Philippaerts Speeds Alltech Welcome

By Rebecca Walton October 31, 2012

The 2012 Alltech National Horse Show, 129th Edition, marked the first day of Open Jumper competition with a $50,000 Triumph Project Welcome Stake, sponsored by the Davis McCullough Foundation. Speed was the name of the game and Belgium’s Nicola Philippaerts was on point with his new mount Cortez. The pair blazed around the track in a clear time of 61.370, which would prove unbeatable for the win. McLain Ward was close on his heels aboard Pjotter Van De Zonnehoeve, while a fault-free round while Palm Sunday helped Aaron Vale round out the top three.

Richard Jeffery of Bournemouth, England, presented riders with a technical speed track that 35 entries tackled. It opened with a bending line from the in gate and also included an oxer-vertical and a vertical-oxer double combination. The first combination, a wide oxer by the gate, and a slick turn to one of the final fences, proved to be the most challenging areas. Ten riders managed to cross the finish line with all the rails in their cups.

Also breaking in a new horse, Jessica Springsteen was the first on course aboard Vindicat W, who set the bar high with a clear round, but a slower time of 69.980 ultimately saw them land in ninth place. Lauren Hough and Oh La La were the first to best Springsteen, breaking the beam five seconds faster in 64.580, but even that time would prove slow and put them in sixth place position.

The next clear round came from Nicola Philippaerts, representing Belgium with his new mount Cortez, owned by his father, Ludo Philippaerts. They shaved the turns and left out strides, still clearing each obstacle easily, and they wound their way through the course. The clock stopped at 61.370, shattering Hough short-lived lead and setting an uncatchable standard.

Olympian McLain Ward went in for the win with Louisburg Farm’s Pjotter Van De Zonnehoeve, but the pair came up just shy of the lead with a time of 61.640, earning the second place honors. “My plan was to try to go fast,” he commented. “Pjotter has been a great campaigner for me for many years. He is a very careful and fast horse. I haven’t shown in a few weeks, so maybe I was a little rusty, and I added in a few places where maybe I shouldn’t have. I thought the course was big enough for the first day, and these jumps from the World Equestrian Games were quite spooky. It was just right, difficult enough and challenging, but not unfair.”

Aaron Vale followed directly after Ward, but even his speedy effort would not prove to be good enough with Palm Sunday, owned by Amen Corner Farm. The pair was very quick, but not quite quick enough, tripping the timers in 62.29 seconds for the third place award. The fourth place ribbon went to Christine McCrea’s entry Zerly, who went just prior to Ward in a faultless 63.77 seconds. The remainder of the class all gave it a go to catch Philippaerts, but only four others were clear, all with a slower effort.

This is only Philippaerts fourth show with Cortez, but he thinks this could be his best mount. “I haven’t had him very long yet, but now that I am trying to compete with him, he’s looking like a good horse. I will see how far he gets here, and then ride him in the World Cup.”

$50,000 WELCOME SPEED 1.50M

 

Horse                                Rider

1      CORTEZ   Nicola Philippaerts   BEL 0/0/0/61.370

2      PJOTTER VAN DE ZONNEHOEVE   McLain Ward USA 0/0/0/61.640

3      PALM SUNDAY   Aaron Vale  USA 0/0/0/62.290

4      ZERLY   Christine McCrea  USA  0/0/0/63.770

5      TEMMIE   Jessica Springsteen  USA 0/0/0/64.360

6      OHLALA   Lauren Hough  USA 0/0/0/64.580

7      SASKIA 269   Cara Raether  USA 0/0/0/65.240

8      BELMONT    Laura Kraut USA  0/0/0/68.370

9      VINDICAT W  Jessica Springsteen USA 0/0/0/69.980

10     PAKO  Lillie Ross  USA 0/0/0/70.200

11      CYKLON 1083   Shane Sweetnam  IRL  4/0/4 /62.700

12      LALIQUE    Marie Hecart  FRA  4/0/4 /62.790

 

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