Lexington, Ky.—July 29  

David Beisel and Ammeretto led a 10-horse-jump-off to race home to the blue in the $50,000 Rood and Riddle Grand Prix.

In front of a packed crowd in the Rolex Stadium, Beisel capped off a week of top finishes at Kentucky Summer Horse Show by also winning the Leading Rider Award presented by Envisian Products, LLC.  Amaretto narrowly beat Australia’s Scott Keach on Fedor, with Biesel piloting his mount to a quick time of 39.23 seconds. Taking third place honors was Nicole Shahinian-Simpson on her mare Akuna Mattata.

David Beisel on Ammeretto. Photo by Lenore Phillips/Phelps Sports

“Cantering in the ring for the jump-off I looked at the inside turn that David Bedoya did and I thought I was going to do it originally,” Beisel said. “But once I looked at it, my gut told me to just gallop around and jump the oxer. For a little guy, [Ammeretto] has a big stride. I definitely galloped at the first jump and I tried to come at it with a bit of a curve in it, but he’s so smart he looked at the next jump and straightened right out. I had to slow down a bit there, so I think it made it nice and fast to the wall. He was really sharp to the combination. He didn’t slow down there or to the last jump.”

Ammeretto, who is owned by Equine Holdings, LLC, has been with Beisel since he was a 3-year-old. The now 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion has had a very competitive summer with top place grand prix finishes at the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival (Mich.) as well as the Tryon International Equestrian Center (N.C.) before coming to Kentucky. Beisel credits having the stallion his entire career for their unique ability to make quick adjustments while on course.

It was one of those quick adjustments on the long gallop to the Rood & Riddle oxer that helped Beisel over take Australian Olympic athlete, Keach who had taken the lead in the jump-off round from Shahinian-Simpson with a time of 41.29 seconds.

Beisel had a very special cheering squad in the stands for the grand prix. “I love having my wife, my daughter and my son here. All three of them showed today!” he said. “They’ve been going to horse shows since they were little things and started riding when they were babies. It is fun because they get even more excited than I do when I win. Sometimes we make bets—we have a miniature horse at home off a bet that I would win a grand prix. Sure enough I won it and I had to buy a miniature horse. I am very blessed. I’m glad I decided to come back for this week. It’s been a lot of fun.”

$50,000 Rood & Riddle Grand Prix

1. Ammeretto / David Beisel / Equine Holdings LLC /  84.716 / 39.23
2. Fedor / Scott Keach / Southern Cross Equestrian / 83.158 / 41.296
3. Akuna Mattata / Nicole Shahinian-Simpson / Silver Raven Farms / 81.913 / 41.582
4. Zerro Leone / Martien Van Der Hoeven / Augusta Pines Farm / 83.095 / 41.834
5. Quattro / Daniel Bedoya / Daniel Bedoya / 84.191 / 42.534
6. Chicco W / Scott Keach / Edith Rameika / 81.91 / 4 / 45.065
7. Warinde B / Lauren Hester / Hester Equestrian LLC / 81.563 / 5 / 52.776
8. Zara Leandra / Pablo Barrios / Pablo Barrios / 81.005 / 8 / 38.146
9. Wamira / Sydney Shulman / 83.281 / 8 / 41.308
10. Caiman De Sequoias / Sharn Wordley / 85.442 / 8 / 41.611
11. Queen Jane / T.J. O’Mara / 1 / 87.008
12. 12. Cobolt / Lacey Gilbertson / 2 / 88.846