Richard Spooner claims victory in Alltech Grand Prix
In a thrilling conclusion to the international action at the Alltech National Horse Show in Kentucky saturday night, America's Richard Spooner clinched victory in the $250,000 Alltech Grand Prix, while second-placed Nick Skelton from Great Britain claimed the Leading Rider Award. The twists and turns of sporting fortune were carved out in perfect relief – 24 hours earlier Spooner left the arena on his feet after a fall, but tonight he was the undisputed champion.
The National Horse Show Grand Prix title is one they all want to win. The Roll of Honour includes horse-and-rider combinations of legendary status, including Canada's Ian Millar and Big Ben (1986 and 1987) and America's Greg Best with Gem Twist (1988). Spooner and his ever-constant gelding Cristallo have now joined the ranks of the stars who have taken this most coveted prize, and they did it in style when coming out best in a sensational five-way jump-off against the clock.
THE BEST FROM THE REST
Richard Jeffery produced another superb course of fences that weeded out the best from the rest in the first round. As an FEI World Cup qualifying competition the test was always going to be considerable, and the British course-designer's 13-obstacle 1.60m track posed questions about control of pace, rideability on turns and rider accuracy on the line of approach. The latter was particularly important on the run from the oxer, three from home, to the penultimate triple combination which proved the undoing of Americans Sarah Tredennick (Vigaro) and Brianne Goutal (Ralvesther). Both girls made unscheduled dismounts at the third element of the triple when things went awry. As Spooner explained afterwards – “there was an awkward approach here – it was easier to do five (strides) and come on an angle (from the previous oxer), than to do six and have the horse get a little deep – if you got too close, then the back element of the B element was in Syracuse! and some of the horses quit going to C, because they landed too shallow going to B” he pointed out.
For others however, their only mistake was at the final “Steamboat” oxer located in the line of sight of the outgate, the dislodging of its light-coloured poles crushing some promising rounds including those of second-line rider Quentin Judge (HH Calvano), and fellow American's Charlie Jayne (Athena) and newly-crowned Pan-American team and individual gold medallist Christine McCrea (Avenir).
Unluckiest of all was Russia's Liubov Kochetova who steered her chestnut, Boyce, home without incident only to see a single time fault on the scoreboard, but this was good enough to secure sixth place and a good chunk of the generous prize-money.
SPARKLING LINE-UP
The sparkling line-up of successful rides was always going to guarantee an entertaining second-round decider, and, first to go, Spooner was taking no chances. It's not without good reason that the 41 year old Californian has earned the nickname “The Master of Faster”. He has an inbuilt speedometer that rarely lets him down, and as he posted a clear in 37.97 seconds he really piled the pressure on the remaining four.
“When I go into jump-offs I don’t like regrets. I wasn’t going to try to leave a lot on the table so I would be driving home thinking, “Oh, if I had done this, or I had done that.” I went out and went as fast as I felt I could, intending to leave the jumps up. I took a big risk to the wall; I got a bit lucky there. I was concerned a bit that my wheels would fall off going to the last combination – I'm sure Nick was quite optimistic that would happen as well too! He (Cristallo) held it together though, and really came through for me” Spooner added.
Next in was US veteran Margie Engle, and the 53 year old Floridian, 2005 National Horse Show Grand Prix champion, set off with determination on her big grey, Indigo. But the roll-back after the vertical second fence to the following oxer proved pivotal throughout the timed round, and she was the first to lose her forward momentum on the turn and to hit the oxer as a result, registering four faults in 46.71.
FANTASTIC WEEK
New Jersey rider Jessica Springsteen has enjoyed a fantastic week, and her truly elegant mare, Cincinatti La Silla who would not look out of place in a show-horse arena, has been producing performances of pure class. But they also fell foul of the turn after the second fence, although they crossed the line faster than Engle's time in 40.66 seconds. And when The Netherlands' Harrie Smolders followed suit with Exquis Oliver Q, stopping the clock on 44.95, then only Skelton stood between Spooner and the ultimate prize. It didn't go quite right for the Briton however. Spooner's five-stride run between the first two fences had set him up for a great round, but it didn't come up for Skelton and Carlo.
“I didn’t really get the distance I wanted to to the first fence, so I ended up having six strides to the vertical. Then, when I turned, he just sort of stopped dead. I stood still for a split second, so I knew I was well down (on time) then. I knew from the rustic to the end of the course I was pretty quick. But saying that, I thought if I got five to the second I probably wouldn’t have beat him anyway, and I probably wouldn’t have gone as hard then as I did. I was very pleased with him any way; he jumped very good again this week” said the man who won the prestigious President's Cup in Washington, USA last Sunday with this same horse and who now heads to Toronto, Canada.
GLORY
The glory all belonged to Spooner and Cristallo. And it seemed very appropriate that it rested in American hands. “I love the National Horse Show, I was lucky enough to do it one year at the Garden (Madison Square Garden in New York), my last Junior year, when I was doing the Equitation. I have a kind of fondness for it. There is a lot of prize money. I heard that the facility here was phenomenal, the management was going to be excellent, and obviously the prize money is a big factor. Whenever you are planning a trip you have to think of the risk-reward, and there’s a lot of reward coming here and that makes the decision a heck of a lot easier” he pointed out.
Skelton, who celebrated his Leading Rider prize of a brand new Audi Q7 with a wild drive around the arena, was high in his praise of the Alltech National Horse Show’s new home at the Kentucky Horse Park. “I think it is very nice here, you have a lot more room than you had in New York and other venues. I hope that after this year it will take off a little bit more. I think with the Breeder’s Cup going on it kind of drained the public, but there was a good crowd here tonight and I think that it will only get better with time” he said.
That is the feeling of all those involved in the show this week. There is a sense of something very important having happened. “I am happy to tell you that we won’t conflict with the Breeder’s Cup next year. Hopefully we’ll get a better crowd. We will certainly be back next year and it will be bigger and better. I am getting together with the people at Alltech on Monday to brainstorm about what we’re going to do to give you more prize money, classes, and days in the schedule. We are going to look at more options for next year. I promise you that we are bringing back all of the parts of the National Horse Show that we saw at Madison Square Garden years ago, the saddle horses, the coaching and of course the best jumping and – if the FEI looks at us favourably – hopefully a Nation’s Cup”, said ANHS President Mason Phelps Jr. And US Chef d’Equipe, George Morris added – “it feels like bringing Madison Square Garden to Kentucky, and it does our hearts good”.
WONDER-CHILD
Earlier in the evening, New York's wonder-child, 14 year old Lillie Keenan, repeated her victory of the previous evening in the Junior Jumper division with a brilliant last-to-go effort from her lovely grey, Vanhattan, to clinch the coveted $50,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Junior/Amateur Championship. Just five of the 31 starters, all of whom qualified for the Alltech National Horse Show 2011 through good performances throughout the 2011 season, jumped clear over the first-round track and it was Christina Kelly and Camirage who led the way against the clock with a four-fault round in 37.39 seconds.
Next in was Lauren Ward, whose husband McLain Ward won Thursday's Double H Farm's International, but with 16 faults on the board with Oskar she left the gate wide open for the remaining three. Charlotte Jacobs has had the former Chris McCrea ride, Promised Land, on lease for the last year and produced the quickest time of 36.77 seconds but left one on the floor, so when Robert Lee and El Grecco put in a careful clear in 41.49 seconds it was up to Keenan to beat that. And with consummate ease the youngster steered Vanhattan home to clinch it in 39.66 seconds.
The Alltech National Horse Show concludes tomorrow with the McLay Final, an Equitation Star-Finder for the younger generation who, if Alltech founder and President Dr Pearse Lyons and all those who have invested so much time, effort, energy, resources and enthusiasm in reviving this great fixture have anything to do with it, are set to inherit a world-class fixture with a long and distinguished past and a very optimistic future.