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Minikus and Pavarotti Cruise to the Top of the Leaderboard of the 2008 Rolex/USEF National Championship

December 6, 2025

Wellington, FL – The 2008 Rolex/USEF National Show Jumping Championship presented by Equine Motor Coach kicked off the Florida season in grand style at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, FL on December 5. Under the lights in the International Ring, 43 horse and rider combinations including 2007 National Champions Kent Farrington and Up Chiqui went to task for the $40,000 Holiday & Horses Opener which served as the first of two legs of the National Championship.

Todd Minikus and Pavarotti won the class and were the best of the 29 American combinations in the running for the national title. With a lightning fast performance in a speed class where faults are converted into time they jumped clear and finished on a time of 69.11 as the third pair in the ring.

“I was disappointed that I had to go early especially with Marengo and Hillary coming right behind me and with 40 some entries – going third usually doesn’t hold up. Kent and Up Chiqui and probably a dozen horses in the class that could have been the winner. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.”

The 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (owned by Todd Minikus Ltd.) stands less than 16 hands but found serious airtime as he flew around the course. The Loxahatchee, FL rider liked the fact that he could utilize Pavarotti’s versatility over Anthony D’Ambrosio’s course.

“Anthony did a nice job of giving you inside or around options but if you did the inside option for the most part you had to do the add option in the lines,” said Minikus of the course. “Pavarotti has the ability, although he is very short, he has the ability of a very long stride. As far as a championship course it was good, it maybe could have been 1.50 m not 1.45m.”

Minikus was relieved he went fast enough for the win, because he knows there are places on the course where he could have gone even quicker.

“I made very tight turns. They weren’t forward riding tight turns but they were tidy,” she said.

Minikus and Pavarotti were .71 seconds fast than the pair that followed them as Hillary Dobbs and Marengo also blazed around the course. Owned by the Dobbs Group, the 10-year-old Holsteiner gelding jumped a brave round under the lights.

“I was really lucky,” said Dobbs. “It is always hard going early. The first two horses were big horses with big strides and mine is quicker. Todd did all the inside turns, I was debating which ones to do, so I made myself do them all for practice. My horse was amazing. I did some dicey angles… He’s always a brave horse and he was backed off just enough so he was super careful.”

Dobbs also felt she could have gone faster but that she added strides in a couple of places where Minikus left them out.

“From the triple to the triple bar, I had such a sharp angle I had to do six after the triple bar and Todd did five.” said Dobbs. “There were two or three places where I could or should have left out but didn’t.”

Dobbs, a 20-year-old student at Harvard University, enjoys a distraction from school by coming to Florida even at the end of a long season.

“I don’t get sick of it,” said Dobbs who hasn’t had much of a break all year. “I just want to be at the horse shows and get better. It is also a nice break from school, especially during midterms.”

A Herculean effort has gone in to preparing the venue at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center for the Final USEF Championship of 2008 and the 2009 show season. Organizer Mark Bellisimo and hundreds of staff worked around the clock to ensure that the stage was ready when the curtain was drawn.

The second and final leg of the Rolex/USEF National Show Jumping Championship gets underway Sunday afternoon when the riders take to the ring for the $60,000 Holiday and Horses World Cup Qualifier at 2 p.m.

HOLIDAY AND HORSES
PALM BEACH INTERNATIONAL EQUESTRIAN CENTER
$40,000 HOLIDAY AND HORSES OPENER, TABLE C, FEI RG/ART 239

Class : 100
Pl Bib Horse Rider Nat Faults Time Total Time
_______________________________________________________________________________________
1 4519 PAVAROTTI TODD MINIKUS USA 69.11
2 3890 MARENGO HILLARY DOBBS USA 69.82
3 3649 LAGRAN PABLO BARRIOS VEN 70.21
4 3721 HIDDEN CREEK”S MARGIE ENGLE USA 70.57
5 4511 SINATRA PABLO BARRIOS VEN 72.39
6 3720 STARLIGHT KIRSTEN COE USA 72.42
7 3650 SIRIUS 127 TIMOTHY HOOKER USA 72.68
8 3716 OLYMPIA 90 LAURA KRAUT USA 72.86
9 4614 VANCOUVER D’AUVRDANIELLE TORANO USA 72.95
10 3846 THOMAS EDISON CHARLIE JAYNE USA 4 4 72.98
11 3609 CYPRIA 6 ANDREW WELLES USA 73.26
12 4518 OLINDA TODD MINIKUS USA 8 8 75.68
13 3886 LA ROCCO JUN. MICHAEL WALTON USA 4 4 75.90
14 3887 FANTASTIEK MICHAEL WALTON USA 76.51
15 3683 NIGHT TRAIN DARRAGH KERINS IRL 76.73
16 3608 VDL ORANTA CHRIS KAPPLER USA 4 4 77.36
17 3672 CHAPEAU Z DEBBIE STEPHENS USA 79.32
18 3622 OLIVER JUDY GAROFALO-TOR USA 4 4 79.59
19 3670 UP CHIQUI KENT FARRINGTON USA 8 8 79.90
20 3782 NAOMI 152 LAUREN HOUGH USA 4 4 80.62
21 3751 CANECKO Z LAURA KRAUT USA 8 8 81.08
22 3684 HH CARLSSON VOMDARRAGH KERINS IRL 81.14
23 3832 CURIUS GEORGINA BLOOMBER USA 4 4 81.62
24 4546 TRIVIANT SHANE SWEETNAM IRL 8 8 82.63
25 4611 SUN GOD ANGEL KAROLYI VEN 82.89
26 3605 ALL STAR DEBBIE STEPHENS USA 4 4 82.94
27 3718 CELENA Z KEEAN WHITE CAN 8 8 83.25
28 3889 MARLO HILLARY DOBBS USA 83.95
29 4613 MORGAN JIMMY TORANO USA 12 12 85.23
30 3825 RMW NEW DAY MARY SHIRLEY USA 4 4 86.92
31 3636 SPECIAL VERDICT SARAH TREDENNICK USA 8 8 87.66
32 3895 DISCOVERY ROBIN SWEELY USA 8 8 89.00
33 4573 PHELOX JORGE ZAMUDIO ARG 12 12 89.78
34 3629 SRF DRAGONFLY NICOLE SIMPSON USA 90.06
35 3719 TOKADE DE KALVARNATALIE JOHNSON USA 4 4 90.57
36 3831 STAR APPLE GEORGINA BLOOMBER USA 8 8 90.80
37 4508 FOR FUTURE 3 KRISTEN VANDERVEE USA 8 8 94.01
38 3781 ASLAN LJUBOV KOCHETOV RUS 4 4 94.54
39 4535 AMARETTO D”ARCOSHANE SWEETNAM IRL 4 4 97.04
40 3780 COMET LJUBOV KOCHETOV RUS 8 8 98.05
41 3725 BALDATO FILIP AMRAM TUR 4 4 99.48
42 3724 ZORRO FILIP AMRAM TUR 16 16 104.44
43 3779 CHAMBERTINO LJUBOV KOCHETOV RUS 8 8 112.72
4507 BULL RUN”S CHARKRISTEN VANDERVEE USA WD
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Written by Joanie Morris · Filed Under Hunters & Jumpers, Joanie Morris, USA, WEF 
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