Young jumpers vied for championship honors in the Rolex Stadium during the final rounds of competition of the 2020 Classic Champions Developing Jumper Finale. The finale was held during the Kentucky National Horse Show at the Kentucky Horse Park.
Cynthia Hampton (left) with Maggie Jayne on Wisconsin ODF in their presentation ceremony. Photo by Shawn McMillen Photography.
The series kicked off Wednesday, September 16 with Classic Champions Developing Jumper Finale warmup classes to allow the horses the opportunity to become familiar with the Rolex Stadium. Thursday’s power and speed format results were used to produce the final order of go. Each entry returned Saturday, September 19 with a clean slate. The top prize of the Classic Champions series was fair game for all the contenders.
Maggie Jayne on Wisconsin ODF. Photo by Shawn McMillen Photography.
Oscar Soberon (MEX), an FEI three-star course designer, set the tracks this week that helped to educate and prepare the young horses with fair, fun and challenging courses that tested their abilities. Soberon’s plan for the division took into account the challenges this year with COVID-19.
“I definitely built a little smaller and less technical than I would normally, especially the first day,” Soberon said. “I wanted to see how the horses were jumping, and it was surprising that the most of them did pretty well. It’s a different year, for sure, but the horses seem to be jumping great. I was very pleased with the result.”
“It’s an intimidating arena for a young horse,” he said about the Rolex Stadium. “But on the other hand, it is big enough that you can use more unrelated jumps, giving the horses a little bit of time to breathe in between.”
About Classic Champions, Soberon said, “I think it’s a great idea. They are doing a fantastic job of promoting the breeding of horses and producing them to take them to the highest level.”
In addition to the championships for the classes, the judges chose horses in each generation to honor with the Classic Champions Award of Distinction. The criteria for the award is outstanding jumping ability, ride-ability, quality of canter and overall potential for future success in the sport. Whether or not these young horses won their classes, the judges gave the award-winners the nod for having the qualities to become a top jumper.
Maggie Jayne, from Elgin Illinois, and American Warmblood gelding Wisconsin ODF (Dulf Van De Bisschop x Ed Dakhla by Vancouver D’Auvray) topped the leaderboard of the 7-year-old division. The duo rose to the lead in a field of 12 horse-and-rider combinations. Ten advanced to the jump off with six contenders producing double-clear efforts. Jayne also rode to third place with Wyoming ODF, a young mare by the popular stallion Dulf Van De Bisschop. Wisconsin ODF and Jayne were the champions of the 6-year-old Classic Champions Developing Jumper Finals in 2019. Wisconsin ODF and Wyoming ODF were both bred by Alex Jayne and Our Day Farm.
“We raised him through my dad’s program,” Maggie Jayne said. “He’s owned by our client, Elizabeth Lang. She shows him a little bit. I show him a little bit. It’s been a group effort.”
Lisa Goldman-Smolen on Ivaro N. Photo by Shawn McMillen Photography.
The KWPN gelding Ivaro N (Elvaro x Celli) wowed the judges and was awarded the Award of Distinction among the field of 7-year-olds. Piloted by Lisa Goldman-Smolen, Ivaro N jumped the track in good form and displayed his prowess and potential. Goldman-Smolen and her mother Mary Goldman run Red Coat Farm in Hawthorn Woods, Illinois.
“Ivaro, whose barn name is Derek, is owned by Barbara Disko, who also owns the stallion I won the Welcome Stake on last night – she is my biggest supporter,” Goldman-Smolen said. “We’ve only owned Ivaro about a month, so he’s pretty new to us but he’s really special and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
Jill Gaffney on FF Olive. Photo by Shawn McMillen Photography.
In the 6-year-old division, Jill Gaffney of Batavia, Ohio, piloted FF Olive, a KWPN mare by Alonso out of Arnika, to the championship in a competitive class. Last to go in the class, she rode FF Blade Runner (Air Jordan x Bright Eyes) whose talents earned him the Award of Distinction. Both of Gaffney’s mounts are owned by Freestyling Farms LLC.
“She just recently came to us, about six months ago,” said Gaffney about FF Olive. “She’s a very sensitive horse. We imported her from Ireland. Today she really stepped up. I was really proud of her today.”
Jill Gaffney on FF Blade Runner. Photo by Shawn McMillen Photography.
Last year’s recipient for the Classic Champions Award of Distinction for the 4-year-old division returned to earn the championship of the 5-year-old division. Piloted by Taylor Flury (Minooka, Illinois), AliBoo Farm’s Belgian Warmblood mare Palano ABF (Calano Z x Role Model), earned the win, just edging out Polaris SCF, owned by Spy Coast Farm and ridden by David O’Brien. The judges selected Polaris SCF as their pick for the Award of Distinction.
Taylor Flury on Palano ABF. Photo by Shawn McMillen Photography.
“She’s really special,” Flury said about Palano ABF. “She’s a 5-year-old mare that we bred ourselves. Her mom and her dad – I rode both of them. So she’s like a true home bred. I’ve always believed in the mare. She really was great today and did a good job. So I was happy with her. The goal is to continue to develop her to the highest level she can and see where the future takes us.”
Taylor Flury on Polaris SCF. Photo by Shawn McMillen Photography.
Polaris SCF (Big Star x Rolette by Diktator Van De Boslandhoeve) was bred by Spy Coast Farm, one of the country’s most successful jumper breeding operations, led by Lisa Lourie. David O’Brien, who hails from Ireland, is considered by many as one of the foremost trainer/riders of developing jumpers.
“He has a lot of promise,” O’Brien said about Polaris SCF. “His father jumped in the Olympics and got gold and his mother jumped in the Olympics in Beijing. We lost a little time in the ring (due to COVID-19 competition cancellations) but it gave us more time at home to do more gymnastics and flat work and get the horses used to different surroundings. We worked on trying to further their education.”
FULL RESULTS:
Place.Horse / Rider/ Owner /Faults / Time / Total Time
7-YEAR-OLD-YOUNG JUMPERS:
1.WISCONSIN ODF / MAGGIE JAYNE / ELIZABETH LANG / 65.075 / 32.886
2.IDEAAL ES / FLIPPO PIGNATTI / TAKE THE HIGH ROAD, LLC. / 73.207 / 33.342
3.WYOMING ODF / MAGGIE JAYNE / AMANDA DOLLINGER / 66.227 / 33.683
4.INZELL B / DAISY FARISH / MAARTEN HUYGENS / 72.238 / 34.273
5.NARCOTIQUE B / LISA GOLDMAN-SMOLEN / KIM WOODSUM / 70.537 / 34.759
6.IVARO N / LISA GOLDMAN-SMOLEN / BARBARA DISKO / 68.951 / 36.653
7.NIGHTSHADE SCF / DAVIDE OBRIEN / SPY COAST FARM, LLC. / 73.336 / 32.647 / 4
8. GHANA FS Z / TIFFANY HAMMACK / FOXWOOD FARM / 68.798 / 32.955 / 4
9.FF SWIFT ACTION / MEGAN BASH / FREESTYLING FARMS, LLC. / 69.605 / 34.921 / 4
10.CIANNA Z / JILL GAFFNEY / LEADON RIDGE FARM, LLC. / 66.847 / EL
11.INDIRA / ABBYGALE FUNK / ASHWOOD FARM, LLC. / 4 / 65.806
12. CONRAD 149 / FILIPPO PGINATTI / TAKE THE HIGH ROAD, LLC. / 4 / 68.622
6-YEAR-OLD YOUNG JUMPERS:
1.FF OLIVE / JILL GAFFNEY / FREESTYLING FARMS, LLC. / 73.346 / 34.587
2.ORWELL SCF / DAVID OBRIEN / SPY COAST FARM, LLC. / 73.086 / 34.736
3.OCTAVIUS SCF / DAVID OBRIEN / SPY COAST FARM, LLC. / 68.723 / 34.763
4.ONE IN A MILLION SCF / ANDREA SIMPSON / SPY COAST FARM, LLC. / 71.214 / 35.662
5.FF JACKSON / MEGAN BASH / CLEVELAND EQUESTRIAN / 70.690 / 36.099
6.FF BLADE RUNNER / JILL GAFFNEY / FREESTYLING FARMS, LLC. / 70.372 / 37.912
7.OUT OF THE BLUE SCF / DAVID OBRIEN / SPY COAST FARM, LLC. / 67.595 / 35.752 / 4
8.BRADLEY / SARAH STURGES / SARAH STURGES / 1 / 74.503
9.FUFU Z / TAYLOR FLURY / ALIBOO FARM, INC. / 2 / 75.974
10.OBI WAN B / ROBERT MENDOZA / CORUSCANT STABLES, LLC. / 3 / 76.421
11.JACKPOT TD / CARI GLEESON / CARI GLEESON / 4 / 70.417
12.NEW SUNRISE SR Z / JILL GAFFNEY / LEADON RIDGE FARM, LLC. / 4 / 73.313
5-YEAR-OLD YOUNG JUMPERS:
1.PALANO ABF / TAYLOR FLURY / ALIBOO FARM, INC. / 74.035 / 37.085
2.POLARISH SCF / DAVID OBRIEN / SPY COAST FARM, LLC. / 75.518 / 38.587
3.PARASELENE SCF / DAVID OBRIEN / SPY COAST FARM, LLC. / 74.307 / 39.013 / 4
4.PROXIMA CENTAURI SCF / ANDREA SIMPSON / SPY COAST FARM, LLC. / 76.866 / 40.306 / 4
5.LEVISTOFF Z / TAYLOR FLURY /ALIBOO FARM, INC. / 76.670 / 40.680 / 4
6.CALL ME BALOUBET / FILIPPO PIGNATTI / TAKE THE HIGH ROAD, LLC. / 4 / 76.776
7.FF BUTTERCUP / HEIDI D’ANGLEO / FREESTYLING FARMS, LLC. / 4 / 78.616