Resnik Rocks Memorial Day

By Paula Parisi June 1, 2011

The $10,000 Memorial Day Grand Prix at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center may have been light on horses―a result of the EHV-1 scare that had so many Southern California barns in lockdown―but spectators turned out in force for the May 30 event, which took place under sunny skies and a billowing breeze on the LAEC’s grass field, albeit with a reduced purse.

The contest was the culmination of the Memorial Day Classic Horse Show, May 26-30. Typically a $25,000 grand prix, the pot was reduced to $10,000, because of the low exhibitor attendance over fear of EHV-1. “Up to about a week before, we didn’t even know whether we were going to be able to have a show,” said Marnye Langer, a partner in the Langer Equestrian Group (LEG), which produced the show. “The riders were great. They really wanted a grand prix, and they worked with us to make it happen,” she said, adding a tip o’ the helmet to the sponsors, too.

One rider attending the Memorial Day Classic Horse Show, which ran May 26-30, estimated that attendance was only about a fourth of what it’s normally been in years past. “Even the riders that want to chance it are in many cases being told by their barns that if they take the horses out, they won’t be allowed to bring them back,” the exhibitor said.

Eighteen riders contested the sizable purse, with Justin Resnik ultimately taking the blue on Quantum Leap with a beautiful double-clear round and a speedy jump-off time of 33.91.

Resnik was the first to go of the six riders that made round two, and though one rider got a better time, none could surpass his performance. The six-obstacle jump-off course had an allowed time of 43 seconds, which all the riders who completed the course easily made.

Jenni Martin McAllister captured the second and third place ribbons, on Sammy and Majuscule, respectively. Her energetic afternoon’s performance saw her with three mounts in the jump-off, but one, GlaDOS, balked at an oxer, unseating her. That bumpy ride got her a tie for sixth with Marnye Langer (on Maloubet du Rouet), who happens to own GlaDOS.

Brittany Albrecq, who trains with McAllister, was fourth, riding Union Jack. Much was made over the 17-year-old’s game performance. Her zippy jump off time of 33.26 was better than Resnik’s, but she had a rail down and four faults. Ron Keller came in fifth, riding Abukir 14.

Another second-round competitor, Tommi Clark, was eliminated in the jump-off phase for forgetting to jump Fence 6.

Among the sponsors of the show, produced by the Langer Equestrian Group (LEG), was the O’Gara Coach Company of Beverly Hills, which lent a festive air with a selection of luxurious automobiles scattered around the field.

 

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