PrintCompetition kicked off at the Kentucky Summer Horse Show Series today at the Kentucky Horse Park, the host of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games™. The most competitive jumper classes of the day were in the Walnut Ring, beginning with the $5000 Open Jumper 1.40m class, a time first round class. Junior rider Reed Kessler of New York took the top two ribbons and half of the prize money aboard her horses Ligist and Onisha, respectively.
Starting at 8 a.m. in clear yet humid conditions, the first jumper class of the day had an inviting course to start the competition. England's Richard Jeffrey designed the track, which featured 11 numbered obstacles and its challenges included a triple bar, a vertical-vertical double combination, and an optional open water jump.
The first pair to challenge the track was amateur rider Navona Gallegos and her mount, No Fear. Earning a no-fault score for her effort, Gallegos' time of 68.614 seconds was well within the 81-second time allowed and it became the time to beat.
The next clear round came fifth in the order of 19 starters, as Kessler and her 11-year-old Holsteiner mare Onisha whipped around the course five seconds faster than Gallegos. Kessler held on to the top spot with Onisha until her next mount, 10-year-old Swedish Warmblood Ligist, took the blue ribbon with an even faster time, thanks to the gelding's long stride.
"This was our first class here, getting ready for the Hagyard and the Grand Prix, so it was a perfect warm up, they couldn't have gone better," explained a beaming Kessler.
Sixteen-year-old Kessler has an impressive resume, complete with a championship at last year's USEF Junior Jumper Championship and Grand Prix wins at Spruce Meadows, among others. Her one-two finish in today's 1.40 m class served as a warm up for the North American Young Rider Championships, for which Kessler will compete with Zone 2 starting tomorrow.
Kessler gave credit to her horses, saying both were fantastic even over the tricky spots on the course, such as the open water and the double combination.
"'Goose' [Ligist] has a little bit of a slower style," Kessler explained. "He's a Nations Cup horse: he jumps really high and he does a lot of clear rounds, but he jumps so high that he'll go clean and be winning, but then Onisha will come in and beat him. [Onisha] is like a bunny, she jumps like an inch over every jump."
