PrintThe veteran grand prix rider outraces a former junior star for the win aboard S&L Willie.
One more stride might have made all the difference for Tracy Fenney in the $50,000 Grand Prix of Roanoke.
Fenny opted to ride the distance between a vertical-to-vertical combination and the next oxer on Linda Allen’s course in five strides rather than the four that most riders chose.
The strategy paid off by giving S&L Willie plenty of time to see the upcoming oxer and the confidence to jump it cleanly. “She went for wide and smooth,” said Fenney’s husband, Mike McCormick. “If you’re smooth, it generally means you’re good at what you’re doing whether you’re a downhill skier or riding the bulls in a rodeo.”
Despite the extra stride, Fenney and S&L Willie came home more than 3 seconds faster than Hillary Simpson (nee Schlusemeyer) on Stedet’s Leroy in the feature class of the Roanoke Valley Horse Show, June 23-28 in Roanoke, Va.
“Tonight, the jumps came up in a big hurry. It didn’t give anyone much time to organize and regroup,” Fenney said.
Fenny was the last to go in the jump-off, knowing Simpson had jumped a clear round on Stedet’s Leroy, owned by DK-USA Sporthorse, Inc.
Romeo, ridden by Evan Coluccio, 20, had taken down the top rail of the final fence, an airy vertical by the in-gate. This prompted an instantaneous groan of disappointment from the spectators who packed the coliseum. However it was still good enough to best Mary Lisa Leffler on Gerona 92 who also finished with 4 faults, since the long-striding Hanoverian mare was more than a second slower.
This was Fenny’s first trip to Roanoke, and the 43-year-old Texan from Flower Mound was a gracious winner, repeatedly thanking the autograph seekers in the warm-up ring afterwards for coming out to watch the competition.
Fenny and McCormick imported the 15.2-hand, 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood when he was only 5. “He had an arrogance that I liked,” Fenny remembered with a bemused expression.
Her husband is more willing to tell it like it is. “No one in Europe wanted him because he bucked so much,” McCormick recalled. “He almost threw Tracy out into the parking lot when we tried him. We watched him jump just 3 feet and we knew then he was real!”
Under Fenny’s steady hand, S&L Willie has progressed through the levels to become a consistent grand prix winner. “He’s a blast,” Fenney said. “But he’s a very careful horse. Sometimes if I’m not precise, he decides that he won’t participate. I like that about him because I want him to be careful and not to be nervous about what he’s doing. He forces me to do it right.”
Simpson, 29, of Southern Pines, N.C., returned to the show ring little more than a year ago after a six-year sabbatical from horses. The former Hillary Schlusemeyer had a successful career as a junior and collegiate rider.
One more stride might have made all the difference for Tracy Fenney in the $50,000 Grand Prix of Roanoke.
Fenny opted to ride the distance between a vertical-to-vertical combination and the next oxer on Linda Allen’s course in five strides rather than the four that most riders chose.
The strategy paid off by giving S&L Willie plenty of time to see the upcoming oxer and the confidence to jump it cleanly. “She went for wide and smooth,” said Fenney’s husband, Mike McCormick. “If you’re smooth, it generally means you’re good at what you’re doing whether you’re a downhill skier or riding the bulls in a rodeo.”
Despite the extra stride, Fenney and S&L Willie came home more than 3 seconds faster than Hillary Simpson (nee Schlusemeyer) on Stedet’s Leroy in the feature class of the Roanoke Valley Horse Show, June 23-28 in Roanoke, Va.“Tonight, the jumps came up in a big hurry. It didn’t give anyone much time to organize and regroup,” Fenney said.
Fenny was the last to go in the jump-off, knowing Simpson had jumped a clear round on Stedet’s Leroy, owned by DK-USA Sporthorse, Inc.
Romeo, ridden by Evan Coluccio, 20, had taken down the top rail of the final fence, an airy vertical by the in-gate. This prompted an instantaneous groan of disappointment from the spectators who packed the coliseum. However it was still good enough to best Mary Lisa Leffler on Gerona 92 who also finished with 4 faults, since the long-striding Hanoverian mare was more than a second slower.
This was Fenny’s first trip to Roanoke, and the 43-year-old Texan from Flower Mound was a gracious winner, repeatedly thanking the autograph seekers in the warm-up ring afterwards for coming out to watch the competition.
Fenny and McCormick imported the 15.2-hand, 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood when he was only 5. “He had an arrogance that I liked,” Fenny remembered with a bemused expression.
Her husband is more willing to tell it like it is. “No one in Europe wanted him because he bucked so much,” McCormick recalled. “He almost threw Tracy out into the parking lot when we tried him. We watched him jump just 3 feet and we knew then he was real!”
Under Fenny’s steady hand, S&L Willie has progressed through the levels to become a consistent grand prix winner. “He’s a blast,” Fenney said. “But he’s a very careful horse. Sometimes if I’m not precise, he decides that he won’t participate. I like that about him because I want him to be careful and not to be nervous about what he’s doing. He forces me to do it right.”
Simpson, 29, of Southern Pines, N.C., returned to the show ring little more than a year ago after a six-year sabbatical from horses. The former Hillary Schlusemeyer had a successful career as a junior and collegiate rider.
