Lisa Goldman and Morocco win the $10,000 Open Welcome Stake, sponsored by Adequan, during the Showplace Fall Classic Championship.

Wayne, Illinois - Sept. 10, 2015 - More than two seconds separated the top three finishers in the $10,000 Open Welcome Stake, sponsored by Adequan, at the Showplace Fall Classic Championship on Thursday. The lead continued to change hands throughout the 13-horse jump-off, with each consecutive rider gaining speed in an attempt to find their way to the top of the leader board. In the final moments it was Lisa Goldman and Morocco who would set the unbeatable time, taking over the lead as the penultimate pair of the class to trip the timers in 36.513 seconds.

Out of a field of 23 horse and rider combinations, 13 mastered the opening track. Brazilian course designer Guilherme Jorge, who will also be designing for the 2016 Olympics in Rio, was pleased with the result. He designed a technical track that challenged the riders with a tight time allowed of 81 seconds, using the large Grand Prix Ring to his advantage with long lines, a double combination and an oxer-vertical-vertical triple combination.

Jorge commented saying, "It is always nice to come to the Lamplight facility and work with Showplace Productions. The conditions are very good; the footing is amazing, and we have a good jump crew and beautiful jumps. Today's class was to prepare and see how they are going before the grand prix this Saturday. I think we saw a good result, and I think we will be able to do a good course for Saturday's class."

He continued, "The idea is to not go so big, but put some questions in the course for the riders. It shows that they are jumping well. I think for the grand prix I will build a little bit bigger, and the degree of technicality will be about the same. They showed today just how comfortable they are jumping on this amazing footing."

Goldman was the busiest rider of the class, earning not only the day's victory, but also the third place finish with Centurion B, the sixth place with Rocs to Riches and the seventh place with the hunter turned jumper, Hindsight. She praised Jorge for his course, admitting that Showplace Productions brings in some of the most respected course designers, and that she always is challenged by their courses and learns from their tracks.

She said, "The course felt really good. It was technical, but it wasn't over-facing. Guilherme designed it so that it welcomed you in, and then you kept going with a nice flow. It is such a big fun ring, and Pat [Boyle] really does bring in amazing people. It is really cool; he sets up the ring and makes it feel big but uses all of the space in it. You use a lot of the ring, and it didn't tire the horses out."

Douglas Boyd and Berkley III

Goldman originally set the pace early on in the class with Centurion B, stopping the clock in 38.958 seconds with the first of the double clean efforts. Douglas Boyd and Berkley III followed soon after, to take over the lead in 38.291 seconds. Although Boyd stuck to the inside track, and fellow competitors attempted to catch him with no avail, Goldman was not concerned. 

"I knew that if I was double-clean we would win it, he is just that naturally fast," Goldman commented. 
In order to guarantee a clear effort over the short course, Goldman relied on Morocco's natural foot speed. 

"He is so catty and good. I knew that if I stayed smart and didn't cut in too hard on the turns, then we would be faster," Goldman said. "If I am good, he is good, so I don't really worry about other people's times too much."

She was able to catch the first seven strides from the opening oxer-vertical bending line of the short track, and from there she focused on staying safe. Even doing six strides rather than five down the final line did not detract from their speed, and they landed from the final vertical in 36.513 seconds to take the win, with Boyd settling for the second place more than two seconds behind the speed demons.

Lisa Goldman and Morocco

"He was insane, which is good--He was really wild," Goldman said. "It was a bit of an advantage for me to have him as my last horse of the class. I was able to see where I needed to push him and what I needed to do. Today, there was no where I needed to push him. He was feeling it."
 
Maggie Jayne was awarded the fourth place as the most conservative of the double clean efforts, riding Splendor to the time of 42.510 seconds. Nick Novak and Dirkie Z took the fifth place finish as the fastest of the four-fault rounds, while Goldman rounded out the top six with Rocs to Riches. 

On behalf of Showplace Productions, owner and competition manager Pat Boyle said, "We are extremely thankful for Adequan's sponsorship of all of the Showplace Productions' competitions. Allyn Mann has been a generous supporter of our events, and it is a pleasure to have Adequan as a partner."

Director of Luitpold Pharmaceuticals Allyn Mann said, "The philosophy of Adequan is to identify events that have people who are serious about their animals, competing with them and wanting to do the best that they can for their health and well being. We identified this venue as one of those opportunities to give back to the equestrian community. We are proud to support the competition there with Pat Boyle, and all he is doing for this part of the equestrian world. It is our way of showing appreciation for all the people who are supporting us with the use of our products."

The Fall Classic Championship Horse Show is one of the Midwest's most important competitions and includes the USEF Zone V Horse of the Year Finals, the IHJA "A" Medal Finals and the Marshall and Sterling Midwest Finals. The $30,000 Showplace Grand Prix set for Saturday, prior to the start of the Marshall & Sterling Junior Medal, Sore No More Children's Medal and Farnam Adult Medal Finals. The IHJA equitation medal finals will conclude the championship competition on Sunday with a full day of medal finals. 

For a schedule of the Showplace Fall Classic Championship, click here.