Caitie Hope and Total Touch Take Second in the $15,000 Open Welcome Stake at Colorado Horse Park

Colorado Horse Park Improvements Make Showing Enjoyable

Parker, Colorado – July 11, 2013 - A warm dry Colorado day with a temperature of 97 degrees and thank goodness, a good strong breeze, was the setting for the $15,000 Open Welcome Stake at the Summer in the Rockies V Horse Show at the Colorado Horse Park. 

Show manager, Pat Boyle of Showplace Productions, has done an amazing job along with the Colorado Horse Park, making $1,500,000 in upgrades including new GGT footing, seven rings of new jumps, new lunging pads, new paddocks, a new party pavilion and a new sound system.  With all the upgrades and the gorgeous view of the mountains, the Colorado Horse Park is an enjoyable place to horse show.

Anderson Lima of Brazil, designed the Welcome Stake course today which included a triple combination, oxer, vertical, vertical that rode a bit tight, and several lines that could be ridden adding a stride or leaving out a stride, which challenged the riders. In the end, only two horses managed double clear rounds.

Thirty-one horses tried to conquer the course for a piece of the prize money.  Half way through the first round, only two horses were clean, Liverpool with Hector Florentino and Alex Granato and his Gangsta.  The triple combination proved to be difficult for many horses to jump clean.   The second half of the class brought six more clean rounds for a total of eight to jump off.

Hector Florentino and Liverpool were the first to return and jump the shortened course, which now only included the C part of the difficult triple combination as the last jump. Florentino had a rail at the second jump, a vertical, and a time on the slower side of 37.689.

Next up were the Gangsta and Alex Granato of Elizabeth, CO, galloping around the track in a speedy 33.206 with a hard rub at the last jump that stayed in the cups making them the first double clean pair.

Maggie Jayne and Pony Lane Farm’s Manneken Du Cory also galloped to a great time of 33.517 but grabbed a rail at the in of the vertical, oxer combination at the far side of the ring.

Kathleen Hope’s Total Touch and Caitie Hope were the next to take a swing, taking a little more time to turn in the second clean round and a time of 36.136.

Hunter Holloway and her Hays Investment Corp’s Yolo, managed a good time of 35.135 but had an unfortunate rail.

The remaining three riders were not able to turn in clean rounds for the win. Matt Cyphert and his Lochivar logged 8 faults, Florentino’s second ride, Anemone’s Vicky had 4 faults, and John Pearce and Johnny B Good voluntarily withdrew, leaving Granato and the 13-year-old gelding, Gangsta, the winners.

“In the first round especially I was a little worried, he was a little strong,” stated Granato, “so I had to take a little extra time in a couple spots the first round to get him settled back and in the jump off I left out a little bit but I let it work to our favor that he was a little fresh and let him take over and it worked to our advantage today.”

Finishing second from Barrington, Illinois with the only other clean round was Caitie Hope, 21, and Total Touch, a 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood.

“Time allowed is something I always have to think about,” said Hope, “so I tend to think about my courses as speed rounds so usually thinking about that helps me get the distances and strides that I need.  We’re a really good team and he really tries hard for me.”

Hope surprisingly doesn’t ride as much as she would like while she is attending school at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania.  Total stays home with Diane Carney and Hope meets up with them at shows. Hope last rode several weeks ago at Showplace Productions’ Spring Spectacular in Wayne, IL. Just arriving at the Horse Park on Tuesday, Hope got back in the tack riding in the schooling hunters and showing her new 8 year old jumper, Victoria EH. Total Touch and Hope plan to show in the Grand Prix on Saturday.

“This is our first time here and we’ve really enjoyed it so far,” commented Hope. “The footing is great. The horses jump really well on it.”

Trainer Diane Carney of Hampshire, IL, grew up in Colorado.

“The Colorado Horse Park is really a special place to show,” said Carney. “There wasn’t a place like this in the time we were here in the 60’s and 70’s.  It’s really a pleasure to be back here. I haven’t been back to Colorado to show for about 20 years.  The footing is great; the maintenance of everything is great.  I thought the course was fantastic.  We were really grateful to be part of the jump off.  Caitie and Total do a super job – they’re a match.  I’m proud of them to be second in today’s class.”

Both Granato and Hope will compete in the Grand Prix on Saturday and will stay for week six of Summer in the Rockies at the Horse Park.

  
Alex Granato and Gangsta, winners of the $15,000 Open Welcome Stake with show manager, Pat Boyle presenting,

 
The victory gallop for the $15,000 Open Welcome Stake and the Colorado Horse Park.