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International Jumping Riders Club
Darragh Kenny pilots Sans Souci Z to victory in $35,000 Old Salem Grand Prix
17May-The $35,000 Old Salem Grand Prix was the highlight of the day's competition, and Darragh Kenny (IRL) took home another top prize at the Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows with Caroline Lloyd's Sans Souci Z. Adam Prudent (FRA) and Vasco placed second, while Candice King (USA) took the next two spots on Pjotter van de Zonnehoeve and Kismet 50. There were 54 entries in the $35,000 Old Salem Grand Prix, and nine were clear to the jump-off. Riders tackled a course set by Ireland's Alan Wade.
Coming back first in the jump-off, Candice King and Bellissimo LLC's Kismet 50 set the pace with a clear round in 53.035 seconds for fourth place. The next clear round wouldn't be recorded until King went on her next horse, Pjotter van de Zonnehoeve, owned by Louisburg Farm. They took over the lead in 52.33 seconds, which would hold up for third place.
Next in, Prudent and Vasco, owned by Plain Bay Sales and Patrick Flin, lowered the time down to 48.969 seconds, which would place second at the end of the class. As the last ones in, Kenny and Sans Souci Z sped around the jump-off in 47 seconds flat for the win. The fastest four-faulter in fifth place was McLain Ward on HH Carlos Z, owned by Double H Farm, who has a time of 46.01 seconds.
Kenny recalled, “He doesn't ever rub jumps, and the last vertical in the warm-up ring, he barely rubbed it a little bit. I thought, 'That will make him pretty sharp in here.' I cantered down to jump one, and he jumped three feet over it! That just meant to me that he wasn't going to touch a jump, and I could go as fast as I wanted.”
Kenny started riding Sans Souci Z, an 11-year-old Zangersheide gelding by Surrealist V/H Paradijs, at the end of the 2013 winter season, and after a break, rode him again this past winter. The talented horse moved up from the 1.30m Jumpers to the grand prix level. “We just matched great, and she saw that. Caroline has been great and let me manage the horse myself. She really trusts me with the horse. I try and treat every horse as if they were my own. I'm extremely thankful for her letting me have the chance to ride the horse,” Kenny expressed.
Kenny praised the horse's carefulness, scope, and intelligence. “When you look at him, you think, 'Oh, he's a big, pretty horse, but he could be a little slow.' But he's so sensitive and so intelligent. This horse doesn't have the experience to do what he's doing, but he's doing it brilliantly. I've always ridden a couple of big horses that have been a little bit chunkier looking, and I've had good results on them. He's a little bit like that, but he's extremely blood when you ride him. He's so light off the ground. He's got an amazing brain. I'm really hopeful for the horse.”
Wade's course in the sand Annex Ring was “tough,” Kenny said. He added, “It took a lot of jumping and a lot of riding. Still, there were a lot of good horses that jumped clear. I was just lucky that it was my day today.”
Final Results: $35,000 Old Salem Grand Prix
1 492 SANS SOUCI Z DARRAGH KENNY CAROLINE LLOYD: 0/0/47.000
2 782 VASCO ADAM PRUDENT PLAIN BAY SALES/PATRICK FLIN: 0/0/48.969
3 185 PJOTTER VAN DE ZCANDICE KING LOUISBURG FARM: 0/0/52.333
4 504 KISMET 50 CANDICE KING BELLISSIMO LLC: 0/0/53.035
5 653 HH CARLOS Z MCLAIN WARD DOUBLE H FARM: 0/4/46.019
6 490 PROF DE LA ROQUE DARRAGH KENNY POSTAGE STAMP FARM LLC: 0/4/47.553
7 799 VERSUS RAMIRO QUINTANA MICHAEL SMITH: 0/4/49.202
8 416 MACARTHUR MICHAEL HUGHES CHRISTINA FRIED: 0/4/51.652
9 290 ROMANTOVICH TAKE ONE CHRISTINE MC CREA CANDY TRIBBLE & WINDSOR SHOW STABLES: 0/8/52.443
10 866 QUIDAM 13 SYDNEY SHULMAN BACK COUNTRY FARM: 1/81.440
11 508 COMBINA CANDICE KING BELLISSIMO LLC: 2/82.279
12 422 HH COPIN VAN DE BROY QUENTIN JUDGE DOUBLE H FARM: 3/83.101