Bluman Rolex Prize Ticks Past 200K

By Staff Report September 26, 2015

Daniel Bluman collected $212,000 and a Rolex watch for his victory at the Central Park Horse Show’s U.S. Open CSI 3* Grand Prix last night. Touring the course on the 9-year-old Dutch mare Conconcreto Believe, the Colombian rider took part in a tense duo of a jump-off with Sharn Wordley (NZL) and Barnetta, ultimately delivering the quickest of the two double-clear rounds, his zippy mare beating Worldly’s gelding by almost a full two seconds.

Conconcreto Believe is owned by Ilan Ferder and Blue Star Investments and sponsored by Conconcreto, one of South America’s largest infrastucture and development firms. Bluman admitted he was pretty much as excited to win the watch as he was to top the class, having awaited the moment since the start of his career in show jumping. “Conconcreto Believe was just amazing. I finally got what I had been dreaming of for quite a while, a beautiful Rolex watch,” he announced on Facebook (where he added a wink emoticon immediately following the watch mention).  “It feels so gold, so special to win here in New York. A massive thanks to my team and sponsors!” (which also include Saut Hermès, Samshield and Kentucky Equine Research).

The second annual Rolex Central Park Horse Show also saw California rider Jennifer Gates win the $5,000 Junior/Amateur 1.20m Speed Class, presented by PwC, and the start of U.S. Open Dressage presented by BreyerDressage.

In addition to the 3* victory, Bluman was crowned the U.S. Open’s leading rider after scores from his third-place finish in Thursday’s U.S. Open $40,000 FEI Speed, presented by Canadian Pacific Railway, were combined with Friday’s win. For the inaugural U.S. Open title, Bluman was presented with a $25,000 rider bonus in addition to his share of the grand prix purse. And it’s been a good week for Bluman all around. Earlier this week he was signed as an amabassdor for luxury Italian boot brand Alberto Fasciani.

For Friday’s course, international designer Guilherme Jorge of Brazil set a 15-effort test for 26 contenders. First in for the jump-off, Wordley — whose 11-year-old bay gelding is owned by the Sky Group — was clean and fast in 43.35 seconds, but Bluman stopped the timers in 41.39 for the win. Shane Sweetnam (IRL) and Spy Coast Farm’s Chaqui Z picked up a single time fault in the first round to finish third. The top-placing American rider, Candice King, also left the ring with one fault on the clock just one second slower than Sweetnam for fourth on Bellissimo, LLC’s Kismet 50 (the 14-year-old liver chestnut mare that jumped into the spotlight with Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum). After a win on Thursday night, Ireland’s Conor Swail rounded out the top five aboard Simba De La Roque as the fastest four-fault pair for owner Susan Grange.

“To win the U.S. Open title and that watch in Central Park – it’s a crown for a champion, so I’m very pleased tonight,” Bluman added.  While he was all smiles with his Rolex in hand, he admitted that he felt the pressure after Wordley’s clean trip over the short course. “I got to see Sharn go and he had a really beautiful round. My horse is naturally fast, so I pretty much just wanted to do the same thing that he did and keep the jumps up. She’s been having a great week and felt fantastic in the warm-up. I knew if I did my job she was going to do hers and it was going to be a good opportunity for us.”

Wordley gave it his absolute best shot, using Barnetta’s skill in the corners to force him into the inside turns. “My strategy going in was to go medium fast and make Daniel do the turns and hope he slipped up and had a rail,” Wordley said. “I knew I couldn’t outrun him and I just wanted to go clear.” Sweetnam’s single time fault left him out of the jump-off, but he was proud to jump his nine-year-old Zangersheide stallion – Chaqui Z – to a top-three placing. “The atmosphere was great last year, but I think it was even better this year,” he said. “I’m delighted with my horse. The time fault was my fault and the course jumped world-class.”

A two-horse jump-off still proved to be exciting for the onlooking crowd and Jorge admits he was pleased with how the riders approached his track. “This happens in top show jumping – the level of the competitors are very high and if I had added a second in the time allowed we may have had eight or nine in the jump-off,” he said. “This venue calls for a horse that can pull from their experience, rise to the occasion and understands the situation.”

Mark Bellissimo, CEO of the Wellington, FL-based International Equestrian Group (IEG), which produces the Rolex Central Park Horse Show, said he was very happy with U.S. Open format instituted this year. “When Daniel won, he took off his helmet and showed great emotion. That is what the sport needs to get to the next level; athletes who are out there excited about winning,” he said. “We have a great international representation here tonight, and we believe that this U.S Open will turn into something spectacular,” Bellissimo said.

Indeed, along with the Saugerties NY-based HITS and its CEO Tom Struzzieri, Bellissimo is one of two who are pretty much single-handedly trying to hoist show jumping to the forefront of the USA’s cultural sports consciousness. (They pick up where trailblazers John Quirk and Las Vegas Events Pat Chrisentson left off, and enjoy significant support at the mid-tier level, particularly on the West Coast). Not unlike soccer or rugby, equestrian sport has been slowly migrating out of Europe, where top-ranked international riders of the sort these men are attracting to the States draw thongs of spectators and have fan clubs.

“This is a sport you have to bring to the people, and I think you infiltrate that in large American cities and unique locations in order to elevate the interest,” Bellissimo said, giving props to his sponsor partner, as shows of this caliber are quite expensive to pull off. “This show was a dream many years ago and we brought it to a reality last year. Rolex took a very blind bet on us and it is very rare that they put their brand on anything that is unproven. I think on the banner out front there are 32 sponsors, most of which are corporate sponsors. We’re starting to see a transition from this being an exhibitor-financed sport to a corporate and commercial one. This could be the birthplace of modern, American, commercialized show jumping. It’s going to take a couple of years, but we’re well on our way.”

$5,000 Junior/Amateur 1.20M Speed Class, presented by PwC

Jennifer Gates, at 19 years old, impressed in front of a New York City crowd earlier in the day on Friday with a win in the $5,000 Junior/Amateur 1.20M Speed Class, presented by PwC, in the irons of her own Everest De Muze. The speed class converted faults to time and Gates’ clear effort in 58.817 seconds was good enough for first. Amateur Joyce Green and her own Cassidy were just shy of the lead to finish second on 61.09 seconds, while 14-year-old New York City native Francesca Dildabanian and her own Catika Van De Helle settled for third in 61.50 seconds.

Gates and her 11-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding (For Pleasure x Walnut De Muze) topped 17 combinations, but she admitted she was battling nerves before riding into Wollman Rink beneath the Manhattan skyline. “To be perfectly honest, I was a little bit nervous coming into the ring,” she said. “He’s generally a pretty hot horse and we were a little worried to bring him here, but I’m so proud with the way he handled himself.”

“He was very hot walking down, but once he got into the ring he put his game face on and was very good. He’s a high-energy horse and we knew he would get excited with the environment, but he gave it all to me, so I was thrilled,” she added. Junior and Amateur riders took their turn in the spotlight in a week full of competition, and it’s a plan that show organizers will continue. “It’s great to see the young talent fly around the ring,” Bellissimo said. “I really want to thank the riders for their participation, and PwC for being such a great supporter of the sport.”

Final Results: U.S. Open $212,000 CSI 3* Grand Prix, presented by Rolex
Place Entry # Horse Rider Country Owner Faults/Time
1 21 CONCONCRETO BELIEVE DANIEL BLUMAN COL BLUE STAR INVESTMENTS 0/0/ 41.39
2 12 BARNETTA SHARN WORDLEY NZL SKY GROUP 0/0/43.35
3 1 CHAQUI Z SHANE SWEETNAM IRL SPY COAST FARM 1/82.09
4 72 KISMET 50 CANDICE KING USA BELLISSIMO, LLC 1/83.07
5 5 SIMBA DE LA ROQUE CONOR SWAIL IRL SUSAN GRANGE 4/78.73
6 22 CAT BALLOU MOLLY ASHE-CAWLEY USA LOUISBURG FARM 4/79.06
7 4 UCEKO KENT FARRINGTON USA RCG FARM 4/79.60
8 26 CONTHENDRIX ANDRE THIEME GER ANDRE THIEME 4/80.39
9 15 BRIANDA ALI WOLFF USA JOHN C. WOLFF 4/80.44
10 25 WANNICK WH CHRISTINE MCCREA USA CANDY TRIBBLE 4/81.69
11 14 BINKIE DAVID BLAKE IRL PINE HOLLOW FARM 4/1.86
12 81 URUS 2 LIUBOV KOCHETOVA RUS LIUBOV KOCHETOVA 4/81.88

Final Results: $5,000 Junior/Amateur 1.20m Speed Class, presented by PwC
Place Entry # Horse Rider Faults/Time
1 38 EVEREST DE MUZE JENNIFER GATES 58.817
2 48 CASSIDY JOYCE GREEN 61.090
3 90 CATIKA VAN DE HELLE FRANCESCA DILDABANIAN 61.502
4 85 Q ROYAL PALM Z BRIANNE LINK 61.667
5 44 ZELALEEN CARLY DVORKIN 62.885
6 43 ADOROSE KELLY TROPIN 62.904
7 50 QUIRINUS TEDDY VLOCK 63.400
8 49 CASTOR VAN DE KRANENBURG ISABELLA RUSSEKOFF 63.651
9 47 SERENDIPITY SOPHIE MORNER 64.231
10 87 CASEY CLAIRE SCHREDER 65.205

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