Press release from Great Lakes Equestrian Festival

Concluding CSI2* competition at the 2019 Great Lakes Equestrian Festival (GLEF), presented by CaptiveOne Advisors, LLC, elite horse-and-athlete teams returned to the Grand Prix Ring on Sunday for one final chance at the Week IV prize money. Boasting 38 entries, the $71,200 Flintfields Farm Grand Prix CSI2* was won by Santiago Lambre (MEX) and Ibabco, who just narrowly edged out the field to secure the week’s most coveted victory.

Created by veteran course designer Alan Wade (IRL), the first round course saw 10 entries successfully navigate the pattern fault-free and within the time-allowed to earn a spot to compete over the short course. Serving as the early clear pathfinders of the class, Andrew Welles (USA) and Itasca Group LLC’s Serpico were the first duo to keep all of the rails up, and they were later joined by Lambre, Molly Ashe Cawley (USA), Maria Costa (USA), Schuyler Riley (USA), Ali Wolff (USA), Rachel Cornacchia (CAN), Tanner Korotkin (USA) and Abigail McArdle (USA) aboard their respective mounts. With two horses eligible for the jump-off, Cawley posed the greatest chances of winning.

First to return, Welles and Serpico stopped the clock in 39.020 seconds, but had a rail down to incur 4 faults against them. The next to tackle the course, Lambre and Ibabco turned in an impressive effort and laid down the first double-clear performance of the evening, tripping the timers in 35.890 seconds to jump to the lead. The remainder of the pack tried to eclipse their time, but none were able to match their speed or carefulness. Wolff and Quirie 2, owned by John Wolff, finished just off the pace in the second place position in a fault-free time of 35.990 seconds, and Cornacchia and Eventyre Farms Ltd.’s Valkyrie De Talma closed out the top three in a clear 38.240 seconds.

Sunday’s GLEF victory marks one of multiple for Lambre, who during his Traverse City debut in 2017 took home three back-to-back FEI wins throughout Weeks III and IV in the $50,000 Great Lakes Grand Prix CSI2*, $35,000 Welcome Stake CSI2* and the Amalaya Investments $50,000 Flintfields Farm Grand Prix CSI2* with horses Dingeman and Doloris.

Now with four weeks of competition concluded, athletes have had a number of chances to earn a spot on the leaderboard in the new $25,000 CaptiveOne Open Jumper Rider Bonus, which will be awarded at the conclusion of the circuit in August. Points are calculated based on prize money earned throughout the six-week festival in Open Jumper classes 1.45m and above. Fans and athletes can follow along and check the $25,000 CaptiveOne Open Jumper Rider Bonus leaderboard, posted on www.greatlakesequestrianfestival.com, to track their favorite riders and see who is leading in the standings. Lambre’s victory has put him in the rankings, however Wilhelm Genn (GER) still remains at the top thanks to three consecutive victories during Weeks I and II.

Prior to Sunday’s grand prix competition, Luke Jensen was honored as the recipient of the ‘Rafael’ Sportsmanship Perpetual Memorial Trophy, presented by the Gochman family. Established in 2015 by the Gochmans for their beloved pony, Rafael, the trophy was awarded to Jensen as a child on a pony who best displayed love and admiration for her pony partner, and who also exhibited extraordinary sportsmanship to her fellow riders and ponies.

Show jumping will resume Wednesday at GLEF, with CSI3* competition kicking off on Thursday. Week V’s highlight classes include the $35,700 Welcome Stake CSI3*, $35,700 Grand Traverse Classic CSI3* and $133,700 Staller Grand Traverse Grand Prix CSI3*.

From the winner's circle

On Ibabco and his jump-off plan:
“Ibabco is one of my best horses. I jumped the 2* this week to prepare for the 3* in a couple of weeks. He is a winner and he is fast, and I think he is a horse who could jump 5* grand prix classes. I was second to go out of 10 and I knew I had very fast riders behind me so I tried to do my best and it worked.”

On GLEF and his goals:
“This show is amazing, one of the best in the U.S. I always come here. All the rings, the people and the facilities are amazing. Now the objective the next two weeks is to win the $25,000 CaptiveOne Open Jumper Rider Bonus.”