GULFPORT, MS.—FEB.25, 2007- It was poetry in motion. Canadian born Michael Tokaruk, 25, aboard his brilliant Holsteiner gelding Lord Byron, were the unexpected winners of the $25,000 EMO Grand Prix of the Gulf Coast, held Sunday Feb. 25 at the Harrison County Equestrian Center in Gulfport, Mississippi.
Tokaruk bested 20 contenders for the top spot, including leading rider Wilhelm Genn, who has dominated the circuit lately with his three mounts, Chantal, Happy Z, and Ariado. But when the dust cleared following the swift jump off round, Tokaruk had surpassed Genn’s best time by nearly a full second.
“I had a good feeling about today,” said Tokaruk, who had nothing but confidence in his beautiful bay gelding. “Then again I had a good feeling about last week, too, but we had a rail down in that jump off, so I don’t know about my hunches,” he laughed. “But I knew this was the kind of course that really suited Lordy [as he’s affectionately know in the barn] and that he was jumping great and feeling great.”
The course, designed by the internationally recognized Michel Vaillancourt, had seven clean 1st rounds out of 20 horse and rider teams in the starting field. Its 13 obstacles tested the contenders not only in the technical aspects but also in endurance. “It was long,” said Tokaruk, “you needed a horse that was fit enough.”
The rider noted that there was one particularly tough spot in the first round “a triple bar bending to an oxer then bending to a two-stride pair of verticals” that seemed to get a lot of people. Tokaruk, who went 19th in the first round and 7th in the J/O, felt his ranking in the order of go allowed him a big advantage. “I had a great position, going right at the end, I knew what I had to do. Also, I was last in jump off, and that really played in my favor today.”
With a time allowed of 49 seconds in the final round, Genn went second with his dazzling chestnut mare Happy Z, and set the time to beat at 40.974. “Going last, I knew I could be a little tighter on a couple of turns than Wilhelm was. I know that my horse is very careful—I can really gallop at the fences and he stays off of them naturally. So I made a couple of the cuts back to the jumps a little bit tighter. Especially on the last line, where I really went for it,” said Tokaruk who stopped the clock at 39.992. Genn was second with Happy Z and fourth aboard Ariado who had a rail down. The only other clear round in the jump off belonged to Counterfoil with Laurie Jakubauskas in the irons. That team captured 3rd place with a final time of 43.773.
Winning another Grand Prix with Lordy, with whom he’s been competing for three years, and taking first place over Genn, was a true accomplishment for Tokaruk. “Wilhelm is such a great rider and always has great horses, but it does get old losing to him,” he laughed. But the young rider has an even more exciting endeavor coming: his own stable. Following the Gulfport Series, Tokaruk, who has been head professional rider at Dave Pellegrini’s Spring Mill Farm in Eads, TN., will move his base of operation to Aiken, S.C. to launch Tokaruk Show Stables. “I wanted to stay in the south and Aiken is a beautiful place with a rapidly growing hunter/jumper industry,” said Tokaruk of his choice. “It’s a central east-coast location where people will know who I am and I can have some success.” Tokaruk and Lord Byron plan to be ready for the Aiken Spring Classic in late April.
Lordy, meanwhile, has some celebrating of his own to do. “He turns 13 in three days,” said Tokaruk. “This Grand Prix was a great present for him. He won a big bucket of treats.”
The Gulfport Winter Classic continues with more hunter/jumper and Grand Prix action through March18th. Admission is free and the public is invited to enjoy the exciting competition throughout the week along with another $25,000 Grand Prix each Sunday as well as the race for the of the $10,000 Budweiser High Point Grand Prix Rider, presented to the top rider, calculated by earned points, of the five-week series.
Flashpoint Media Services, based in Harrodsburg, KY, is a comprehensive public relations firm specializing in the equestrian sports. For additional information contact Robbi Meisel, 859-734 3713, [email protected] or Cynthia Grisolia, 347-423 7322, [email protected].
You must be logged in to post a comment.