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Despite a difficult show jumping phase, there was no change in the overnight standings in the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Advanced division at Aspen Farms Horse Trials in Yelm, Wash. Mary Burke and Prince William took two rails to finish first on a score of 38.4, earning their second consecutive Adequan Gold Cup win at Aspen Farms.
Mary says “I’ve been working on making time during show jumping; I was pleased that we did that today. Because he can be an adrenaline junky, getting him where he doesn’t get tight and choppy in his stride is a challenge, and that’s where we had some problems in today’s course.”
Mary was not thinking about a repeat win going into the competition. “I come to each show with a game plan for improving on the weaknesses from the show before,” she says. “It’s about improving your weakest point, and where you fall at the end of the show is where you fall. You have to constantly be optimizing your horse’s performance. Bringing them to a point where they can perform at their best is what matters; where they fall in the ribbons is not my focus at all; it never has been.”
Sara Sellmer and her own TF Kreisler held on to second place with 8 jump faults. “I was happy,” says Sara. “There’s definite room for improvement. Show jumping has always been hard for us, but he felt like he was full of energy and animated. I just need to get him softer in the half-halt so he can jump a little looser in his back. He loves his job though and feels the part.” This has been their first season at the Advanced level, and they now look ahead to the three-star at Woodside.
Jordan Linstedt and Revitavet Capato finished third on a score of 45.8 after 12 jump faults and 1 time fault. Andrea Nielsen and LC O'Shawnisee picked up 20 faults for a fourth place finish in their first Advanced.
Final results for all classes, including the USEA Area VII Championships divisions, can be viewed on Startbox Scoring, here: http://eventingscores.com/eventsr/aspen/ht0916/.
Additional show coverage including pictures and videos can be seen on Aspen Farms Horse Trials’ Facebook page, here: http://www.facebook.com/AspenFarmsHorseTrials.
About the Adequan USEA Gold Cup
The Adequan USEA Gold Cup features 11 qualifying competitions throughout the United States at the Advanced Horse Trials and CIC3* levels. The final will take place at the Nutrena USEA American Eventing Championships, September 1-4 in Tryon, North Carolina. Riders who complete a qualifier earn the chance to vie for $40,000 in prize money and thousands of dollars in prizes in the Adequan Advanced Division and the title of Adequan USEA Gold Cup Champion.
The 2016 Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series is made possible through the support of its many loyal sponsors: Adequan, Standlee Forage, Nunn Finer, Nutrena, Merck, Broadstone Equine Insurance Agency, and FITS.
