile. “He’s a really useful horse. I’ve not jumped him in many grand prixs. He’s only won a small grand prix over in England, but he does everything and does everything pretty well. He does the Puissance, Table C’s, Knockouts, he’s won virtually every class I’ve been in with him.”

Skelton was pleased with today’s outcome as well. “I thought the course was big enough. With sixty horses in it and nine clear rounds, I think he (Palacios) got a good result,” he said. “And the jump-off was, I thought, a very galloping track, so obviously it favored a horse with a big stride galloping to single jumps. I was well pleased with my horse. He jumped really good, and I can’t complain. He jumped in Dubai and then went to Zurich in January, so this is his first time out since then, so I have to be pleased.”

Asked following today’s class if this is an ongoing rivalry, Smith said, “Always! But a rivalry between everybody really. If you didn’t feel and ride like that, you wouldn’t be any good anyway.”

Smith continued to offer praise for the Winter Equestrian Festival and President Gene Mische in particular. “It’s a bit of a hike to get over here, but Gene Mische has made it possible for us to come over, and I hope it pays off for everybody,” he said. “For me and Nick, it’s a great time of the year to come over here because we’ve been to all the indoor shows. So, to get a few of the great riders over from Europe to compete here is a nice break for us.” And he added with a grin, “I hope it gives everybody something different to write about.”

Skelton offered his review of WEF, “I think it’s very good. This arena is amazing. It holds up really well. With the amount of horses that have jumped out here over the past five weeks, it’s pretty incredible really. And the other outside show rings are excellent. It’s been really good for my young horses here.”

Today’s $100,000 Zada Enterprises, LLC Masters Cup was the tenth 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. For Mario Deslauriers, his eighth place finish today should move him right near the top of the FTI standings with only four classes to go.

Today’s Masters Cup was also one of only two remaining U.S. East Coast League World Cup Qualifying events. With a seventh and eleventh place finish today, Laura Kraut and McLain Ward further secured their spots on the roster for the World Cup Finals in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Chris Kappler and Christine McCrea, both below the cut for the World Cup Finals before the class, finished in the top sixteen today and should move into contention for one of those final seven spots. The last qualifying event is the Grand Prix of Tampa in March.

Next week, the CN Worldwide Wellington Open, presented by Cosequin CSI 5*, includes the debut of the CN Worldwide Global Champions Tour on Sunday March 5, 2006. International riders from around the globe have converged on South Florida for the start of this new and dynamic worldwide series.

Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Columbia, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom are some of the nations from the around the world that have show jumping representatives in Wellington.

Ten or more of those countries are expected to compete in the 2006 Nations’ Cup, presented by CN. This is one of the must-see events of the season for any equerstrian enthusiast. It will be contested under the lights on Friday, March 10th, during the CN Wellington Finale CSIO 5*, and it marks the fifth time that the Winter Equestrian Festival will host this prestigious international event. The Nations’ Cup pits teams of show jumpers from multiple countries against each other in two rounds of exciting competition.

Results of Class 100 $100,000 Zada Enterprises Master Cup CSI-W - Zada Enterprises Wellington Masters CSI 3* - Internationale Arena – 2/26/06

• 1 3606 ROBERT SMITH GBR GERRY MAGUIRE 0.00 83.94 0.00 38.54 $30000 BROOK FURLONG FARM
• 2 3360 NICK SKELTON GBR ARKO III 0.00 81.85 0.00 39.48 $22000 NICK SKELTON
• 3 1869 ERIC LAMAZE CAN HICKSTEAD 0.00 82.46 0.00 39.97 $13000 TORREY PINES STBLE
• 4 3302 LEOPOLD VAN ASTEN NED VDL GROEP FLECHE ROUGE 0.00 80.77 0.00 42.14 $8000 STOETERY DUYSELHOF
• 5 536 ERIC FLAMENG BEL ROXANNE 0.00 80.48 0.00 42.65 $6000 FLORIAC LLC
• 6 3180 FRANCOIS MATHY BEL CALMERO ORION 0.00 82.19 8.00 39.79 $5000 INGRID NORMAN
• 7 1236 LAURA KRAUT USA ANTHEM 0.00 81.67 8.00 39.89 $4000 SUMMIT SYNDICATE
• 8 1362 MARIO DESLAURIERS CAN NAOMI 0.00 82.06 8.00 42.51 $3000 MARIO DESLAURIERS
• 9 1883 YANN CANDELE CAN TYRA 0.00 80.94 12.00 41.85 $3000 ASHLAND STABLES
• 10 1493 MARKUS BEERBAUM GER CONSTANTIN 24 4.00 78.34 $2000 BERTRAM FIRESTONE
• 11 561 MCLAIN WARD USA GOLDIKA 559 4.00 78.39 $2000 DOUBLE H FARM
• 12 1613 LAURA CHAPOT USA LITTLE BIG MAN 4.00 78.83 $2000 LAURA CHAPOT
• 13 1182 ANNE KURSINSKI USA ROXANA 112 4.00 80.52 SCOTT HAKIM
• T14 41 CHRIS KAPPLER USA VDL ORANTA 4.00 80.89 M&K ORANTALLC
• T14 1530 MEGAN LAMAZE USA OLLANDAISE 4.00 80.89 STONEY HILL
• 16 1011 CHRISTINE MCCREA USA PROMISED LAND 4.00 81.43 CANDY TRIBBLE

PHOTO CREDIT: Robert Smith and Gerry Maguire take $100,000 Zada Masters Cup at WEF. Photo by Randi Muster