For the second consecutive year, Lindsey Tomeu of Wellington, Florida, rode to championship honors in the Adult Amateur Jumpers at the Devon Horse Show and Country Fair. After earning the reserve championship in 2016 and championship in 2017 with Bonapart, Tomeu went one step further in 2018 to claim both the championship with Gold Lux, owned by AM Free, Inc., and reserve championship with Bonapart, owned by DBHC, Inc. The 24-year-old athlete rode to a one-two finish in the $7,500 NAL/WIHS Adult Amateur Jumper Classic to secure the division’s top prizes with her two mounts on Monday.
Lindsey Tomeu earned the Adult Amateur Jumper championship with Gold Lux and reserve championship with Bonapart on Monday at the Devon Horse Show. Photo by Phelps Sports
Tomeu and Bonapart, a 17-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding known as “Bono” in the barn, have been partnered together since 2014 and have won the North American League (NAL) Adult Amateur Jumper Final at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show a total of three times in 2014, 2015 and 2017. In addition, after selling Gold Lux (“Goldie”) four years ago, Tomeu recently bought the 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare back and the pair have been racking up wins in the Adult Amateur Jumper division, including being named circuit champions at the Winter Equestrian Festival earlier this year.
“This feels incredible,” said the elated Tomeu after hearing the news. “To be honest, it was my goal. I came here with a plan. Every year Bono has been great the first two rounds and I mess it up in the classic. So I wanted him to win the classic. I didn’t care about the other rounds so much. This is my first year here with [Gold Lux] and she has been amazing. I really wanted her to do well. I’m just over the moon about all of this. I’m so happy that both my horses’ names will be engraved right beneath each other [on the championship trophies].”
Lindsey Tomeu and Bonapart. Photo by The Book LLC
Tomeu, who trains with Michael DelFiandra and Ali and Shane Sweetnam out of Sweet Oak Farm, and Gold Lux kicked off their week at Devon on Sunday with a blue ribbon in the first class of the division, sponsored by Boy-O-Boy Bridleworks, besting an original starting field of 22 horses and riders and a 12-horse jump-off, while Tomeu and Bonapart finished third. Tomeu and Gold Lux stayed consistent in Monday’s second round of competition, finishing in second place out of 21 contenders.
Lindsey Tomeu and Gold Lux. Photo by The Book LLC
Monday evening’s $7,500 NAL/WIHS Adult Amateur Jumper Classic saw 12 combinations jump clear over the Guilherme Jorge-designed course to advance to the jump-off, and it was Tomeu and Bonapart who outpaced the competition to take home the Devon blue in 26.628 seconds, while she finished in second place with Gold Lux in 27.304 seconds.
“I loved the course tonight. It flowed really nicely; it was simple, but not too simple,” she said of her classic round. “I was definitely a little nervous. In the jump-off with Bono, I had planned three in the four, but he jumped and thought he was turning so I bent the four and it actually worked out really well. With Goldie, my plan was really to just run because that’s kind of how she works. She’s so much fun.”
Lindsey Tomeu and Bonapart. Photo by Phelps Sports
Accumulating the most points throughout Sunday and Monday, Tomeu grabbed both tricolors as well as the Lawrence W. Schwartz Memorial Perpetual Trophy and the Judy Hill Groves Memorial Challenge Trophy to conclude the Adult Amateur Jumper division.
“I make it a point to always come to Devon because it’s the only horse show where the adult jumpers are put on the map,” Tomeu shared. “The crowd is huge, it’s under the lights, everyone is cheering — it’s just the best feeling. You feel like you’re in a grand prix. For some reason, I am always the least nervous here. I don’t know why, but I walk in the ring here and feel so comfortable. The atmosphere is always great and my horses feel fantastic. Normally, I can completely mess myself up with nerves so the fact that I can come here and feel comfortable is amazing.”