2006 Legacy Cup

Pre Green Incentive Won by Purple Label and Rob Bielefeld

It was Rob Bielefeld and Purple Label’s score of 162 in the first 3’ Go Round and 250 in the finals that gave them the combined total of 412, which garnered them the Pre Green Incentive Championship and a check for $3,000. In addition they won $992 for placing 5 th in the 3’ Pro Finals.

Purple Label is “nice to ride,” explained Bielefeld who only started riding him a few days earlier and those first rides were a challenge. “We were just getting to know each other and it got better each day. By Thursday (the day before their finals) we clicked,” explained Bielefeld .

“Helen’s (Varble – his trainer) prep is the key to success,” he continued. “It’s all about training, grooming, feeding and time. We start at 4:00 a.m. It’s all of the above and it is a team effort.” Bielefeld emphasized the concept of team adding, “Behind the scenes is more important than anything else.” And it was for the “team” that he was happy about his victory.

“I was happy for everybody,” said the Floridian. “You put so much into it.” Bielefeld also felt compelled to focus on the owners, Kitty and Bruce Eckert, and the fact that these kinds of owners “are few and far between. Fortunately we won and the owners were here. It was like the Derby . We had our own win picture.”

Bielefeld knew that to win the Pre Green Incentive the judges are looking for a horse that easily handles the 3’ course. “He’s extremely scopey, athletic and glides across the ground,” said Bielefeld about the 7-year-old, 16.3 hand, black Hanoverian gelding. “He has enough jump, stride, and scope to do all that. You have to have the scope and range to be able to jump 3’6”. It shouldn’t look like the horse is putting that much effort into a 3’ course.”

When Purple Label isn’t in the show ring he’s relaxing and Kitty loves feeding him. “He’s addicted to peppermints and he loves carrots and apples,” she said with a smile.

One of the great things about each class of the Legacy Cup is that it determines multiple winners and at the end of the week when the money was tallied it was Bielefeld who accumulated the most money with his five horses (Purple Label, CC Bloom, Lucky, Landstorm and Talent Scout). Not only did he earn a total of $5,087, but was also presented with the Walter J. Lee Perpetual Trophy donated by its namesake.