Young Jumpers Highlight Opening Day at the 110th Annual Monmouth County Horse Show

East Freehold, NJ – August 17, 2005 – The 110th Annual Monmouth County Horse Show kicked off under beautiful sunny skies at East Freehold Park in Freehold, New Jersey. A record number of entries accounted for a full day in the Stillwell-Hansen Arena, highlighted by the Young Jumper Division, sponsored by Carol Thompson and the Quiet Winter Farm.

The Five Year Old Jumpers, with seven competitors, were scored under the Optimum Time Allowed format. Blake Alder of Germantown, Tennessee, is the course designer in the Stillwell-Hansen Grand Prix Arena.

Sandokan, owned by Sherra Harrison of Rosebuck, South Carolina, and piloted by Stephen Pack, took home top honors on Wednesday, clocking within 1.829 seconds of the optimum time. Gangecon, owned by Peter Ruig of Shelter Island, New York, and ridden by Callen Solem, finished second. Solem’s time was 2.680 seconds away from the ideal time. Third place went to Candy Tribble’s Turbo, guided by Jonathan McCrea, with a time of 3.466 off the optimum.

Pack talked about his top five year old following today’s class. “He’s a German bred horse that I got last fall and started in Florida at the Winter Equestrian Festival. He qualified for the finals there with three clear rounds and then spent the summer with his owner,” Pack explained. “He came back to me last week and he’ll be competing in the East Coast 5 Year Olds at the Hampton Classic.” Pack says the horse has a bright future. “He’s careful, he’s a good jumper and he’s very willing. Plus, he’s a lot of fun to ride.”

154 $500 YOUNG JUMPER CLASS, 5 YEAR OLDS,TIME FIRST JUMP-OFF, TABLE II, SEC 2(B) Entries = 7 LEVEL 4

1 $150 - SANDOKAN - STEPHEN PACK - SHERRA HARRISON

2 $100 - TORSINAA - CALLAN SOLEM - PETER RUIG

3 $75 - TURBO - JONATHAN MCCREA - CANDY TRIBBLE

4 $65 - GRANGECON - CARSTEN JAEGER - WINLEY FARM LLC

5 $60 - TIBET ISF - LAURIE JAKUBAUSKAS - IRON SPRING FARM

6 $50 - DANNY BOY - BEEZIE MADDEN - ABIGAIL S. WEXNER

There were eight starters today in the Six Year Old Jumpers, the second of three qualifying classes for the East Coast Young Jumper Championship. The scoring was Table II, Section 2b, Time First Jump-Off.

Kevin Babington, the first to go, emerged victorious on Audiance of One, owned by Frank Wood of Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. Babington, a 2004 Olympian for his home country of Ireland, was double clear and flew through the timers in 33.412 seconds to eke out a 5/10ths of a second victory. Cilthe, owned by The Ridge and shown by Nona Garson of Lebanon, New Jersey, finished second in 33.975 seconds. Third place went to Mosquitos Mounds Thunder, under the ownership of Angenita Grande of Wellington, Florida, and ridden by Stephen Heinecke. Heinecke’s time was 34.060 seconds.

“Audiance of One is a horse I bought from Darragh and Sarah Kerins for Jocelyn Woods,” explained Babington following today’s win. “I think this is a really nice horse. We bought it a couple of weeks ago and this was my first time in the show ring. That doesn’t happen very often, does it?” he asked.

Babington thinks his six year old is a star in the making. “He’s a beautiful horse. He’s got plenty of jump and is very, very careful. He’s got super character, and I really think he can be a good horse for the future.” Babington likes the Six Year Young Jumper section. “I thought it was nice for him to compete against his own age group. It’s a nice height and not too big. It’s a very comfortable height for him, and he handles it very well.”

155 $500 YOUNG JUMPER CLASS, 6 YEAR OLDS, TIME FIRST JUMP-OFF, TABLE II, SEC2(B) Entries = 8 LEVEL 5

1 $150 - AUDIANCE OF ONE - KEVIN BABINGTON - FRANK WOOD

2 $100 - CILTHE - NONA GARSON - THE RIDGE FARM,LLC

3 $75 - MOSQUITOS MOUNDS THUNDER - STEPHEN T. HEINECKE - ANGENITA GRANDE

4 $65 - SYLVESTER - TERRY STEPHENS - PARK AVE STABLES

5 $60 - Q'S CHARM - KEVIN BABINGTON - KATHRYN QUIRK

6 $50 - SERVILLANO - CALLAN SOLEM - ALEXANDRA BEAUMONT

Ten entries went to the post for the Seven and Eight Year Old Young Jumpers, also scored under Table II, Section 2b. Time First Jump-Off.

Nelifer, ridden by Carsten Jaeger and owned by the Winley Farm, LLC, of Millbrook, New York, posted a double clear and clocked in at 31.668 seconds for the win. Jaeger’s time was one second faster than that of 2004 US Olympic Silver Medalist Beezie Madden. Madden, riding Play On, owned by Allan Shore, Jr. of Bedford, New York, crossed the finish line in 32.676 seconds. Madden also finished third in today’s class with Rosey, owned by Eleanor Bright, who is home based in Dover, Massachusetts. Rosey’s finish time was 34.008 seconds.

Jaeger said that even though the mare is in the older division, she’s still pretty much a rookie. “She’s a seven year old mare that I’ve been riding for about a year. I started her in Florida, but she doesn’t have the experience of most seven year old, having not shown much as a five and six year old,” he said. “She’s qualified for the finals, but I’m not going to take her this year. The Finals are set to the top of the specs, and I’d like to give her one more year before I do the finals,” Jaeger revealed.

“She’s very simple to ride. She’s very fast naturally, so you don’t have to push her,” he said. “My plan is to get her consistent in the Level 6 classes so she’ll be better prepared for Florida. Then we’ll do the complete Seven and Eight Year Old series and go to the Championship next year.”

156 $500 YOUNG JUMPER CLASS, 7/8 YEAR OLDS TIME FIRST JUMP-OFF, TABLE II, SEC 2(B) Entries = 10 LEVEL 6

1 $150 - NELIFER - CARSTEN JAEGER - WINLEY FARM LLC

2 $100 - PLAY ON - BEEZIE MADDEN - ALLAN SHORE, JR.

3 $75 - ROSEY - BEEZIE MADDEN - ELEANOR BRIGHT

4 $65 - COMPLETE - NONA GARSON - THE RIDGE FARM,LLC

5 $60 - SCOTT - TERRY STEPHENS - PARK AVE STABLES

6 $50 - PATRON - BEEZIE MADDEN - M/M JOSEPH PATTON

Jumper action resumes on Thursday at the 110th Annual Monmouth County Horse Show with action in two rings. The Thursday feature is the NAL Open Speed Stake in the Stillwell-Hansen Grand Prix Arena, on the late afternoon agenda.

PHOTO CREDIT: Seven/ Eight Year Old Young Jumper Nelifer, ridden by Carsten Jaeger. Photo by Kenneth Kraus