Posted March 30, 2006

Laura Chapot and Sprite Secure Third WEF Circuit Championship with Tuesday Win

Rolling Thunder and Leslie Howard Roll On in 1.45m

Tampa, FL – March 28, 2006 – The top two finishers from Sunday’s $75,000 Grand Prix of Tampa, Leslie Howard and Laura Chapot, notched the first two victories of the day on Tuesday as the 2006 Winter Equestrian Festival moved into the final homestretch at the Bob Thomas Equestrian Center in Tampa, Florida. The Tournament of Champions, the last of nine weeks of exciting equestrian action, concludes with the $200,000 Budweiser American Invitational on Saturday night at Raymond James Stadium.

The courses at the Covered Arena this week are being designed by Olaf Petersen Jr. of Germany. The opening event on Tuesday was the lightly attended 1.45m Speed class, scored under USEF Table II, Sec 1. Time First Round.

Sunday’s Grand Prix of Tampa winner Leslie Howard dominated the competition, racing home to a sizable 5.35 second margin of victory over second place finisher Jaime Guerra. Howard scored the win on Rolling Thunder, owned by Maggie Ferguson. It was the duo’s third speed win of the season together. Howard’s finish time was 69.677 seconds. Guerra, on RMW Power Point owned by the Rocky Mountain Warmbloods, clocked in at 75.031 seconds.

“He’s a naturally fast horse,” said Howard. “I didn’t go that fast in terms of my track, but he’s a very quick horse across the ground. He’s a Thoroughbred. He’s light on his feet and very agile. He’s won three this season. He’s a fast horse and careful and clever.”

Howard also picked up the sixth, eighth and eleventh place ribbons in today’s class.

Results of Class 1003 $8000 1.45m Table II Sec 1 – WEF Tournament of Champions CSI – 3/27/06 – Covered Arena

• 1 463 LESLIE HOWARD ROLLING THUNDER 0.00 69.677 $2375 MAGGIE FERGUSON
• 2 554 JAIME GUERRA RMW POWER POINT 0.00 75.031 $1350 ROCKYMT WARMBLOODS
• 3 384 ROBERT KRAUT LIFE IS LIVE 0.00 77.437 $800 POLLY RICH FARMS
• 4 228 IAN MILLAR REDEFIN 0.00 77.554 $650 SUSAN GRANGE
• 5 278 ALISON FIRESTONE LA SUPRA 0.00 78.214 $550 BERTRAM FIRESTONE
• 6 459 LESLIE HOWARD LENNOX LEWIS 2 4.00 70.850 $450 LESLIE HOWARD
• 7 472 CHARLIE JAYNE URBANUS 4.00 75.071 $400 ALEX R JAYNE
• 8 460 LESLIE HOWARD RAIMOND W 11.00 82.150 $350 LESLIE HOWARD
• 9 385 ROBERT KRAUT PROVIDENCE 12.00 78.228 $300 PETER WETHERILL
• 10 631 KATIE PRUDENT PIONEER 16.00 83.810 $275 ZEIDLER FM CANADA
• 11 461 LESLIE HOWARD CALGARY 24.00 75.918 $250 DAVID GOODWIN

In the 1.40m Jumpers, the scoring was under USEF Table II, Sec. 2 (b), Time First Jump-Off. Of the twenty-seven starters that went to the post, ten advanced to the immediate tiebreaker. Of the ten that advanced, six went on to be double clear.

It was no contest today as Laura Chapot and Sprite blew away the competition with another dazzling speed performance. They broke the beams in the jump-off in 33.964 seconds to top Jimmy Torano and Ormsby Hill by 2.08 seconds. Torano stopped the clock in 36.047 seconds.

The win secured the 1.40m Jumper Circuit Championship for Sprite and Chapot for an incredible third year in a row. Last week, the dynamic duo nailed down the Acorn Hill Speed Challenge Series, also for the third time in three years.

“She’s fast all the time,” Chapot said following her win. “She felt great today. I think she was more comfortable today since they did some work with the footing over the weekend. It’s holding a lot better. She just was fabulous today.”

Chapot spoke about her the circuit win and about the consistency needed to take home a season long championship at the most competitive equestrian series in the world, for three years in a row. “When you find a careful horse that loves their job and wants to go out and do it everyday, there’s nothing better than that,” she said. “That’s what you strive for. Horses like Sprite or Little Big Man, they really love their job, sometimes more than the others. That’s why they win.”

She went on to say, “Sprite obviously knows the game. She knows what she wants to do and knows what the game’s about. She just loves to go out there and win. She’s a competitor, just like the riders are competitors. You don’t communicate verbally with her, but she knows,” Chapot said. “She understands what’s going on and knows how to win.”

The 34th Annual $200,000 Budweiser American Invitational, presented by The Tampa Tribune and Kash n’ Karry, the showcase event of the Winter Equestrian Festival, takes place this Saturday, April 1, 2006, at 7:00 p.m. under the lights at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium. The event, the richest and most prestigious outdoor show jumping event in the United States, will feature top riders from around the world. Tomorrow’s $30,000 WEF Challenge Cup Series Final is the last chance to qualify for the Budweiser American Invitational.

Results of Class 1004 $6000 1.40m Table II Sec 2(b) - WEF Tournament of Champions CSI – 3/27/06 – Covered Arena

• 1 132 LAURA CHAPOT SPRITE 0.00 70.745 0.00 33.964 $1850 LAURA CHAPOT
• 2 691 JIMMY TORANO ORMSBY HILL 0.00 78.326 0.00 36.047 $1200 JIMMY TORANO
• 3 379 LAURA KRAUT PANIC 0.00 75.571 0.00 36.871 $635 PANIC PARTNERSHIP
• 4 110 ELIZA SHUFORD PLENTY 0.00 76.213 0.00 37.348 $400 ELIZA SHUFORD
• 5 548 MARY SHIRLEY RMW LORENZ 0.00 77.102 0.00 38.810 $325 ROCKYMT WARMBLOODS
• 6 72 GEORGINA BLOOMBERG DON CESAR 0.00 75.408 0.00 40.707 $275 GOTHAM ENTERPRIZES
• 7 70 GEORGINA BLOOMBERG NADIA 0.00 78.801 2.00 46.853 $275 GOTHAM ENTERPRIZES
• 8 108 ELIZA SHUFORD CANTATE 26 0.00 73.904 4.00 35.968 $250 ELIZA SHUFORD
• 9 499 JOHN BRENNAN SAN REMO 0.00 77.960 14.00 50.745 $250 MISSY CLARK
• 10 631 KATIE PRUDENT PIONEER 0.00 75.750 ret. $180 ZEIDLER FM CANADA
• 11 102 CARA RAETHER UBLESCO 2.00 80.321 $180 TRELAWNY FARM
• 12 509 MICHAEL MORRISSEY CRELIDO 2.00 80.780 $180 EUGENE R. MISCHE

PHOTO CREDIT: Laura Chapot and Sprite win 1.40m Jumpers at Winter Equestrian Festival in Tampa. Photo by Randi Muster.