Nor and Cello Score

By Whitney Campbell June 24, 2013

Josephina Nor-Lantzman and Chello Z sailed to victory as the only double-clear at the Blenheim $30,000 June Classic III Grand Prix. Eduardo Menezes and Le Fleur 4 and Jamie Barge and Lasse were second and third.

The event, presented by the Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel, took place on the grass on another gorgeous, breezy Southern California afternoon at the Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park in San Juan Capistrano.

Sixteen horse and rider combinations attempted the track set by internationally-renowned Brazilian course designer Guilherme Jorge. There were only three flawless round one efforts.

Nor-Lantzman was fifth out and first to go clean. Nine rounds later, 14th in the order, Barge and Lasse duplicated the feat, then it was Menezes’ turn.
It was an exciting three grey-horse jump-off with two Brazilians battling it out with one American, Barge (over a Brazil-set course! A big day for the blue-and-yellow flag inscribed “Order and Progress”).

The stunning Chello Z, with Nor-Lantzman in the irons, was flawless in the jump-off in 38.67 seconds. After Barge and Lasse had eight faults, it was a Brazilian showdown with fellow countryman Menezes attempting to beat the leading time on his dappled mare. His efforts were good enough for second, with a four fault score in 40.92.

“I knew that the time would be an issue and I just went for it,” Nor-Lantzman said afterward. She and Cello were the fifth in and the first to go clear

Time indeed proved to be a challenge as six of the 16 entries went over the round one time allowed of 86 seconds. One such pair, otherwise faultless, was Michelle Spadone and Morgan Hill Partners’ Tembla, who finished fourth with two faults.

After placing in the top 10 for the past two weeks, it was a particularly sweet win for Nor-Lantzman. “It’s my last week of showing; we’ve been here for three weeks, so you just give it your all at that point. It was great to have the Brazilians in the jump-off and as the course designer; it’s more fuel for the fire.”
Course designer Jorge observed that it is always a challenge when building an A-show Southern California grand prix course to create something that challenges the high-performance crowd while not over-facing the up-and-comers. “My idea is to build a course where we can have a good level of competition but still have a jump-off,” Jorge said. With his solid understanding of course design, that is precisely what he achieved on Sunday.

The last vertical after the triple combination, set at an angle at the far end of the field, came down five times. For two of those instances ― first with Eduardo Menezes on Sara Hank’s Quintol Mercedes Benz then for young Eugenio Garza on El Milagro’s Bariano―the obstacle marred otherwise perfect performances.

Menezes notched fifth on Quintol Mercedes Benz and also piloted Caruschka to a seventh. Michelle Parker scored sixth and ninth on Socrates de Midos and Clintord (both owned by Cross Creek Farm), while Garza’s four fault score earned an eighth-place ribbon.

Zone 10 Pony Challenge

The annual Zone 10 Pony Challenge included a model, under saddle and a jumping class all on the grass. With 11 small, 14 medium, five large ponies in the open divisions and nine green ponies overall, the Grand Champion, Mara Chemerinsky and star medium pony Paris, garnered some excellent scores for the tri-color. Earning an 88, 87 and 90 respectively in the three classes, trained by Marci Mosconi, Chemerinsky has only competed on Paris three times this season.

Chemerinsky praised the precious pony. “Paris is amazing, she is seven years old now. She is a green pony but we were doing the rated division. She would come around the corner and see the jump and jump amazing. She is so perfect.”

Reserve to the Champions was Augusta Iwasaki on small pony Jerry Lee. They scored an 87, 83 and 84 in the three classes.

Blenheim EquiSports continues the summer season with the final week of the June Series, including the Red, White & Blue Grand Prix, sponsored by Markel Insurance, with a live band and loads of pre-4th of July fun for all.

$30,000 June Classic III Grand Prix
presented by The Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel
Place – Horse – Rider – Owner – Faults/Time
1 – Chello Z – Josephina Nor-Lantzman – Josephina Nor Stables LLC – 0/0/38.678
2 – La Fleur 4 – Eduardo Menezes – Eduardo Menezes – 0/4/40.925
3 – Lasse – Jamie Barge – Jamie Barge – 0/8/41.591
4 – Tembla – Michelle Spadone – Morgan Hill Partners – 2/87.026
5 – Quintol Mercedes Benz – Eduardo Menezes- Sara Hank – 4/80.138
6 – Socrates De Midos – Michelle Parker – Cross Creek Farm – 4/80.330
7 – Caruschka – Eduardo Menezes – Eduardo Menezes – 4/81.166
8 – Bariano – Eugenio Garza – El Milagro – 4/83.798
9 – Clintord – Michelle Parker – Cross Creek Farm – 4/85.014
10 – Missing Oyster – Craig Starr – Rebecca Lewis – 8/85.400
11 – Sir Teddy – Nicole Haunert – Lynne Bollinger – 8/85.629
12 – Walerlo 5 – Nick Gegen – Nick Gegen – 9/86.397

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