Georgina Bloomberg and La Movida Capture Amateur Owner Jumper Championship at American Gold Cup

Devon, PA – September 19, 2005 - Georgina Bloomberg won the Amateur Owner Jumper Championship at the Lincoln American Gold Cup in Devon, Pennsylvania on Saturday, despite a fall on La Movida that kept her out of the ribbons in the final class of the division.

La Movida, who fell with Bloomberg in the jump-off of the Amateur Owner Jumper Classic, left on a long stride to an oxer and after a tight turn, tried again to leave on a long stride and got a pole caught between her front legs, causing the two to fall. According to Bloomberg’s trainer, Jimmy Doyle, the mare is fine after the fall.

Bloomberg, one of the favorites for the $75,000 Lincoln American Gold Cup on Sunday, missed that class and, according to doctors, will be out for next three or four weeks as x-rays at Paoli Hospital revealed a broken collar bone. “It’s more annoying than anything else, and the timing’s terrible,” Bloomberg said. “The doctors say three to four weeks, but I broke the collarbone about a year and a half ago and got back pretty quickly, so I’m hoping to be back much sooner than that.”

Bloomberg commented about her performance before the fall. “My horses were fantastic this week. They’ve had a lot of time off leading up the Gold Cup, and I think they paid me back for that by jumping so well here at Devon,” Bloomberg said. “I couldn’t have asked for more from them.”

Bloomberg, who will miss a number of upcoming World Cup qualifying events because of this injury and some previously planned social commitments, said that her energy and focus will now be directed towards the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany in 2006. “I think things happen for a reason. I don’t think you can do both the World Cup and the World Championships in the same year, so maybe this means I was meant to make the World Equestrian Games squad instead,” Bloomberg said with a smile.

PHOTO CREDIT: Georgina Bloomberg smiles on her victory gallop. Photo by Frédéric Chéhu