AK Kanselier and Great Britain’s Ellen Whitaker Win for Second Day in a Row at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Tampa

Tampa, FL– April 1, 2005 – For the second day in a row, Ellen Whitaker on her extraordinary speed horse, A.K. Kanselier, laid down the gauntlet and then held off all challengers at the 2005 Winter Equestrian Festival at the Bob Thomas Equestrian Center in Tampa, Florida. The nation’s largest and longest running equine extravaganza draws to a close following Saturday’s competition at the Florida State Fairgrounds and the main event, the $200,000 Budweiser American Invitational at Raymond James Stadium at 7pm on Saturday evening.

Forty one starters went to the post in Friday’s main event, the $20,000 1.50m Classic, scored under Table II, Sec. 2 (a), Time First Jump-Off. Belgium’s Luc Mussette is the Course Designer for the Tournament of Champions.

Of the forty-one starters, fifteen produced first round clears. Five of those went on to be double clear in the jump-off. Eleven competitors pulled one rail in the first round for four faults, while sixteen had eight or more faults.

In the jump-off, the early pace setter was Callen Solem aboard Mianta, owned by Quiet Winter and Redfield Farm. Solem toured the short course penalty free and crossed the finish line in 35.094 seconds.

Now or Never and Vicky Young of Great Britain were the next to go fault free over the speed course, but came up short of the pace set by Solem. Young finished up in 36.313 seconds.

Mary Lisa Leffler and the Rolling Acres Stable’s Gerona 92 moved into second place riding eighth in the jump-off. Leffler fell just short of the mark, touring the speed course in 35.994 seconds.

Two horses later, Ellen Whitaker and yesterday’s Acorn Hill Speed Challenge winner, AK Kanselier, entered the ring as the first of five remaining in the jump-off. Making an inside cut that no one else in the fifteen horse field attempted, Whitaker flew around the course and across the finish in a breathtaking time of 30.966 seconds. She had topped Solem’s previous top time by an incredible 4.12 seconds.

The final challenger in the 1.50m Classic was Markus Beerbaum of Germany. Beerbaum was up on Hyperion Farm’s Le Mans 8, winner of the $20,000 1.50m Classic during the CSIO United States, during week seven of the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington.

Beerbaum, although electing not to make the inside cut, looked on a pace to eclipse Whitaker’s time for the win. Le Mans 8 soared high over the double combination coming home, losing time in the air and sealing the win for Whitaker. Beerbaum raced across the finish line clear in a second place time of 31.562 seconds. He was 0.59 seconds off the winning pace.

Beerbaum said his horse’s excellent jumping effort actually cost him the win today. “I thought I could beat her and was on a pace to do it,” he said, “but down that last line my horse jumped the in and out so high that I couldn’t do the ‘leave out’ to the last jump,” Beerbaum said. “And that’s where I lost the class.”

Whitaker became a winner two days in a row with AK Kanselier. “He is a very, very careful horse and you don’t really have to gallop too much because he’s a naturally fast horse with a very big stride,” she said. “You can trust that he’s covering the ground well enough, so the trick is to keep him rolling on and not to fight with him too much.”

For Whitaker, as it turns out, the inside cut wasn’t really about saving time. “The idea was, not so much to make up that much time with the inside cut, it was just an easier way for that horse to jump that fence,” explained Whitaker. “Coming around was very long and galloping, so I felt it would be easier to make that cut, stand him off a couple of strides and then jump it. I just thought that was a better option for his style.”

“We’ve been changing a few things around with him,” Whitaker revealed. “He hadn’t felt quite at home here, although he has won a couple of classes, but not quite right. But with the changes, he feels much better now.”

Whitaker, the sixth ranked money winner on this year’s Winter Equestrian Festival tour, gets ready for her first ever appearance in Saturday night’s $200,000 Budweiser American Invitational. At 19, Whitaker will be the youngest competitor in this year’s Winter Equestrian Festival grand finale. “I’m excited for sure,” said a beaming Whitaker.

Official Results - #1001 - $20,000 1.50m Classic – Table II Sec 2 (a) – 04-01-05 – Covered Arena

• 1 – AK Kanselier, Ellen Whitaker – 0-0/30.966
• 2 – Le Mans 8, Markus Beerbaum – 0-0/31.562
• 3 – Mianta, Callan Solem – 0-0/35.094
• 4 – Gerona 92, Mary Lisa Leffler – 0-0/35.994
• 5 – Now or Never, Vicky Young – 0-0/36.313
• 6 – Two Mills Showtime, Robert Maguire – 0-4/30.127
• 7 – Ostara, Aimee Aron -0-4/31.666
• 8 – Lexicon, Michael Whitaker – 0-4/33.160
• 9 – Mozart des Hayettes, Gregory Wathelet – 0-4/33.230
• 10 – Crabamboli, Michael Morrissey – 0-4/.33.821
• 11 – Funny De Liere, Kate Levy – 0-4/35.067
• 12 – L’Amie, Philippe Putallaz – 0-8/32.538

PHOTO CREDIT: AK Kanselier and Ellen Whitaker Trophy Presentation with Bob Drennan. Photo by Kenneth Kraus