It was Beth Underhill and veteran mount Viggo that vaulted to the top of the leaderboard during the $25,000 Amberway Equine Welcome Stake at the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival Friday, winning the highlight event as the fastest of only four double clear efforts. The pair, hailing from Canada, broke the beam in 42.044 seconds to take home the lion’s share of the earnings ahead of 22 contenders.
Keith Bollotte designed the courses for the $25,000 Amberway Equine Welcome Stake, testing riders with a fair yet technical track. Faults were incurred throughout the 16-effort course, with only eight able to clear the opening round and move into the jump-off.
Eventual winner Underhill said, “I thought Keith [Bollotte] did a really masterful job today. He had quite a few entries and he wanted to test the field. I thought it was a very fair track, but challenging. The jump-off was a really fun track to ride. There were places where you could gallop and you had to be careful, but all of his tracks have been fair and on point.”
Traverse City, MI – July 10, 2015