May 19, 2007, AUGUSTA, New Jersey- Piloting her Mon Gamin, Brianne Goutal shaved over two seconds off Laura Chapot and Samantha’s jump-off time to win the $50,000 Junior Essex Troop Garden State Grand Prix, May 12, 2007, for the second consecutive year. Goutal laughed that she had put an end to the talk of the skeptics, which included her family, who said Mon Gamin, her former Low Junior Jumper, could go no further than that division. The pair starred in that division, winning 11 Low Junior Jumper Classics in a row in 2006. After graduating from the junior ranks, Goutal graciously passed “Pinto,” as he is known for obvious reasons, to her younger sister, Clementine. “She showed him a little, but they just didn’t click. You have to let him poke his neck out like a pony and that was hard for Clementine to get used to,” explains Goutal. Not wanting to part with Mon Gamin, Goutal took him back and started showing again. This past season at WEF, she showed him very successfully in the Meter 40 Acorn Hill series and in some speed classes.
“We love to come to Garden State; the footing and stabling are great, there’s actually grass to graze horses on, the money is good, and I really wanted to do the Grand Prix again,” explains Goutal. Onira, the horse she rode to the Grand Prix win last year, is preparing for a busy summer campaign and was not showing at Garden State. “It was kind of on a whim that I decided to bring Pinto. He’s fast and careful and gives his all every time,” she adds proudly.
Co-trainer, Stacia Madden, describes Mon Gamin as “a great crowd pleaser because of his color and jumping style.” She added that Goutal knows the 11 year-old Selle Francais, “like the back of her hand.”
Thirteen-year-old Clarice Davey of Maplewood, NJ was ecstatic with her win aboard her Rico in the $2,500 Jack Fritz Challenge Class. The two-phase class, which is open to any horse and rider competing in under Level 4 jumper classes, drew 89 entries this year. A qualifier round is held on Friday; from which up to 30 horses are invited to the Grand Prix ring return to compete in the Finals on Sunday.
Ten clean rounds made for an exciting jump-off with some long gallops opening the door for cutting time. Although Rico didn’t appear to be really fast, Davey feels that his huge stride makes up for his speed and asserts, “He doesn’t spend much time in the air.” She adds that riding the jump-off first on her other horse, Lucifer, who finished in 6th place, was a big advantage.
Davey, who rides at The Ridge, just recently bought Rico as a Children’s Jumper with hopes of moving him up to the Junior Jumpers in the near future. Trainer, Nona Garson, was unable to come to the show, but as it is a favorite of many of her customers, she sent her assistants with 26 horses from The Ridge. “I was a little nervous at first without Nona,” admits Davey, “but Matt [Hollberg] and Thaisa [Erwin] did a great job training me and my horses here.” Hollberg looked pleased as he clutched a bronze trophy he and Thaisa were presented as trainers of the class winner. The Duva Family presents an elegant bronze trophy entitled “Trooper of the Plains” in honor of the Garden State Horse Show’s heritage, each year to the winner as well as the trainer of the Jack Fritz Challenge.
Melissa Rudershausen, Unionville, PA, just got home from college a week ago and found out all three of her Amateur Owner Jumpers had qualified for Devon. None of them had been jumped since Florida, so she hacked them a couple of days, packed the truck and headed to Garden State with her regular team – mother, Andra and boyfriend, Andrew Koussouris. They meet trainer, Sergio Campos, at the shows when they can, but often it’s just the three of them.
Rudershausen found herself in an unusual situation after the first round of the $10,000 High Junior/Amateur Prix. Both her horses, Cowboy and Prins, were clean – but they were the only ones! “It was not an overly technical course,” clarifies Rudershausen, “but the time was tight and the fences were big and wide. There were a lot of time faults.” As she felt both her horses jumped extremely well in the first round, Rudershausen elected not to jump-off against herself.
When the points were tallied, Rudershausen’s Cowboy, a 15.2 h Dutch Warmblood, was champion in the division. Prins was tied for reserve champion with Andrew Ross on his Electra. Ironically, Ross who trains with Laurie Jakabauskas, resides in Kennett Square, PA – just down the road from Rudershausen.
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