Daniel Bluman and Chandon Blue
Wellington, FL – February 7, 2015 – As part of the 12-week Wellington Turf Tour series, The Ridge at Wellington traveled to the Wanderers Club, an exclusive country club in the heart of Wellington, to wrap up its fifth week of competition. The change of venue was set atop a pristine polo field, surrounded by an array of palm trees and settled beneath a blue sky. The venue change for many riders was not only breathtaking, but also the setting of a memorable jump off where riders attempted to catch Laura Kraut and Constable’s blazing speed, set early on in the day. It came down to the final moments of the event when Daniel Bluman took over the lead just two-tenths of a second faster, and then Lauren Hough followed consecutively to overtake Kraut’s time and capture the second place with Paris Sellon’s Street Hassle.
Nick Granat designed the day’s courses, challenging 66 horse and rider combinations with a technical track. Faults were sustained throughout the entire course, with the triple combination proving the most difficult with riders finding fault in the vertical-vertical-oxer combination. The opening track featured the sponsor jump, Hollow Brook Wealth Management, as the third obstacle of the track with its colors and detailing acting as the perfect foreground to the expansive Wanderers Club House nestled just behind.
Today, only 16 horse and rider combinations would clear the opening track and move onto the shortened course. Of the top contenders, only 11 would ride to two clean rounds.
Mark Bluman was the first rider of the day to traverse the track and move into the jump off with Liverpool, owned by Daniela Stransky. They set the pace at 41.144 seconds without incurring any faults. Eight trips later, Olympian Laura Kraut of Royal Palm Beach, Fla., rode Constable, owned by Cherry Knoll Farm, to a clear opening round to move into the jump off as the second contender of the short track.
Laura Kraut and Constable
Mark Bluman was the first rider of the day to traverse the track and move into the jump off with Liverpool, owned by Daniela Stransky. They set the pace at 41.144 seconds without incurring any faults. Eight trips later, Olympian Laura Kraut of Royal Palm Beach, Fla., rode Constable, owned by Cherry Knoll Farm, to a clear opening round to move into the jump off as the second contender of the short track.
The 8-year-old gelding has turned heads at international competitions across Europe and North America. Kraut rode the jump off course smooth and with efficiency, tripping the timers in 38.798 seconds.
“He has been very good while down here,” Kraut explained of Constable. “He is an 8-year-old, and normally they go through this phase where they think they know more than they do. When you step them up and they make a few mistakes, it allows for them to become more mature. I was really pleased today to come here, to new surroundings with a beautiful grass field, and he was wonderful. I think he liked having a change of scenery.”
She returned to the ring five rounds later with Zeremonie, owned by Old Willow Farms, LLC. She duplicated her earlier efforts aboard Constable with 8-year-old mare, breaking the beam in 39.422 seconds with her second double clear ride of the day. She sat at the top of the standings throughout the day with Constable, and concluded the event with the fifth place aboard Zeremonie.
As a believer in young horses and educational programs, Kraut has supported The Ridge at Wellington events since its inception in 2013. The Turf Tour Series helps riders of all levels, as well as horses, gain positive mileage and experience at different venues throughout the Wellington equestrian community. This was the first weekend that the $15,000 1.40m Grand Prix was held on a Saturday, which proved convenient for many of the riders.
“I love this structure! I am definitely a proponent of this system,” Kraut said. “I was so happy that they held an event on Saturday. I have 40 plus horses at the Winter Equestrian Festival, and it is difficult for me to get away on a Friday, though I would love to—I think the change of venue is great, they learn so much.”
Viggo Bjorklund and Atheme Z, owned by Gyliebo Farm, tried to catch Kraut’s pace, but they fell just shy of her time. He posted a double clear effort in 39.401 seconds, just two hundredths of a second behind. It wasn’t until the end of the day, in the final moments of competition that the winner would make his way onto the field.
Daniel Bluman and Chandon Blue, owned by Andressa Quadros, blazed the trail during the short track to speed through the timers in 38.551 seconds to take over the lead. Their quick foot speed across the ground surpassed Kraut and Constable by two-tenths of a second, following a similar path to that of Kraut, angling number one and two, and duplicating the tight rollback to the final oxer.
“We had a little bit of luck, it was my first time ever jumping him in the ring,” Bluman said. “He was here last year jumping in the High Amateur division with his owner, and then this year he was sent to me because she went to college. We are working on developing and seeing how far he can go. He definitely has a lot of quality and scope.”
He continued, “The course is beautiful, it is an amazing venue, and it is very refreshing to come to a grass ring here in Wellington. It is convenient for us because our farm, Bluman Equestrian, is only two minutes away. It couldn’t be any better here—the jumps are beautifully painted, it is quiet, relaxing, there is food and drinks, so everyone really likes it.”
Lauren Hough followed only a couple of rounds behind Bluman with Paris Sellon’s Street Hassle. The 9-year-old gelding followed a similar track to Bluman, keeping a consistent and speedy pace throughout the shortened course to finish in 38.694 seconds, knocking Kraut and Constable into the third place as the day came to a conclusion.
Lauren Hough and Street Hassle
“Normally, Paris rides him, but she had to go to California for the weekend, so we thought we would give him a different venue,” Hough said. “He has been doing the High Amateurs, and then we will be moving him up. I just stuck to my plan out there today; he is a fast horse naturally. The Turf Tour is a fantastic structure, this series provides fantastic opportunities for different venues and we are appreciative of it.”
McLain Ward and Best Buy, owned by Ansgar Holtgers, ranked in sixth with a time of 39.457 seconds, while he also picked up the seventh place with his second mount, Azibantos, in an equally as speedy round. Lauren Hough and Upfront rounded out the top eight with a double clear posted in 39.658 seconds.
On the other side of the polo field, in Ring 2, competition was heating up for the Junior/Amateur-Owner Classic and the Children’s/Adult Jumper Classic. Alison Register and Gems Bond captured the $3,000 NAL Junior/Amateur Owner Classic with a speedy jump-off time of 31.934 seconds. In the $2,000 M&S/NAL WIHS Child/Adult Jumper Classic it was Rebecca Lannoye and Corvette who rode to the top of the standings.
The International Polo Club Palm Beach will host the sixth week of The Ridge at Wellington Turf Tour, showcasing the best that show jumping has to offer. Both Wednesday and Friday's events promise to be exciting, with the 1.30m-1.35m classes and the $15,000 1.40m Grand Prix running from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. The turf will see low and medium schooling jumpers with two classes running concurrently offered at each height on both days. The schooling jumper classes will continue to be offered on Friday throughout the remainder of the Turf Tour.
Meadowbrook Horse Transport will continue to provide transportation to and from the horse show and other locations throughout Wellington for both the Wednesday and Friday events next week. The transportation is a nominal fee of $50 per horse, and will be calculated into the final show fees. To make a reservation for one of the three pickup times: 8 a.m., 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. please call Peter Tufano of Meadowbrook Horse Transport at (954) 415-7217, or call Nona Garson at (908) 500-0996
For more information about the Ridge at Wellington please go to www.theridgefarm.com . For up-to-date information please follow the Ridge at Wellington on Facebook. For more information please e-mail info@TheRidgeFarm.com. For videos and results throughout the Wellington Turf Tour Series, please visit www.shownet.biz.
$15,000 1.40M Grand Prix - Table II Sec 2b
Place Entry Horse Owner Rider
1st 894 Chandon Blue Andressa Quadros Daniel Bluman
2nd 925 Street Hassle Paris Sellon Lauren Hough
3rd 906 Constable Cherry Knoll Farm Laura Kraut
4th 909 Atheme Z Gyliebo Farm Viggo Bjorklund
5th 903 Zeremonie Old Willow Farms LLC Laura Kraut
6th 694 Best Buy Ansgar Holtgers McLain Ward
7th 863 Azibantos Group C LLC McLain Ward
8th 924 Upfront Lauren Hough Lauren Hough
$3,000 NAL Junior/Amateur Owner Classic 1.25M Table II Sec2b
Place Entry Horse Owner Rider
1st 652 Gems Bond Alison Register Alison Register
2nd 643 Carle Paul Yanke Paul Yanke
3rd 889 Gamma Cameron Gabriela Saa Gabriela Saa
4th 923 Gideon John Holmes Kelly Arani
5th 882 Ti Punch D'emm Kindle Hill Affiliates Saly Glassman
6th 832 Wauw Stransky's Mission FarmsDaniela Stransky
7th 918 Bigua Elizabeth Maloney Elizabeth Maloney
8th 803 Herrock Christian Currey Charlotte Currey
9th 881 Rockin Ralph Kindle Hill Affiliates Saly Glassman
Junior/Amateur Owner Jumper 1.25M Table II Sec 2c
Place Entry Horse Owner Rider
1st 882 Ti Punch D'emm Kindle Hill Affiliates Saly Glassman
2nd 883 Doctori Kindle Hill Affiliates Saly Glassman
3rd 652 Gems Bond Alison Register Alison Register
4th 902 Wirco Polo Kristen Landino Kristen Landino
$2,000 M&S/NAL WIHS Child/Adult Jumper Classic 1.15M TII,2b
Place Entry Horse Owner Rider
1st 845 Corvette Rebecca L. Lannoye Rebecca L. Lannoye
2nd 914 Cool Water Sam Beiter Sam Beiter
3rd 714 Angel-O Siboney Ranch Brigitte Harbers
4th 841 Dali Jorge Verswyvel Tatianna Verswyvel
5th 901 New Jersey Sweet Oak Farm Olivia Notman
6th 898 Bram S Despereaux Jillian Berger Jillian Berger
7th 900 Till The End Charly M. Miller Charly M. Miller
8th 899 Coco Taryn Lagor Brenda Obreson
Child and Adult Jumper 1.15M Table II Sec 2c
Place Entry Horse Owner Rider
1st 914 Cool Water Sam Beiter Sam Beiter
2nd 896 Forever Z Tiffany Avon Tiffany Avon
3rd 900 Till The End Charly M. Miller Charly M. Miller
4th 897 Oak Park Clover Haley Cassidy Haley Cassidy
5th 901 New Jersey Sweet Oak Farm Olivia Notman
6th 714 Angel-O Siboney Ranch Brigitte Harbers
7th 898 Bram S Despereaux Jillian Berger Jillian Berger
Low Schooling Jumper 1.10-1.15M Table II, 2.1
Place Entry Horse Owner Rider
1st 857 Questionnaire Newsprint Farms Pablo Mejia
Low Schooling Jumper 1.10-1.15M Table II, Sec 2b
Place Entry Horse Owner Rider
1st 845 Corvette Rebecca L. Lannoye Rebecca L. Lannoye
2nd 913 Guinteroc C Angela Covert Angela Covert 4039154EC
3rd 899 Coco Taryn Lagor Brenda Obreson
Medium Schooling Jumper 1.20-1.25M Table II, 2.1
Place Entry Horse Owner Rider
1st 830 Dafina Jose Miguez Diego Gonzalez
2nd 670 Balous Boy Applied Floriac LLC Eric Flameng
3rd 843 Ideal S Karyn Foley Karyn Foley
4th 731 Ladriano Z Blue Star Investments Camilo Robayo
5th 828 Expresso Holly Caristo Martha Redman
6th 804 Vigaro Page E. Tredennick Charlotte Currey
Class: 104 - Medium Schooling Jumper 1.20-1.25M Table II, Sec 2b
Place Entry Horse Owner Rider
1st 926 Brayn INS Rosehill Lauren Hough