Wellington, FL – The Kilkenny Internationale, CSI 3* wrapped up competition on Sunday with the highlight of the week, the $60,000 Kilkenny Internationale Cup. After winning the Sunday grand prix in week two of the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) and finishing second last week, Laura Chapot and Little Big Man continued their streak by triumphing in today’s class over Molly Ashe and Cocu and Erynn Ballard and Robin van Roosendael.

 

Today’s course was designed by Olaf Petersen of Germany. Petersen set a rolling track around the field that included 14 numbered obstacles. The course integrated an open water jump, a triple combination and a two stride set in front of the in-gate. It was not the easiest of courses, but five made the good list to return for the jump-off. There were six four-fault rounds and one elimination. After two-thirds of the 47 entries had gone, those who had faults or a refusal were choosing to retire from the course rather than continue, leading to nine retirements in all.

 

On the course, Ballard noted “I thought it was big, but it’s the first Sunday I’ve jumped this circuit. Usually when it’s big, it’s encouraging for me because I have a horse that can jump big jumps. I love for it to be big and hope that he’s having a good day and rides well so that he can have a clear round.”

 

Returning first in the jump-off was William Lowry on Winsor Farm Sales’ Polygraaf. Polygraaf had a consistent clear round going until the tight rollback to the Animal Planet vertical, the second to last jump in the second round. Polygraaf lost his footing and slipped and was able to muster the effort to jump the fence, but the top rail came down. Lowry finished with four faults in a quick time of 39.54 seconds, which would hold up for fourth place.

 

Next in were Chapot and Little Big Man. While Chapot did not seem to go all-out, she was quick through the turns and made nice galloping runs where she could. Little Big Man’s incredible carefulness left all the jumps up, and they crossed the timers in 39.08 seconds. “I just tried to be fast down the first two lines. I actually thought I was a little bit conservative at the last two fences just to make sure I was clear,” she asserted. “I probably could have been a little bit faster because he jumps clear anyway.”

 

Chapot did not watch Lowry’s entire jump-off ride. “I only could see part of his round, but I know that he is surprisingly fast for having such a big horse. I didn’t see him slip, and that’s probably good,” she admitted.

 

Kent Farrington and Up Chiqui, who is owned by the triumvirate of Alex Boone, Richard Bass and James McNerney, were next to challenge, but a rail at fence two and at the first jump of the one stride left Farrington in fifth place with four faults in 40.22 seconds.

 

Ballard cantered in to try to beat Chapot’s time. The tall 13-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding may possess the scope to jump anything, but his skill in speed would be tested in today’s class. Ballard guided him to the jumps at a slower pace, going for the clear round. They posted a time of 43.63 seconds to finish in third place. “I know with my horse, it’s better to be double clean than slow with one down. My plan with him is to go double clean. He’s not the fastest and he’s not the easiest to turn, so that’s usually what we’re aiming for,” she explained. “If not, we’re a really slow four-faulter.”

 

Second place would be determined by Cocu and Molly Ashe, who rode for Jane F. Clark. While Ashe did not go for broke, she did keep a quick pace and neat turns. This helped them stay just off Chapot’s pace in 39.61 seconds for the red ribbon. Ashe recalled, “I didn’t see Laura go, but that was probably for my own well-being! I probably would have tried to go too fast. There’s no way the horse that I was showing could go as fast as Little Big Man, so I was trying to go as fast as I could and leave the jumps up. She did just that. She was great.”

 

For Ballard, this was her second circuit in Wellington with Robin van Roosendael. “This is my best finish in Florida ever,” she noted. “I’ve had him for four years. He has an amazing show record. There are very few classes he goes in where he doesn’t get a ribbon. He’s never going to be the fastest horse, but he’s always good for big classes. He’s a good team horse because you can use him a lot.”

 

Results of $60,000 Kilkenny International Cup February 18, 2007

T/A: 93.00 T/A: 55.00

1. LITTLE BIG MAN, LAURA CHAPOT, USA – 0.00 / 85.72; 0.00 / 39.08

2. COCU, MOLLY ASHE, USA – 0.00 / 88.00; 0.00 / 39.61

3. ROBIN VAN ROOSENDAEL, ERYNN BALLARD, CAN – 0.00 / 91.87; 0.00 / 43.63

4. POLYGRAAF, WILLIAM LOWRY, USA – 0.00 / 88.05; 4.00 / 39.54

5. UP CHIQUI, KENT FARRINGTON, USA – 0.00 / 83.61; 8.00 / 40.22

6. HIDDEN CREEK’S QUERVO GOLD, MARGIE ENGLE, USA – 4.00 / 83.07

7. HOT WHEELS, DARRAGH KERINS, IRL – 4.00 / 86.87

8. TRUE LOVE, SARAH SEGAL, USA – 4.00 / 88.60

9. PICOLIEN ZELDENRUST, FRANKIE CHESLER ORTIZ, CAN – 4.00 / 89.37

10. RMW POWER POINT, JAIME GUERRA, MEX – 4.00 / 90.21

11. OLIVER III, JUDY GAROFALO TORRES, USA – 4.00 / 92.25

12. CLAUS, ANGELA K. MOORE, USA – 5.00 / 93.84

13. LEVANTOS, MARIO DESLAURIERS, CAN – 8.00 / 84.53

14. SAPPHIRE, MCLAIN WARD, USA – 8.00 / 86.13

15. ONIRA, BRIANNE GOUTAL, USA – 8.00 / 86.68

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