Lisa Goldman had quite a day at the HITS Balmoral Fall Classic last week. Not only did she sweep the TOP FOUR placings in a competitive speed class, but she did it with a certain finesse that deserves a closer look.
She took the win aboard Mary Goldman’s Centurion B, and it’s clear from the get-go that these two have an exceptional bond, and that connection directly translated to a rip-roaring round.
Call me sentimental, but I think she won the class before she started. She let the horse enter calmly, stand for a moment and look around with her encouraging hand on him, and then instantaneously picked up the perfect striding gallop to their first obstacle and never let off.
Impressively, her ride on Centurion B was the winning round, even though he was the first of her four rides that day and only the second horse in the ring of 18. Rather than trying to top herself, she let the most experienced horse set a confident pace, and then worked to match it with her other mounts.
Thanks to her tremendous victory Friday, Lisa took home $18,250 in prize money as well as a qualification for the $100,000 InIt2WinIt Championships to be held at the International Omaha next April.
The top four riders in each qualifying class are eligible to compete for the Championship in Omaha, which put through Brooke Cudmore of Omaha, Nebraska, riding Karen Cudmore’s Cassin; Christian Heineking of Hudson Oaks, Texas on October Hill Hunters and Jumpers’ Leonie, and Steve Schaefer of Maple Park, Illinois, riding his own Caribe.
“It is a great thing to draw spectators into the sport more and to draw exhibitors and spectators to the qualifying shows in the Midwest,” said Lisa of the series. “I think it is pretty incredible.”
Lisa Goldman and Centurion B jump to victory. PC: Andrew Ryback Photography
Cudmore and Heineking echoed Goldman’s thoughts. “I’m excited that the Finals will be in my back yard,” said Cudmore, whose family’s Heartland Farm is located near Omaha. “It will bring a lot of people to see a really fun class.”
The $25,000 InIt2WinIt Class at HITS Balmoral was the first of four classes at four different horse shows throughout the Midwest at which riders can qualify for the championship in Omaha. The next qualifier will be a $25,000 InIt2WinIt class at the American Royal in Kansas City, Missouri on October 13, followed by a $20,000 InIt2WinIt class at the Queenie Productions’ St. Louis Horse Show on November 11. The final qualifying class, a $10,000 class, will be held at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado on January 12.
InIt2WinIt Speed Class Results
