PrintMargie Engle earned her seventh career Lake Placid grand prix victory in New York today, July 10, in the $75,000 Le Grand Prix Hermes CSI** aboard her newest grand prix star, Indigo. Kate Levy came closest to catching Engle aboard Lirving de Volsin, with Engle’s second mount, Hidden Creek’s Campella, coming in third.
Hillary Dobbs hit a rail early in the second round, then turned on the speed to try to clinch the fastest four-fault time, but she cut the last turn too sharply, and her veteran Corlett hit the brakes. Last to go with Indigo, Engle rode a conservative clear to take the top check back to Wellington, Fla.
• Two other pairs managed to find a way around without knocking down a jump: Anne Kursinski aboard her rising star Shibumi, and Levy with Vent du Nord. But each tallied up 1 time fault to finish fifth and sixth, respectively.
• Both Engle and Levy declared Steve Stephens’ course perfectly suited to their mounts. “There were a lot of lines set on a half stride,” said Engle. “I think all of us that were clean did the adds. It walked like the forward distances were there, but they got a little huntery, and they got a little flat. My horses are usually better off with the adds.”
“My horse is very adjustable, and he’s great adding, so I could easily add strides everywhere,” echoed Levy. “I think he’s very careful, so the adds were better options because the jumps were so careful. I just wish the front rail of the triple had stayed up!”
