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| Morocco made some big efforts for Lisa Goldman on their way to the win in the $45,000 EMO Grand Prix at Atlanta Fall Classic I. Photo by Flashpoint Photography |
Twenty-five is a lucky number for Lisa Goldman, who piloted Morocco to victory in the $45,000 EMO Grand Prix at Atlanta Fall Classic I, on her 25th birthday on Nov. 8.
“It was a nice birthday present from ‘Cowboy’!” said Goldman.
She wasn’t originally planning on traveling from her home in Hawthorn Woods, Ill., to the Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers, Ga., with her three horses. But after watching the action at Pennsylvania National and Washington International (D.C.) horse shows on their live streaming on USEF Network, she realized she wasn’t quite ready to wrap up her show season just yet.
“Watching all of those classes made me really antsy to show again,” said Goldman.
The professional out of Red Coat Farm had just missed qualifying for the indoor circuit, and she hadn’t showed since she and Cowboy topped the $25,000 Nutrena Grand Prix at the Minnesota Harvest Horse Show in late September.
She entered the Atlanta Fall Classic with Cowboy, Zacantos 2 and Centurion B just a few days before the show.
“I applied for the stalls Monday and I was driving down here Tuesday,” said Goldman. “It was just me and my horses on our own for most of it, but Liz Atkins’ groom helped with running back and forth with three horses in the grand prix, thankfully!”
Goldman’s mounts also got a helping hand from equine chiropractor Kim Gdanski, who worked to re-align the horses’ spines before they showed.
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“They all felt amazing afterwards; they all felt great that night,” said Goldman, who placed fourth on Zacantos and ninth on Centurion. “For Morocco it definitely makes a difference because he jumps a little straighter and goes even faster. He gave me some really big efforts out there.”
The first round of competition saw a field of 16 attempt to conquer the large, galloping course by Manuel Esperanza. But only three pairs made it into the jump-off round.
Toward the start of the class, both Goldman and Haley Gassel on Quite Dark 2 put in clean trips to claim first and second on the leaderboard. The only other rider to emulate their faultless rounds was Derek Peterson aboard Cassevel.
“It was a big, hard track,” said Goldman. “The course was a little bit bigger than I thought it was going to be—I was a little worried! There was one in-and-out—an oxer, one stride to a vertical, that was right at the in-gate—and it was really big, which I think was one of the biggest problems on course for a lot of people. I had that one down on Centurion.
“[Cowboy] just jumped unbelievably,” she continued. “He kept on galloping, kept on jumping and kept on giving me his all.”
Goldman has had the ride on Cowboy since the 11-year-old Oldenburg-Thoroughbred cross (Roc USA—Pinkys Pumpkin), bred by Nancy Whitehead, was just 4. When she found him, he was campaigning in the pre-green hunter ring.
“He wasn’t too happy with that job!” said Goldman.
While the hunter ring proved a bit too slow-paced for Cowboy, the jumpers is a great fit for the energetic horse.
“He’s more athletic than any other horse I’ve sat on,” she said. “He loves his job now. He loves to run and jump and play.”
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Cowboy is known for his antics in the ring, but Goldman has learned that it’s all just part of his playful personality.
“He’s been known to throw me off from time to time,” said Goldman. “He’s really crazy in the schooling ring. He’s gotten me off after the timers at the last jump on course and before the timers at the first jump. But he just loves what he does. He’ll jump his heart out for me.”
First to ride in the jump-off, Goldman collected Cowboy’s energy enough to top the class. Second place went to Peterson and Cassevel.
“He’s so fast that my game plan was to actually go slower than I normally do because his pace is so much faster than normal horses’ pace,” said Goldman. “We could’ve really run, but I thought I didn’t need to go that fast being first. I was more concerned with going double clean than going really fast.
“[Gassel was working on] a faster time than me, but she had a little bit of indecision in one line,” said Goldman. “ She was going to go in six strides but chipped in seven and had a rail.”
Peterson rode a clear round on his young horse, but Cowboy’s speed won the day.
“[Cowboy] felt great—he was wild, which is a good thing for him,” said Goldman. “He did his normal, playful bucking beforehand. In the victory gallop he got really excited. He did some prances at the end, which was really funny.”
Instead of celebrating her birthday and big win, Goldman went back to the barns, fed her horses and went to her hotel to sleep after a busy and satisfying day of showing. But in honor of her birthday, she decided to treat herself to another week of showing on the second leg of the Atlanta Fall Classic.
“I was going to go home after this, but since it went so well and [my horses are] fit now, I thought I might as well stay one more week!” said Goldman.
