April 19, 2017

Jacksonville, Florida

Week II of the Jacksonville Spring Classic closed out and the folks at Full Circle Farm had a lot to rave about!

The week started off with David Jennings of Franklin, Tennessee taking the win in the $5,000 Horseflight Open Welcome with KM Farms' KM Corfina, besting a field of 22 horse and rider teams over a course designed by Allen Rheinheimer of Zionsville, Indiana.

The pair went second to last in the class and had to beat Brian Moggre of Flower Mound, Texas and Major Wager, LLC's MTM Flutterby's time which had the lead after they posted double clear rounds in times of 67.973 and 28.788 seconds. Jennings and KM Corfina did it with their own double clear rounds in times of 70.978 seconds and 28.127 seconds to the delight of the crowd!

Jennings had four rides in the class and he went clear on all of them! He came back to the winner's circle to collect the third place ribbon with Woodrun Farm, LLC's Carmina and a tenth with Full Circle Farm's Harvest Moon.

Fourth place honors went to Cassandra Kahl of Califon, New Jersey and Redfield Farm's Wall Street and fifth was awarded to Tracy Fenney of Flower Mound, Texas and MTM Farm's MTM Reve Du Paradis. Georgina Lockwood-Taylor of Cincinnati, Ohio earned a sixth place with her own Luxella and Moggre returned for a seventh place ribbon with DDM Equestrian, LLC's Condero 3. Fenney also picked up an eighth place ribbon in the irons of MTM Farm's Igo Van De Heibos and Mark Jungherr of Williston, Florida placed ninth with Susan Banta's Conte Couleur.

Horseflight is the Official Equine Air Transportation Company of the Classic and Gulf Coast Classic Companies and sponsor of all 2017 Open Jumper Welcome Classics. As a leader in international horse transport with locations in Greifswald, Germany, Califon, New Jersey, Ocala, Florida and Houston, Texas, with branches in Chicago, Illinois and Los Angeles, California, Horseflight coordinates imports or exports anywhere in the world! With weekly flights to and from Europe, as well as the continental United States, Horseflight prides itself on transporting the competitive horse world, one flight at a time!

Full Circle Farms continued their winning streak in the $35,000 Sidelines Grand Prix on Friday night when Haley Gassell of Lenoir City, Tennessee and Westwind Equine Training's Werner 61 took home their first Grand Prix win, besting a field of twenty horse and rider teams.

Gassell said, "Before we went in the ring, David [Jennings] wanted me to get a certain type of distance. I flat out missed and David said I was a chicken and told me that I was going to lose if I kept riding like that. I came back around in the schooling area and fixed it. When I went into the arena he said, 'go ahead and ride like you want to win.'"

Gassell continued, "I think when you're riding in an indoor, it's tough. I'm notorious for getting time faults when I'm in an indoor. I think I try to get every inch of space which gives me time faults and the course was tricky," she said. "You had jumps going right into the rail. I think it was jump number four and it was a bending line with a spooky black jump. Some of the horses were looking at the rail and not the jump. The oxer for the triple combination was right out of the corner and you had to be really careful and have a legitimate game plan," she said.

"There were a lot of options in the course and had a few inside turns, and for me, there was an inside turn from 3 to 5 b c and it wasn't super challenging, but I cut it really hard and I think that's where I got it and shaved off the time. To make the 5 b c to 7 oxer off an inside turn, if you weren't straight enough you would get the top rail and if you were too deep you had the back rail. You really had to be right on the distance," she commented.

"The last line had the option to gallop up in 7 or get an 8. Brian [Moggre] last minute pulled up to get the 8 and had the rail otherwise he would have beat me. You just had to go in knowing the exact plan and commit to the seven or eight strides. I was lucky because my horse has a humongous stride and the seven was perfect for me," she said.

The first round was set at 76 seconds and Gassell was the third to go in the first round. "Sometimes if I watch too many I get a little worried about the course. So I just went in and had a plan," commented Gassell. Brian Moggre of Flower Mound, Texas and Major Wager, LLC's MTM Vivre Le Reve preceded Gassell and was the first to post a clear first round in a time of 73.834 seconds. Gassell and Werner 61's clear first round effort in a time of 73.653 seconds ensured a jump off round to the delight of the crowd. A total of nine riders would return for the highly anticipated jump off round that was set with a time allowed of 45 seconds.

Moggre was first to go in the jump off in the irons of MTM Vivre Le Reve. The pair had twelve jump faults and time faults with their time of 70.030 seconds which would find them finishing in ninth place overall. Gassell and Werner 61 followed and their clear round in a time of 37.160 seconds set the new time to beat. The riders that followed all earned jump faults until last to go, Cassandra Kahl of Califon, New Jersey and Redfield Farm's Blue turned in the only other clear jump off round. Their time of 40.803 seconds would not beat Gassell and Werner 61 and the pair settled for second place, leaving Gassell and Werner 61 the victors.

"Werner 61 is 12 and I've had him since he was six or seven. I had him doing the 1.20 m and 1.30 m jumpers and he's super scopey and I trust him. If I tell him to go, he just does it," Gassell said. "I remember David [Jennings] telling me before I went in for the jump off that this course was built for me because it needed that scope with those inside turns," she added.

My other horse Quite Dark 2 has been out since October and Werner has really stepped up to the plate. It's almost like he knew he had to. He used to win on occasion and won two of the High Jr Amateurs in Ocala, but now he wins multiple classes. This is his first Grand Prix win and he definitely deserved it. He's been awesome so far this season-he's a really good boy!" she said. "I've been riding with David for 3 years," commented Gassell. "He works with my horses and me so well. He really knows how to critique you and even if I win, he'll tell me what I could have done better. He treats every time I ride as educational," she added.

Third place went to Tracy Fenney of Flower Mound, Texas and MTM Farm's MTM Como No for their four fault jump off round in a time of 37.493 seconds. Moggre earned a fourth place in the irons of Major Wager, LLC's Flutterby and Kahl returned for a fifth place with Redfield Farm's Wall Street for their four fault jump off round in a time of 38.385 seconds. David Jennings and KM Farm's KM Corfina placed sixth with their four fault second round in a time of 40.54 seconds. Dorothy Douglas from West Bridgewater, Massachusetts and MTM Farm's S & L Elite earned seventh after earning four jump faults and two time faults with their own 46.498 second jump off round. Moggre returned for eighth with DDM Equestrian, LLC's Condero 3 and ninth place with Major Wager, LLC's MTM Vivre Le Reve. Mark Jungher of Williston, Florida and Susan Banta's Conte Couleur placed tenth and MTM Reve Du Paradis, owned by MTM Farm and ridden by Fenney earned eleventh place. Hayley Waters of Sparr, Florida and Chuck Waters' Crossfire 10 wrapped up the class with twelfth place. For complete results, please visit horseshowsonline.com.

Sidelines Magazine is the sponsor of the Jacksonville Spring Classic Grand Prix. As the premier equestrian magazine focused on the people in the equestrian world, from beautiful photography to award winning editorial, Sidelines Magazine is distributed each month to 49 states throughout North America and can be found at the most prestigious equestrian events in the country. Celebrating 29 years as the leading equestrian magazine, Sidelines Magazine embraces the equestrian lifestyle and transports its readers from the sidelines to center ring. Pick up your complimentary copy in the show office or view it online for free.

The $4,000 Arenus Jr/Amateur Owner Jumper Classic awarded Mary Katherine Hargreaves of Alpharetta, Georgia and her own Gracieux the blue ribbon for their double clear efforts in times of 72.044 and 34.301 seconds, well within the times allowed of 78 seconds and 42 seconds. As the first to go, they set the time to beat. Hargreaves also took the second place honors with her own Quartus with their double clear rounds in times of 75.611 and 35.117 seconds, respectively. Emma Willsky of Aspen, Colorado and her own Donegue placed third with their double clear rounds in times of 74.695 seconds and 35.321 seconds, respectively. Darby Toben of Califon, New Jersey and Doreen Toben's Kistler earned fourth place and Louisa Brackett of Grayslake, Illinois and Andrew Bourns Sport Horses, Inc.'s Czechmate placed fifth. For complete results, please visit horseshowsonline.com.

Arenus is the sponsor of the Jr. Amateur Owner Jumper Classics at all Classic Company and Gulf Coast Classic show jumping events.

Developed by veterinarians and nutritionists and supported by a team of animal health specialists, Arenus products deliver exactly what your horse needs whether healthy or ill.

Arenus is centered on the core belief of supporting complete animal care solutions, with deep passion and exact science. Brands like Sore No-More, BeneFab by Sore No-More, Equilite Herbals and Assure have offered such solutions for many years and solidified Arenus' spot in the equine health community.

More information can be found at www.arenus.com or you can reach out to their friendly customer service staff at 1-866-791-3344. 

Join the Classic Company at the Georgia International Horse Park, home of the 1996 Olympics, June 15-25th. For those attending the Emerging Athletes Program June 11-15, stay for the show! The Atlanta Summer Classic offers plenty of prize money for both the hunters and jumpers as well as the $5,000 1.15 m Dash for Cash Non Pro Jumper Classic offered with no entry fee for those competing Week I at the Atlanta Summer Classics. Week II adds the $15,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby to the roster and both weeks offer $25,000 Grand Prix and Sidelines Green Hunter Divisions which are qualifying events for the upcoming $30,000 Green Hunter Classic held Week I at the Atlanta Fall Classics.

The Atlanta Summer Classic offers more than $300,000 in cash and awards and classes for everyone. Don't miss the opportunity to be a part of American Olympic history at the world class Georgia International Horse Park.

Photo Credit:  Pansy Winters

The Classic Company's philosophy is to offer an event for every level of rider and horse.  From Leadline to Olympic level Grand Prix competition, from seasoned veteran horse and rider team to a first time horse show experience, the Classic Company offers competition that provides the competitor substantial prize money, award-winning facilities and courses, quality competition and the best customer service in the industry. 

Top competition with an emphasis on southern hospitality is a hallmark of the Classic Company. Awarded the USHJA's Members Choice Award for providing top quality, customer friendly show jumping competitions, the Classic Company provides world class show jumping competitions with a class for everyone in your barn. We invite you to experience the Classic Company difference. For more information, visit www.classiccompany.com.

All sponsorship and press inquiries should be directed to Lisa Engel at lisa@classiccompany.com.

All show program advertising should be directed to Drew Coster.