Michaels-Beerbaum and Cantano win at WEF

By Staff Report March 19, 2012

Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum notched her first major victory aboard her new grand prix horse, Cantano, taking the blue in the $32,000 Suncast 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic, March 17 at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Palm Beach, FL.

Michaels-Beerbaum―who was born and raised in Los Angeles and now rides for Germany―got the ride aboard the 12-year-old Holsteiner stallion in the fall, when he was purchased by Octavia Farms, LLC, from Temecula-based rider Susan Hutchison’s sponsor, El Dorado 29.

The pair was the only one in 26 entries to go clear under the lights Saturday night at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. Nine four-fault entries followed, ranking in order of their times.

It was Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum’s second 1.50m win during the WEF circuit after also topping a class with her veteran partner Checkmate 4 during week five. She is still establishing her partnership with Cantano, who spent four years under Hutchison.

“This is a relatively new horse for me and our first win, so it was quite a big deal. He was outstanding tonight,” Michaels-Beerbaum commented of the 12-year-old (Cascavelle x Acord).

“I got him in the fall of last year, so this is really my first big circuit with him,” the rider detailed. “He can be feisty, but he has a great temperament. I think I’m starting to get to know him better. We are becoming a team. He won a lot before I got him in California, but this was a major step for him and I together.”

The pair has done well throughout the WEF circuit, building up to their victory tonight. “This is one of the hardest circuits in the world,” Michaels-Beerbaum acknowledged. “He received some good ribbons early in the circuit. He was fourth in the two-star grand prix the second week, and third in the WEF Challenge Cup during week three. Then we went through an adjustment period where I was trying out different bits, figuring out his mouth a little. I feel that now we have made a big step forward.”

Michaels-Beerbaum has had a couple of firsts in her prestigious career during this year’s WEF. During week eight’s $75,000 FEI Nations Cup Presented by G&C Farm, she was the anchor rider for her German team and did not have to return in the second round after it was determined that the team could not be beat. The clear in tonight’s class was her first time winning a classic with the only clear round and no jump-off.

“I thought the course was difficult when I walked it; it was a real test,” she said of around South Carolina designer Michel Vaillancourt’s Saturday course. “It was a great achievement for my horse and I together. To have a clear round over this type of course was a big step up for us in the right direction.”

Fellow German rider David Will and Giovanni 151, owned by Paul Schockemohle, had the fastest four-fault round in 69.84 seconds to place second. Great Britain’s Ben Maher took third place honors riding Emma Phillips’ Quiet Easy 4 home in 69.91 seconds. Maher also placed fourth with Louise Flower’s Rowan in 71.71 seconds. David McPherson, also of Great Britain, notched fifth, in 72.27 seconds, with Chamberlain Z, which he his own owns with the Holtger family.

Final Results: $32,000 Suncast 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic

1. CANTANO: 2000 Holsteiner stallion by Cascavelle x Acord
MEREDITH MICHAELS-BEERBAUM (GER), Octavia Farms LLC: 0/78.26

2. GIOVANNI 151: 1999 Hanoverian stallion by Graf Grannus x Graf Remus
DAVID WILL (GER), Paul Schockemohle: 4/69.84

3. QUIET EASY 4: 2004 Oldenburg gelding by Quidams Rubin x Zapateado
BEN MAHER (GBR), Mrs. Phillips: 4/69.91

4. ROWAN: 2003 stallion by Animo
BEN MAHER (GBR), Miss Louise Flower: 4/71.71

5. CHAMBERLAIN Z: 2001 Zangersheide gelding by Chellano Z x Peter Pan
DAVID MCPHERSON (GBR), David McPherson & M/M Holtgers: 4/72.27

6. MAKAVOY: 2003 KWPN gelding by Hors La Loi II x Ahorn
JONATHAN ASSELIN (CAN), Attache Stables: 4/75.08

7. WATCH ME VD MANGELAAR: 2003 KWPN gelding by Heartbreaker x Wolfgang
MATT WILLIAMS (AUS), Samantha Tuerk: 4/75.85

8. KING KOLIBRI: 2002 Hanoverian stallion by Kolibri x Achill-Libero H
LAUREN TISBO (USA), Tequestrian Farms LLC: 4/76.21

9. HELLO SAILOR: 1999 KWPN gelding by Kigali x Indoctro
TINA FLETCHER (GBR), Lady P. Harris & Lady P. Kirkham: 4/77.67

10. AMOR VAN DE ROSTAL: 2000 BWP gelding by Peter Pan x Nimmerdor 147
MAC CONE (CAN), Chadburn Holdings Inc: 4/78.68

11. VADELINE: 2002 KWPN mare by Placido x Orthos
SCOTT SMITH (GBR), Mrs. Judith Studd: 8/73.74

12. VOSKE: 2002 KWPN mare by Hors La Loi II x Holland
TIM GREDLEY    (GBR), Mrs. R. Gredley: 8/75.10

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