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Jonathan Holling and Direct Merger had their first Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series win in the CIC*** held at the Poplar Place Horse Trials in Hamilton, Georgia, September 1-3. (Jonathan and Direct Merger are pictured at the right jumping an oxer in the water at Jersey Fresh last spring.)

Holling, of Ocala, Florida, and his ten-year-old Thoroughbred gelding started off the event in third place out of 33 starters, with Mike Winter and Kingpin taking the early lead. Winter and Kingpin, a ten-year-old Thoroughbred gelding owned by the Kingpin Syndicates, jumped clean on cross-country; but, accrued four time penalties, which allowed Holling and Direct Merger, who went double clear, to take the lead going into show jumping—on a very slim margin of just 1.1 penalties.

Winter and Kingpin dropped a rail, giving Holling the cushion he needed, since he and Direct Merger did the same, ultimately winning the division on a score of 57.8, and earning them 240 points to make their debut on the Gold Cup Advanced leaderboard tied for 31st place. Winter and Kingpin earned 265 points and stand tied for 20th place. (Mike Winter and Kingpin are pictured at the left below in the Dressage Phase at Jersey Fresh last spring.)

Intermediate

Elisa Wallace made an impressive jump up the scoreboard with her 13-year-old Holsteiner/Thoroughbred mare Leap of Faith, winning the CIC**, which served as the Gold Cup Intermediate division. This pair started out in fourth after dressage, on a score of 59.4; but, after the top three had trouble on cross-country, they moved up into the lead, adding just two time penalties to their score.

Going into show jumping, just a rail and change separated Wallace and her mare from Mike Winter and Secret Decision, a seven-year-old Thoroughbred gelding owned by Lucile Tutwiler. They didn’t need the cushion though, putting in a double clear round after Winter and Secret Decision dropped two rails. Winter also finished the division in third with Susan Edward’s nine-year-old Thoroughbred gelding, Mark.

The top three in the division all made their debuts on the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series Intermediate Leaderboard: Wallace and Leap of Faith stand tied for 24th place with 155 points; Winter and Secret Decision are tied for 43rd with 125 points; and he and Mark now stand tied for 46th with 120 points.

Holling and Wallace 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 his second place finishes, Winter earned his choice of a Sereno dressage, cross-country, or show jumping pad from Ogilvy Horse.

For complete results, visit Poplar Place Farm’s website at www.poplarplacefarm.com

It’s a Toss Up for the Cup

The question is, with just one event left on the Series calendar—the Twin Rivers Horse Trials, September 29-October 1 in Paso Robles, California—who will ultimately become the 2006 Keeper of the Cup. Darren Chiacchia and Windfall currently hold the lead with 940 points. That pair are in Malmo, Sweden for the FEI World Cup Finals, which means that West Coasters Gina Miles and McKinlaigh (with 835 points) and Hawley Bennett and Livingstone (with 725) are both in striking distance.

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, Kelly Prather and Ballinakill Glory on 275, and Stephanie Butts and Zydeco with 260. 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.

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.

To see the complete Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series Leaderboard, visit the Gold Cup page on the USEA website.

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.