www.eventingetc.com

Leesburg, Virginia--It was a wire-to-wire victory for Darren Chiacchia and Windfall II in the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series Advanced division at the Richland Park Horse Trials, August 25-27 in Richland, Michigan. (Darren and Windfall II are pictured at the right in the Dressage Phase at the Jersey Fresh CCI***, last spring.)

The pair took a commanding lead from the start with a spectacular dressage score of 24.6, 8.3 penalties ahead of their nearest competition, Missy Ransehousen and Critical Decision with 32.9, who were less than one point ahead of Kristen Bond and Three Wishes II with 33.3.

A difficult go on cross-country knocked Ransehousen out of the running, and made for a real horse race between Chiacchia and Bond—Bond and Three Wishes had the second fastest cross-country run of the day with 5.2 time penalties, while Chiacchia and Windfall put in a more conservative performance, adding 12.8 time penalties to their score. This put the two pairs neck and neck, with 1.1 penalties separating them going into show jumping.

Bond and Three Wishes dropped one rail, giving the leaders a slight cushion that came in handy after they also tacked on another four jumping penalties, finishing the event on a final score of 41.4.

The win earned Chiacchia and Windfall 270 points on the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series Leaderboard, giving them a total of 940, enough to steal the lead from Gina Miles and McKinlaigh who now stand in second with 835. (Gina and McKinlaigh are pictured at the left jumping into the last water at The Fork, last spring.) Windfall, a 14-year-old black Trakehner stallion owned by Dr. Timothy Holekamp, earned his other Gold Cup points through wins at the CIC***-W at The Fork Horse Trials in April, and the Millbrook Horse Trials just two weeks ago.

While Bond is currently on the Advanced Gold Cup Leaderboard with two other horses (tied for ninth with Are You Ready and in 11th with Blackout), this is Three Wishes debut, where he stands in 29th with 235 points. The eight-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding is owned by Acorn Hill Farm.

Advanced Standings:

1. Darren Chiacchia, Windfall II - 940
2. Gina Miles, McKinlaigh - 835
3. Hawley Bennett, Livingstone - 725
4. Phillip Dutton, House Doctor - 630
5. Buck Davidson, Private Treaty - 505
6. Darren Chiacchia, Better I Do It - 470

Intermediate:

It was a topsy turvy turn of events in the Open Intermediate division, with Canada’s Karl Slezak aboard Brave Heart moving up from fifth after dressage to win the division on a score of 43.2, with Buck Davidson and Ballynoe Castle RM improving on their tenth place dressage score to finish in second just one penalty behind, with 44.2.

Going into show jumping it looked like it would be a toss up between Jenna Kuzenko and Renegade and Allison Springer and Arthur who were tied for the lead on scores of 41.1. Once in the arena, Kuzenko and Renegade knocked two rails, dropping them to fourth for a final score of 49.1, while Springer and Arthur racked up 16 jumping and 12 time penalties for a sixth place finish with 69.1. Slezak and Davidson were two of only four riders to have double clear rounds.

The win earned Slezak and Brave Heart 155 points for a debut at a tie for 24th on the Gold Cup Intermediate Leaderboard. Davidson and Ballynoe Castle RM, a six-year-old Irish Sport Horse owned by Cassie Segal and Ann Horrell Glaus, received 150 points and are tied for 27th.

Chiacchia and Slezak earned a long list of prizes for their Gold Cup wins, including $500 cash, and from Series sponsors: a seven-dose pack of Adequan, a Mountain Horse jacket with Gold Cup logo, a front and hind pair of Nunn Finer American Style brushing boots, and the choice of either a Cross-Country Sereno Top Ride pad with ultra-suede, or the Cross-Country Ortho Top Ride saddle pad with advanced memory foam from new sponsor, Ogilvy Horse.

For their second place finishes Bond and Davidson earned from Gold Cup sponsors a front and hind pair of Nunn Finer brushing boots, along with choice of a Sereno dressage, cross-country, or show jumping pad from Ogilvy Horse.

For complete results, visit Richland Park’s website at www.richlandpark.com.

It’s a Toss Up for the Cup

Only two more Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series events remain on the calendar: Poplar Place Horse Trials, September 8-10 in Hamilton, Georgia, and Twin Rivers Horse Trials, September 29-October 1, in Paso Robles, California. East coast based Chiacchia could make an appearance at Poplar Place to solidify his lead, though the scuttlebutt says that he and Windfall will head to Malmo, Sweden for the FEI World Cup Finals. West coaster Miles has made it known that she’s determined to be the keeper of the Cup, so expect to see her at Twin Rivers battling to get her lead back and most likely competing against Canada’s Hawley Bennett and Livingstone who currently stand third on the Advanced Leaderboard with 725.

It’s a tight race on the Intermediate Leaderboard, so it’s anybody’s guess who will take home the Cup at the end of the season. Just 30 points separate the top three: leader Becky Holder and Rejuvenate with 290 (Becky and Rejuvenate are pictured at the right above receiving the Adequan Gold Cup at The Maui Jim Wayne Horse Trials. Katie Lindsay, the organizer at Maui Jim holds the cooler.), Kelly Prather and Ballinakill Glory on 275, and Stephanie Butts and Zydeco with 260. With Holder scheduled to run Courageous Comet at the Burghley CCI**** the same weekend as Poplar Place, her score with Rejuvenate is unlikely to change. Bodega Bay, California-based Prather could very well make the trip to Twin Rivers, especially after coming off a win at the Woodside Horse Trials just two weeks ago.

Five other horse-and-rider pairs have 200 or more points on the Intermediate Leaderboard, so expect to see quite a shake up as the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series draws to a close in early October.

Intermediate Standings:

1. Becky Holder, Rejuvenate - 290
2. Kelly Prather, Ballinkill Glory - 275
3. Stephanie Butts, Zydeco - 260
4T. Hawley Bennett, Gin & Juice - 225
4T. Robyn Fisher, Lady Calido - 225
6T.Phillip Dutton, I'm Happy As Larry - 205
6T. Kate Luce, Tia Lusso - 205

And what is all this hard work and point tallying for? This December, at the USEA Annual Meeting and Convention in St. Louis, Missouri, a grand prize Gold Cup trophy and Amerigo saddle will be awarded to the rider from each division with the most points at the end of the year. In addition, the Gold Cup champion at the Advanced level receives a check from the USEA for $6,000, and the Intermediate champion receives a check for $4,000. Both winners will also receive an additional supply of Adequan. The second placed rider at Advanced wins a $3,500 Bit of Britain gift certificate, and their Intermediate counterpart wins a $2,500 gift certificate, and both will also receive an additional supply of Adequan.

The Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series would not be possible without the support of its sponsors: Title, Adequan; Presenting: Amerigo, Nunn Finer, and Nutrena; Contributing: Cover-All, Premier Equestrian, UlcerGard, and Wellpride; and Patron: Mountain Horse, and Ogilvy Horse.