SEPTEMBER 5, 2016 by Meghan Bacso
PHOTOS: noellefloyd.com
On Saturday, September 3rd, 2016, the spotlights went on over the main stadium at Angelstone Tournaments in Rockwood, Canada for the last time of the season for the $40,000 Groupby Grand Prix.
In front of a packed hometown crowd, it was one of Canada’s leading ladies of the sport, Beth Underhill, who bested a six-horse jump off to take the highlight event of the CSI2* International Tournament aboard Count Me In (Count Grannus x Sherlock Holmes).
“I couldn’t be more thrilled with him,” spoke Underhill of the 9-year-old Hannoverian gelding owned by Sandy Lupton and Robb Caswell. “Everything I asked for, he delivered, and for a young horse with his limited experience and exposure, I thought he handled tonight’s test beautifully.”
Underhill finished the jump off track in a time of 34.38 seconds, beating out the Irishman Conor Swail and Landsdownes (Guidame x Wolfgang) whose time was 35.01 seconds. Angelstone CEO, Keean White, rode to an impressive 3rd place aboard Corette (Sydney x Elcardo), stopping the timers at 36.16 seconds.
The evening’s course was set by Manuel Esparza of Mexico, and saw 37 riders take on the round one track of thirteen 1.45m obstacles.
Kelly Soleau-Millar and the aptly named Itty Bitty (Mr Itt x Prospector’s Halo XX) were first to enter the ring, finishing with just a single time fault that foreshadowed what would be the downfall of many riders to come. As the class passed its midway point in the order, the five leading riders were all sitting on a single time fault, and it was unclear whether anyone would be able to master the tight time allowed.
But the landscape of the evening changed when Irishman, Swail, entered the ring as 24th in the order aboard the 9-year-old Belgian Warmblood, Dillinger (Contender x Capitol 1), and to the delight of the crowd, posted the evening’s first clear. Swail’s round set off a string of clears, with the next two riders in the order, Canadians Keean White and Vanessa Mannix, also posting fault-free rides.
A total of six horse and rider combinations would eventually quality for the jump off, with Swail and White each qualifying two mounts.
Swail was first to ride the shortened track with Dillinger, posting a clear ride that would land him the 4th place finish, with his student, Mannix, and Rubens LS La Silla (Rebozo LS x Cash) trailing just behind him with a time of 39.46 seconds to take 5th. White and Hera Van De KouterHoeve (Dawson Van De Padenborre x Winsconsin Van De Cruyenvelden) were the only combination to fall victim to a rail in the second round, settling for the 6th place finish.
Underhill rode midway through the jump off order, and was unsure whether her time would hold up: “I knew that with Conor Swail–one of the fastest riders in the world–coming behind me, I couldn’t hold back and had to take every risk that I could. I ended up adding a stride after the combination that I was hoping to leave out, but my horse is so quick in the air that he made up some time.”
But Underhill’s time held up, with Swail and White each failing to cross the finish timers faster on their second mounts–Swail on the proven 13-year-old stallion, Lansdowne, and White on the nimble 9-year-old Warmblood mare, Corette.
Along with his 3rd place finish, White was awarded the Angelstone Triple Crown Trophy for his consistency over the series’ three Grand Prix events. White finished 3rd and 4th in the previous week’s highlight events, each time, a single fault keeping him from the top rung of the podium.
Count Me In has been partnered with Underhill for the last three years, but it’s only been over the past few months that the horse has come into his own. “He’s a very careful horse, very sensitive, so I really took my time to keep him at the lower levels until he got more relaxed and comfortable.” spoke Underhill. “Now he feels like every time out he can be competitive. And his scope keeps getting easier and easier so I think he’s a good horse for the future for me.”
“This was only his second class under the lights, but tonight he was more relaxed and felt very comfortable out there,” explained Underhill. “We’ll be going to Wellington for the winter, so I’m hoping he’ll be able to step up and do some of the bigger classes there. He’ll tell me what he’s ready to do.”
With a win under the spotlights at Angelstone now under their belt, Underhill and the talented gelding seem right on track to be a force to be reckoned with under the lights in Wellington this winter.
See the full results of the $40,000 Groupby Grand Prix at this link.
