PrintTodd Minikus and Pavarotti lead the way after the first Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games Trial, held Feb. 25 at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, Fla.
Minikus, of neighboring Loxahatchee, Fla., clocked the fastest clear round (0/83.24) to take the lion’s share of the purse in the $40,000 USEF WEG Trial 1 over Margie Engle aboard Hidden Creek’s Campella (0/84.03) and Rich Fellers and Flexible (0/87.30).
Typically unlucky, 13 was the night’s magic number. In the Table A, timed first round class, 44 starters tackled Guilherme Jorge’s imposing 13-fence course with 13 jumping clear to begin the trials with a perfect score. The youngest rider in the class, 17-year-old Kelsey Thatcher, left all of the rails up with Carlotta, but 1 time fault kept her in 14th place.
Riders described the first trials course as solid, with scopey jumping efforts required. There were several refusals on course and one retirement.
“It wasn't that technical, but it was a lot of big jumps,” said Engle, noting that after walking the course she had expected just a few clear rounds. “I think you saw a lot of good jumping. It shows that we have a lot of good horse/rider combinations in this country, maybe even more so this year than previous years. I think that's a good sign.”
Minikus was pleased with his flashy chestnut’s performance, although he said it took a few fences before the Dutch Warmblood gelding found his rhythm.
“It was a good start,” said Minikus. “He was a little tight in the schooling area. We didn’t do the warm-up last night. It’s a long process. There’s a lot of jumping that has to go on, but this is a good confidence builder. All of the wheels are working together. We’ll just take one class at a time and one jump at a time.”
Engle, Wellington, Fla., soared over the imposing fences with ease aboard Hidden Creek’s gray mare, who began her grand prix career last summer.
“She felt great,” said Engle. “She's new to this, so I was very pleased with how she went. She seemed pretty relaxed and, surprisingly, went very nicely. She's very scopey; she just doesn't have that much mileage at this point.”
Fellers and Flexible do have mileage on their side, however, on several fronts. Fellers, Wilsonville, Ore., traveled across the country from the HITS Desert Circuit (Calif.) to contest the trials, arriving in Florida last Saturday. The pair has a consistent record over the past several seasons, including six grand prix victories and more than $150,000 in earnings in 2009 and second place in the 2008 FEI Volvo World Cup Show Jumping Finals in Sweden.
“This [clear round] gets the monkey off your back,” he said with a smile. “It’s a long trip and huge effort for the staff and owners Harry and Mollie Chapman to get here. It’s a great way to start.”
Although the 13 horse/rider combinations with 0 faults were placed in the class via their times, in the trials they are all currently tied for first place.
By virtue of their stellar record, McLain Ward and Sapphire were named to the USEF Show Jumping Long List on Feb. 22 and were excused from contesting the trials. Per the USEF selection process, the selectors have the discretion to recommend up to six of the 15 horse/rider combinations to the long list prior to the conclusion of the trials. The remaining nine combinations will be chosen according to their ranking in the trials, which finish March 7.
