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McLain
Ward Wins $25,000 Bayer/ USET Festival of Champions Grand
Prix at Bayer/ USET Festival of Champions presented by
State Line Tack
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Gladstone,
NJ- McLain Ward of Brewster, NY rode Viktor, the Dutch gelding
he co-owns with Harry Gill, to the top of the $25,000 Bayer/ USET
Festival of Champions Grand Prix presented by State Line Tack
Friday at the Bayer/ USET Festival of Champions held at the USET
Olympic Training Center in Gladstone, NJ.
Out
of a starting field of 13 horse-and-rider combinations, six qualified
for the jump-ff by riding clear in the first round. All six of
the combinations in the jump-off went clear again so the final
standings came down to the numbers on the clock. The first to
go in the jump-off, Candice King, set the standard by going clear
and fast with a time of 40.109 seconds. After King set the pace,
the jump-off continued to get faster as Ward on his first mount,
Rio, Nona Garson on Capital S, and Kim Frey on Conowara laid down
fast trips.
The
competition came down to the last two riders, Ward and Margie
Engle, who currently sit at the number one and two positions respectively
on the USET Computer List. The second to last rider to go, Engle,
on Hidden Creek’s Perin, beat the previous riders’ times
by over two seconds. Ward proved that he was up the challenge
of going even faster and crossed through the timers a mere two-
tenths of a second faster than Engle.
Ward
was impressed with the caliber of competition in the class. “There
were 12 or 15 very good horses here today,” he commented.
“It was a very nice group of horses today and an extremely
fast jump off.”
The
Bayer USET Festival of Champions continues for the jumper riders
at what Friday’s Grand Prix winner calls a “beautiful
venue here at the USET.” Many of the riders who competed
in the $25,000 Bayer/ USET Festival of Champions Grand Prix used
the class to help prepare themselves and their horses for the
main event of the Festival to take place on Sunday, the $50,000
Rolex/USET Show Jumping Championship.
Further information and results of the Bayer/USET Festival of
Champions Presented by State Line Tack are available at the USET
website at www.uset.org.
The United States Equestrian Team is a non-profit organization
that selects, trains, equips and finances equestrians of the highest
possible standard to represent our country in major international
competition, including the Olympic Games and the World Championships.
To accomplish this, the USET seeks out and nurtures the development
of talented athletes - riders, drivers and horses - and provides
the support and guidance they need to help them attain their fullest
potential. For more information on the USET, please call (908)
234-1251, or visit USET ONLINE at www.uset.org
.
