Traverse City, MI - July 20, 2025 - Twenty-one horse and rider combinations attempted Michel Vaillancourt’s course in Friday’s $10,000 Welcome Prix sponsored by PhelpsSports.com at Horse Shows by the Bay I. After all was said and done, however, only two were able to leave all the rails in the cups.
King Ridge Stables’ Roberto Teran piloted Distant Star 3E to the win with a jump-off time of 35.336 seconds. Shane Sweetnam was the only other double clear but had a slightly slower time with Lismacbryan Junior, 39.131 seconds. Erin Haas and Chianti 67 rounded out the top three with the fastest four-fault jump-off.
Vaillancourt’s course, although not extremely big, was very technical and consisted of 15 jumping efforts, including both a triple and double combination. “Michel’s courses are fantastic. He was a good rider and he’s a really good course designer, he understands each group of competitors that he has, and I’m delighted to show when he’s designing,” explained Teran.
Sweetnam rode Lismacbryan Junior, an 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood owned by Spy Coast Farm, to second place and used the Welcome class as a “set up” for Sunday’s $25,000 Grand Prix of Traverse City. “Today he jumped very good - very good. He felt strong … he jumped both rounds very, very well and I was happy with his fitness level because in the second round I thought he jumped even better,” said Sweetnam.
Earlier in the day, Level 5, Level 6, Low Junior/Amateur-Owner and High Junior/Amateur-Owner jumper classes all took place under the table II 2.1 format. In the $1,000 High Junior/Amateur-Owner class, Erin Haas guided All of A Sudden to victory with Brenda McLeon on Avec Coer and Linda Radigan on Realist following close behind in second and third, respectively.
In the $750 Low Junior/Amateur-Owner class, Krystal Roe rode her own For Sure to the blue ribbon. Laura Pfeiffer and Fox Meadow Farm’s Jordy were the early leaders and finished in second place. The Irish gelding Rebel’s Run and 16-year-old Kels Bonham rounded out the top three.
In the Level 6 jumpers, Benjamin Rosichan rode Tahoe, owned by Solitude Farm, to the top of the leader board. Linda Radigan and Chevalier came in second with Ulla Blue and Shane Sweetnam receiving third place.
David Beisel guided Tania Kuhlman’s Sailor around the Level 5 course with great success. He finished first out of eleven, beating Caroline Dunn and Libero 85 who received second place. Odaus and Renee Lenkart earned third.
For complete results, please visit www.horseshowing.com.
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