Two big wins for Beth Underhill at Caledon Equestrian Park Summer Classic

Underhill and Count Me In beat out a field of 40 riders in Friday’s Welcome that saw 14 horses qualify for the jump off. The pair was last to go in second round and were an eleventh of a second faster than runners up, Nina Fagerstrom and Flower to claim the top prize.

“I had given my horse a nice, easy class on Wednesday and he felt very confident. My priority was (the Grand Prix on Sunday), but he felt so comfortable and confident that I decided to take a shot in the jump off and it ended up being fast enough to win,” said Underhill.

American course designer Ken Krome made things a little tougher in Sunday’s Grand Prix with only three riders out of a field of 26 conquering the first round to advance to the jump off.

“Kenny built a very technical track and used the ring in quite an unusual way. He brought out a lot of the Pan Am Games jumps, so for the horses to see all that colour, I think may have been a little daunting for some of them,” said Underhill.

This time, Underhill and Count Me In, a nine-year-old Hannovarian gelding owned by Sandy Lupton, were first to jump off.

It made little difference, however, as Underhill was the only rider to go clean in the second round, topping Sam Pegg and Courtney Vince for her second win of the week.

“Today we went first in the jump off. That’s always more of a consideration because you have to try and anticipate the horses coming behind you. It’s important to go clean and put the pressure on, but you also have to be fast enough to hold up throughout the class,” said Underhill.

“Going right at the end (on Friday) gave me a bit of an advantage, so I was hoping my time would hold up for this class and I ended up getting a little lucky,” she added.

Underhill said she sees a lot of promise in her winning mount.

“He’s a fantastic horse and Sandy and Rob Lupton are wonderful owners. This is our third season together and he doesn’t have a ton of experience at this level, he’s just moving into the meter-45 level,” she said.

“He’s showing immense promise for the future. He always tries his best. He’s careful, he’s brave and he’s fast, and those are all the components you need in a modern show jumper. I’m really excited and grateful to have such a wonderful horse to ride,” added Underhill.