[Kenike]

One fault between them! I love it! Congrats to Belladonna and MMB!

[skydy]

That was a squeaker!

Now, will we see her perfect hair? It always amazes me..

[Rel6]

I know the top three placings, anyone know top 6/8/10?

[gotanda2]

Karl cook should be third, not sure on the four faulters. Oops he is fourth

[Renn/aissance]

Mr. Whoopy 3rd, Karl Cook 4th. Believe that Rich maintained the fastest four-fault round for 5th place but Rusty may have edged him out on it. That should put Ashlee Bond 7th if I remember correctly.

[bluemoonfarms]

Yes! If somebody actually wins the bonus, I would expect a huge retirement party that night!

You would think so but don't forget the IRS. Most likely after taxes the amount will be a little over half. That was before Obama's new taxes. Who knows what percent after taxes now? But a huge congratulations to Meredith!!

[Tha Ridge]

I concur.

And I have to wonder if he would have had that (very costly) time fault if he had spent less time being enthusiastic around the course.

There was a story (in COTH, even, IIRC) where Duncan did talk about that being a legitimate issue.

Ah ha: "Mr. Whoopy is the kind of horse who can sometimes get in his own way. His bucks and leaps between fences have become his calling card but have also been known to cost him valuable seconds in the ring.

"'He tends to play a little bit when he shouldn’t, but that’s kind of his deal,' said rider Duncan McFarlane. 'If you were to take away the play, maybe it would take away his jump. It’s kind of a trade with him, but it does pay off.'" - from http://www.chronofhorse.com/article/...win-sacramento

[MHM]

^ Thanks for finding that. I would think it has to be frustrating for him some days.

[KateD]

EDIT: Can anyone on the West Coast tell me anything about Elizabeth Gringas? Have never heard of her, but her course was amazing.

Not sure if someone else replied to you or not but I believe she trains with Jill Henselwood? She has the ride on a few of their horses, if I remember correctly!

[PonyPenny]

First clear, so Will must have had a stick or two down.

Will's round was not pretty. Scrambled over fence 1 and took down fence 4 and then retired. Jumped fence 1 again as a schooling fence before leaving the ring.

[KateKat]

Lane Clark's horse did lose a shoe. It went flying off before the fan jump combo. I was like WTF was that? And his jacket was white with blue lining. It was definitely not my favorite.

I LOVE Belladonna. MMB seems to mesh much better with her than the horse I saw her ride on Friday in the Smartpak Grandprix. Today they had a lovely round and the win was well deserved.

Was disappointed McLain, Engle and Fellers did not get to be part of that jump off. mclains round was actually not great-but I think a lot of the horses were really tired. It was close to 100 today. I know I was dying!

Didn't get vid of Will Simpson (sorry to the person who requested it!) but it doesn't sound like much was missed. He went right after the break and I had stepped away to get water.

Chianto was my biggest surprise. In person he's a small unassuming flea bitten grey that doesn't really look all that well put together or flashy (compared to say Jonkheer or others) yet he went in there and schooled all of them!

It was a great class, super fun to watch live. If you can get down to Thermal next year I highly recommend! The one thing that really cracks me up though is the audience full of horse people...everyone was critiquing, clucking or saying whoa at one point or another.

[supershorty628]

^Andy looked anything BUT tired, hahaha! He looked too fresh and strong!

[MHM]

The Chronicle's story is up, including some great pictures.

http://www.chronofhorse.com/article/...grand-prix-win

[Kato]

So I missed a few riders when my live feed died (iequine.com), but then I missed the whole end of it, including the jump-off, when my comcast died. Does anyone out there know where I can find a taped version to watch? TIA

[skydy]

The Chronicle photo of Mr. Whoopy reminds me of Hickstead for some reason.
His hind end perhaps..

I sure do miss watching Hickstead jump.

[mikali]

Doesn't a COTHer own Chianto? I feel like I remember that from when he was on the cover of Practical Horseman...

Thanks for remembering me

Sorry that I am a little late to the party - I just got back home from California and celebrating John and Chianto's second place!

This result officially puts Chianto over $1 million in lifetime earnings! I swear that horse is all heart!!

Here are my photos of Chianto from Sunday:
http://s1172.photobucket.com/user/Mi...Million%202013

[KateD]

Thanks for remembering me

Sorry that I am a little late to the party - I just got back home from California and celebrating John and Chianto's second place!

This result officially puts Chianto over $1 million in lifetime earnings! I swear that horse is all heart!!

Congrats to both you and John! Always nice to see a horse at that age still in their prime!

[SlamDunk]

The Chronicle photo of Mr. Whoopy reminds me of Hickstead for some reason.
His hind end perhaps..

I sure do miss watching Hickstead jump.

It does kind of look like a larger Hickstead. Something about the way he's jumping (and the amount of air he's giving the fence) Mr Whoopy doesn't go with the trade mark Hickstead intensity though, he's a but more of a goofball.

[nutmeg]

Just had to laugh to see AIG popping up as the sponsor for this event. Are they also going to cough it up for the 2014 "Million" classes? They are the poster boy for bad financial behavior. Oh well, if my tax dollars go to any equestrian it would be Meredith anyway, as payment for her time in the slave pits of Schockemohle.

dealbook.nytimes/com/2012/03/12/bailout-watchdogs-criticize-a-i-g-tax-breaks/

[MHM]

Thanks for remembering me

Sorry that I am a little late to the party - I just got back home from California and celebrating John and Chianto's second place!

This result officially puts Chianto over $1 million in lifetime earnings! I swear that horse is all heart!!

Here are my photos of Chianto from Sunday:
http://s1172.photobucket.com/user/Mi...Million%202013

Congrats to you! How wonderful!!