Sunday afternoon at the Lugano Diamonds Split Rock Jumping Tour’s (SRJT) Fall 1 saw girl power in full force as it was not only an all-female athlete podium for the $100,000 Lugano Diamonds 1.50m Grand Prix CSI3*, presented by Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, but their horses as well. Mares would compliment the efforts of Lacey Gilbertson, Daisy Farish and Abigail McArdle in the week’s highlight event at the Kentucky Horse Park.
A clear round seemed hard to come by over Anderson Lima’s (BRA) 16-effort first-round track as the first eight combinations fell victim to various jumping and time faults, but it was Gilbertson (USA) who finally delivered as ninth in the order with Damzelle ste Hermelle to set the standard. Clear rounds would quickly follow as Farish entered two rounds later, already in great form with the win in last week’s $65,000 Lugano Diamonds 1.45m Grand Prix CSI2*, presented by Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, and a ribbon in every FEI class she has jumped during the fall series. She piloted Quala vd Rollebeek (Bamako de Muze x Vigo D Arsouilles STX), owned by Lanes End Showjumping, to a jump-off guarantee.
Delaney Flynn (USA), Jonathan McCrea (IRL), and McArdle (USA) would also add their names to the good list before Gilbertson returned as the penultimate pair with Seabrook LLC’s LouLou MPSZ (Lord Pezie Junior x Semper Fi) to bookend the starting positions of the six-horse jump-off.
Gilbertson set off with pace aboard Damzelle ste Hermelle in round two, but it came at the expense of two rails down, leaving the door open for her fellow competitors and the chance for redemption on her second ride. Following just after, Farish and Quala vd Rollebeek set a blazing time of 37.90 seconds that saw little margins for improvement on turns and footspeed. McCrea and McArdle would each produce clear rounds, but their respective times of 40.88 and 39.81 seconds would further suggest Farish was uncatchable.
However, Gilbertson would do just that, mimicking a similar track with LouLou MPSZ to just edge ahead by 0.43 seconds to cross the timers with the winning pace of 37.47 seconds. Farish would settle for second place while McArdle claimed third place aboard Olympia van het Eikenhof (Elvis Ter Putte x Toulon), owned by Sweetwater Jumpers LLC, and McCrea took fourth.
“She’s nine years old and I’ve had her for a little over six months now,” Gilbertson said of her growing partnership with LouLou MPSZ. “She only jumped her first CSI3* [Grand Prix] in the spring here [at the Kentucky Horse Park] and two others since then. She’s placed in all three and today we got the win, so she’s special and I’m really excited about her.”
The Split Rock Fall series will conclude with its final week for the Split Rock Fall 2 CSI3* from October 1st through 6th, featuring the $35,000 C. Jarvis Insurance 1.45m Welcome CSI3* and the $100,000 Lugano Diamonds 1.50m Grand Prix CSI3*. The tour will then head to Aiken with the addition of hunter classes to its CSI2* competition.
Results here.