GREEN COVE SPRINGS, FL.—FEB. 10, 2007-It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. Tommy Feigel and tonight’s incomparable Contendress were the surprise winners of the $25,000 Jacksonville Finale Grand Prix, the closing event of the four-week Jacksonville Winter Series.
Feigel and his equine partner vanquished 24 competitors, including such seasoned riders as Jay Hayes, European champion Bjorn Ikast, and Olympic qualifier Sharn Wordley, who nevertheless captured the 4th and 5th place ribbons and was also awarded the Winter Series’ $10,000 OakLeaf Plantation Grand Prix Rider Bonus. “I was the dark horse, and sometimes that’s the best place to be,” said an ecstatic Feigel who shared this first career Grand Prix victory with his 10-year-old Holsteiner mare. “I couldn’t have asked any more of her tonight,” added Feigel. “She jumped her heart out.”
This is Tommy’s night,” said trainer Don Stewart, who declined to take the spotlight from his rider but noted: “We’re very proud of him. This is what he’s been waiting for.”
The course, designed by the internationally recognized Michel Vaillencourt, had the teams navigating 12 obstacles in the first round with a time allowed of 84 seconds. “I expected fence No. 7-8 to be the trouble spot,” admitted Vaillencourt of the tough double combo—a vertical into an oxer. “But they didn’t take the bait.” Instead many of the competitors succumbed to fence No. 4, an oxer-vertical-oxer triple that followed a sweeping wide turn out of fence No. 3. Vaillencourt attributed the many rails down there to “too much speed. It tripped them up and they just rode it too fast.”
Not Feigel, who went clean in the first round with a time of 81.175. He was one of only four riders to make the jump off, along with second place finisher Kyle King, aboard the Linda Opdycke-owned Spitfire, 3rd place winner Chuck Waters, aboard his 10-year-old French gelding 747, and Wordley aboard his Olympic hopeful Rockville. “It was a nice course,” noted Feigel. “It was tougher than it looked. I think it surprised us all how hard it actually ended up riding.”
With only four in the jump off, the heat was on. But to paraphrase the popular song “tonight was the night.” Feigel and Contendress, owned by Erin-Stewart, not only went clean, but they went at warp speed: With a time allowed of 48 seconds, Feigel and Contendress stopped the clock at 40.976. “I went clean and I didn’t go crazy because I wanted to leave all the jumps up,” said King of his pretty speedy 42.541 round. “Then Tommy came in and he smoked me.”
“To be honest we weren’t even going to enter,” said Feigel of a last minute decision to test Contendress. “We decided late on Friday and it all worked out in our favor.” Feigel will next take his winning mare to HITS Ocala where “hopefully we will carry this momentum.”
Following the Grand Prix ribbon presentation Tony Weight, president of the North Florida Hunter Jumper Association and show manager Bob Bell president of the Classic Company honored the Series’ best rider, according to a four-week-long point system, with a $10,000 check, which went to tonight’s 4th and 5th place winner Sharn Wordley. Wordley has competed throughout the series on four mounts that he owns and trains: the 9-year-old Dutch bred Rockville, the 17-year-old Irish bred Mr.Flanigan, the 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood Medrano, and the 11-year old Holsteiner mare Lichten Spiel. “I was awarded the check,” beamed Wordley. “I’m very happy about that.” The Classic Company will present another $10,000 Bonus Award to one winning rider at the conclusion to the 5-week Gulfport Winter Series, which begins on Feb. 14th at the Harrison County Showgrounds in Gulfport, Mississippi.
Flashpoint Media Services, based in Harrodsburg, KY. is a comprehensive public relations firm specializing in the equestrian sports. For additional information contact Cindy Grisolia at (347) 423- 7322, [email protected] or Robbi Meisel (859) 734-3713, [email protected]
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