One of Equifest II’s highlight events, the $25,000 Purina Welcome Grand Prix, kicked off on Thursday afternoon in Lamplight’s Grand Prix Arena. Drawing a field of 41 talented equestrian athletes, the Welcome saw riders pull out all the stops in an effort to end the class at the top of the leaderboard. After an exciting jump-off round, it was Tracy Fenney and MTM Apple who took home the top prize.
Tracy Fenney and MTM Apple. Photo by Phelps Sports
The course, designed by Leopoldo Palacias, featured several rollbacks and challenging combinations that kept horses and riders on their toes, all while keeping up a quick pace to avoid any time penalties. Just second to go in the order, Fenney and MTM Apple, owned by MTM Farm, set a good example with a brisk, clear round. Several horse-and-rider combinations who followed found the course to be a test of their skills, and had rails or time penalties in the first round.
The second pair to go clear was Ryan Michael Genn and Dieta, owned by Taylor Blackman. Emulating Fenney’s round, Genn piloted the mare around a fault-free course within the time-allowed to ensure a jump-off. Nine total combinations added their names to the jump-off list, including Stefanie Collier riding Emma-Lee, Dorothy Douglas riding MTM Through the Looking Glass and Steve Schaeffer riding Valinski S.
Also comprised of rollbacks and combinations, the jump-off course required technical skills but also allowed riders a place to open up and gallop to the last line of fences. Fenney and MTM Apple were the first to re-enter the arena for the jump-off, taking great care to leave all fences up and turn up the speed for a finish in just 31.754 seconds. Genn and Dieta were up next with their sights set on beating Fenney’s quick time. The pair successfully rode a clear course, but were not able to set a new time-to-beat, finishing in 32.216 seconds.
Dorothy Douglas and MTM Through the Looking Glass. Photo by Phelps Sports
Fenney and Genn held the top two positions in the class until Douglas rode MTM Through the Looking Glass back into the arena. Riding an accurate and speedy course, Douglas crossed the finish line in 31.874 seconds, replacing Genn in second place but finishing just shy of Fenney’s leading time. Fenney and MTM Apple remained at the top of the leaderboard to take the win, a first-time grand prix victory for the 8-year-old gelding. Douglas and MTM Through the Looking Glass took home the class’ second place prize, while Genn and Dieta finished in third place.
“We have had Apple for a year now – we got her here last year actually,” Fenney reflected. “This was her first grand prix win tonight and she is only 8 years old. I haven’t done that many grand prix [classes] with her because of her age, so we really only started doing them this year. She did one in Ocala and then in Fort Worth, but that is pretty much all she has done.”
Tracy Fenney and MTM Apple. Photo by Phelps Sports
While the win is definitely an exciting accolade to add to MTM Apple’s resume, Fenney plans on keeping things slow and steady with the young mare. “I would like to just keep building her up. Like I said, she is only 8 years old, so I don’t want to do too much too soon. I would like to keep doing classes she is confident in to keep her brave.”
RESULTS
$25,000 Purina Welcome Grand Prix
Place / Horse / Rider / Owner / R1 Faults / Time / R2 Faults / Time
1. MTM Apple / Tracy Fenney / MTM Farm / 0 / 74.881 / 0 / 31.754
2. MTM Through The Looking Glass / Dorothy Douglas / 0 / 73.813 / 0 / 31.874
3. Dieta / Ryan Michael Genn / Taylor Blackman / 0 / 75.623 / 0 / 32.216
4. Chagrand / Micahel Burnett / Michael Burnett / 0 / 74.585 / 0 / 33.240
5. Freaky Liefhebber / Jacqueline Steffens / Jacqueline Steffens / 0 / 74.651 / 0 / 34.064
6. Colora / Ryan Micahel Genn / Bridlebourne Stables LLC / 0 / 75.636 / 0 / 34.273
7. Chaccomo 11 / Theo Genn / Bridlebourne Stables LLC / 0 / 75.861 / 0 / 34.810
8. Valiniski S / Steve Schaefer / Wyndmont Inc. / 0 / 72.973 / 4 / 30.633
9. Emma-Lee / Stefanie Collier / The C and C Group / 0 / 75.665 / 4 / 33.173
10. MTM Como No / Tracy Fenney / MTM Farm / 1 / 76.819
11. Titus 2:11 / Sydney Swarr / Derek Petersen / 2 / 77.103
12. MTM Cornada / Dorothy Douglas / Davenport Farms / 4 / 72.317