Wellington, FL – March 26, 2016 – Starting off Saturday’s competition in the International Ring at The Stadium at PBIEC, 30 entries jumped in the $50,000 Artisan Farms Under 25 Grand Prix Series Final, presented by Equiline, with eight clear rounds over Olaf Petersen, Jr.’s course. In the jump-off, Kaely Tomeu (USA) and Siboney Ranch’s Gentille jumped to the fastest of four double clear rounds in the winning time of 36.34 seconds.
Victoria Colvin (USA) and Take the High Road LLC’s Echo van’t Spieveld finished second in 38.28 seconds. Stephen Moore (IRL) and Vlock Show Stables’ Team de Coquerie placed third in 39.20 seconds, and Rachel Reid (USA) and her own Huckleberry earned the fourth place honors with a time of 41.17.
Tomeu (20), of Wellington, FL, trains with Shane Sweetnam, Ali Sweetnam, and Michael Delfiandra at Sweet Oak Farm and just purchased Gentille in January. She and the ten-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare (Heartbreaker x Kannan) also won the $25,000 Artisan Farms Under 25 Grand Prix Semi-Final, presented by Seabrook LLC, during week nine.
“After winning the semi-final I was really excited, so I came in today with high hopes for this one,” Tomeu stated. “I never imagined I would win, especially two in a row, and especially the final. I just got this horse in January and she has been nothing but absolutely amazing. I did the team event and she was double clear, and then I won the semi-final and now this one, and those are the only Under 25 classes I have done this year with her. We did not make it overall in the series to get anything, but she was so perfect and I was happy enough with doing this. It was a dream come true.”
Commenting on her winning jump-off round, Tomeu detailed, “She is really fast naturally, so I do not have to try at all. You just sit there and it is her pace that she wants to go. I just sit there, try to hold on, and she is honestly so easy. She knows what she is doing, and she just looks for the next jump. I knew she was going to go fast no matter what, so as long as I participated and helped her out, I knew she was going to do her best.”
Kaely Tomeu and Gentille in their winning presentation with Jessica Leto, Manager of Equiline Saddle Division; Kelly Molinari of Equiline; Carlene Ziegler of Artisan Farms; Tim Dutta of the Dutta Corp.; and ringmaster Christian Craig.
Tomeu has been competing in the U25 Series for the last few years and has learned a lot from riding in the different classes.
“I think this series is a great experience,” she noted. “I have done it a few years before, but always on a different horse. With her, I think great things are to come. I hope I get to have her for a long time and go to finals and everything. You never know, but she is a horse of a lifetime for me.”
Second place finisher, Victoria Colvin, was aboard Echo van’t Spieveld, a horse that she got six months ago and has not shown much. She explained that the horse bucking in her jump-off round lost the pair a little time.
“He is a little quirky in that he will try and buck you off,” Colvin explained. “In the jump-off, I landed off fence one and I was hoping he was not going to buck, but then he bucked twice and it takes a very long time for him because he is a big boy. He is really easy though, and he is like a big pony.”
Colvin previously won the U25 Series in 2014 and explained what a great thing the series has been for her career.
“I think it is really important,” she noted. “It is a middle step to the real grand prix level. It is great for us to be able to show in a series that is super important with classes at a very high level before moving all the way up to showing with the top Europeans and international riders. It is such a pleasure to be able to compete in this, and thank you to all of the sponsors for helping the series come true.”
Victoria Colvin and Echo van’t Spieveld. Photo: Sportfot
Irish rider Stephen Moore finished third in the final aboard Vlock Show Stables’ Team de Coquerie in his second year competing in the U25 Series.
“I had two horses last year, and they were both really good, and I was placed in the final as well,” Moore explained. “This year I got a new horse in Team de Coquerie. I was a little late getting him, so I only got to do the last three classes, but he was brilliant in all of them. He was double clear on the grass, and then he had one down in the semi-final, and now he was double clear here again today. Thank you to the Vlock family – they own him, they got him for me. He is going really well, so we are delighted.”
Going first in the jump-off, Moore detailed, “I knew I had all of the very fast riders coming after me, so I did the best I could, but I could have been faster. I ended up doing one extra stride in a couple of places, but I do not know the horse that well, so I was not really sure. I could have been faster, but Kaely and Tori are always really fast, so I am not surprised that they beat me anyway.”
Stephen Moore and Team de Coquerie. Photo: Sportfot
WEF 11 concludes on Sunday with the $86,000 Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic to be held on the derby field at The Stadium at PBIEC beginning at 11:30 a.m. The FarmVet Adult Amateur Hunter 36-49 Sec. B will award championship honors in Ring 8. For full results and more information, please visit www.pbiec.com.
Final Results: $50,000 Artisan Farms Under 25 Grand Prix Series Final, presented by Equiline
1 742 GENTILLE KAELY TOMEU (USA) SIBONEY RANCH: 0/0/36.34
2 2356 ECHO VAN T SPIEVELD VICTORIA COLVIN (USA) TAKE THE HIGH ROAD LLC: 0/0/38.28
3 4904 TEAM DE COQUERIE STEPHEN MOORE (IRL) VLOCK SHOW STABLES LLC: 0/0/39.20
4 3782 HUCKLEBERRY RACHEL REID (USA) RACHEL REID: 0/0/41.17
5 3991 JUANITA TINA YATES (USA) HIGHPOINT FARM LLC: 0/4/39.14
6 5386 ZEPHIRE HAYLEY BARNHILL (USA) BARNHILL LLC: 0/4/39.20
7 546 PRECIEUSE PLATIERE ROGELIO PELLERANO (DOM) ROGELIO PELLERANO: 0/4/39.23
8 1304 CHAMONIX H KELLI CRUCIOTTI (USA) SERENITY EQUESTRIAN VENTURES: 0/8/40.33
9 5777 RAIA D’ HELBY ADRIENNE STERNLICHT (USA) STARLIGHT FARMS LLC: 1/74.09
10 1155 SANDOR DE LA POMME EVE JOBS (USA) EVE JOBS: 4/69.43
11 1790 VON CIM ALEXANDRA CROWN (USA) ALEXANDRA CROWN: 4/69.94
12 63 MAN IN BLACK ANDRE MERSHAD (USA) MERSHAD STABLES LLC: 4/70.32
Lauren Fisher for Jennifer Wood Media, Inc.