Posted March 27, 2006

$75,000 Grand Prix of Tampa Title Goes To Leslie Howard and Youp at Winter Equestrian Festival

Tampa, FL – March 26, 2006 – Leslie Howard of Westport, Connecticut, and her mount Youp connected for the third time this season, racing to an electrifying win in the $75,000 Grand Prix of Tampa, presented by Kilkenny/ICH, CSI-W. Her win came as the second to last week of show jumping action at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) drew to a close at the Bob Thomas Equestrian Center.

With today’s victory, Howard moved into second place on the Budweiser American Invitational qualifying list with $47,525 in prize money to her credit. Howard previously notched back to back wins during the first week of this year’s festival, taking the top prize in the $50,000 Farr XTN Grand Prix of Palm Beach and the $25,000 WEF Challenge Cup Series Round One.

Thirty starters lined up for today’s feature, the final East Coast World Cup Qualifying class, and one of only two qualifiers remaining for next Saturday night’s main event at Raymond James Stadium. Today’s scoring was FEI Table A mixed, Art. 238.2.2. Time First Jump-Off, and the challenging test was designed by Finland’s Aki Veikko Ylaenne.

Seven horse and rider combinations survived the first round and advanced to the encounter against the clock. That clock was the culprit however, in keeping three riders from moving on to round two as they scored clear rounds, but failed to get home in time and picked up a single time fault. Four riders had a single knockdown and six had two rails. Four riders had twelve or more, and the three riders that were eliminated were unseated, with two falls coming at the tall wall (#12) following the triple combination.

Laura Chapot and Little Big Man started out the race for the $22,500 top prize with a clean round and a great time of 39.79 seconds.

Callan Solem’s slow four fault ride on Allison in the tiebreaker was followed by McLain Ward’s tremendous try for the lead. A pole down cost him though, as he cruised home with the time, but with four faults as well. Ward tripped the timers in 38.75 seconds.

Candice King and Caliskan had a knockdown and following that, Margie Engle settled for a slow clear and a guaranteed top four finish.

It was then time for the ride of the day from Leslie Howard and her speedy partner Youp. Howard’s style is to never saddle up to come in second, and today was no exception for one of the best in the business against the clock. Howard knocked a whopping 2.39 seconds off of Chapot’s speedy time to grab the lead for the third time in a major event this season. She raced across the finish line in 37.40 seconds. When the last to go, Ian Millar of Canada, had two down, it was time for Howard to celebrate her third win of the 2006 WEF tour.

“I had a great feeling about today,” said a beaming Howard following her victory lap. “The course today suited him well. It was a scopey course but not ridiculous, and I knew if I didn’t blow it, I had a good chance to win it because the jump-off was just perfect for him.” She explained why. “He’s a really good turner, so from [fences] one to two to three, I knew I could just whip back on that oxer. He’s careful, so I knew I could fly to the in and out and spin back and fly to the skinny and then fly to the last jump.”

“I had the fortune to see Laura go first,” Howard said. “I saw that the only place I thought she let up a little bit was from 1 to 2. She did seven strides, so I knew I had to get the six there and as long as I did that, if I just stayed on her time I could just nudge her out of first. It worked out just like that.”

“I much prefer knowing what I have to do. I like to have to beat somebody,” Howard smiled. “It’s much easier for me to watch somebody, especially if they’re fast. If I start thinking too much in the jump-off, that’s when I confuse myself. I’m much better off if I just ride and do what I see. So that was really helpful to watch Laura go first because she really put the pressure on, but she just left the door open a little bit from one to two, and of course, I was lucky.”

Chapot agreed with Howard’s assessment. “I think from one to two, I took a little bit of time because the angle of the second fence was a little difficult. So I took an extra stride there so I could see the gap. And, I think the place that I lost the most time, and people couldn’t see it, was turning back to fence 9,” she said. “I went pretty deep into the corner and came back to it and lost a couple of seconds there.”

It has been a season that has seen Chapot gather in a huge number of hard-fought second place finishes. “I guess that shows a great consistency though,” she said.

Howard says Youp continues to impress her. “I feel a lot of scope now. He’s always had heart and he’s always been careful and fast. But I have to admit, beginning with Syracuse last year and at Washington, and then this year in Florida, he’s been amazing.”

And what about Youp competing at Raymond James Stadium for this year’s Budweiser American Invitational? “He has to! He doesn’t have any choice,” she laughed. “If you had asked me four months ago before Palm Beach started, ‘Would you do the Invitational?’, I would have laughed at you and said there’s no way,” she revealed. “But I have to admit that today; he felt the best he’s ever felt in his whole life. Everything was easy for him today. I now think he’s come to the next level. Not that he’s an Olympic horse, but I think he can handle the next level. He grew up. He got stronger. He got fitter, and his confidence level grew. Everything got better about him in the last three months.”

It has been a long time since Howard has had this kind of season-long success on the Florida tour. “Probably since Pressurized way back in 1987,” Howard said.

Next week in Tampa, the Tournament of Champions, is the last week of the 2006 Winter Equestrian Festival. Next Thursday’s $30,000 WEF Challenge Cup Series Final is the last chance to qualify for the Budweiser American Invitational.

The 34th Annual $200,000 Budweiser American Invitational, presented by The Tampa Tribune and Kash n’ Karry, the showcase event of the Winter Equestrian Festival, takes place on Saturday, April 1, 2006, at 7:00 p.m. under the lights at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium. The event, the richest and most prestigious outdoor show jumping event in the United States, will feature top riders from around the world.

Results of Class 100 $75,000 Grand Prix of Tampa CSI – W- FEI Table A, Art. 238.2.2 –Covered Arena - Tampa Bay Classic CSI – W – 3/26/06

• 1 456 LESLIE HOWARD USA YOUP 0.00 72.23 0.00 37.40 $22500 S'BLIEFT GROUP
• 2 131 LAURA CHAPOT USA LITTLE BIG MAN 0.00 74.00 0.00 39.79 $16500 LAURA CHAPOT
• 3 859 MARGIE ENGLE USA H C'S ALIBI 0.00 72.11 0.00 44.59 $9750 HIDDEN CREEK FARM
• 4 659 MCLAIN WARD USA GOLDIKA 559 0.00 71.70 4.00 38.75 $6000 DOUBLE H FARM
• 5 243 CANDICE KING USA CALISKAN 0.00 74.87 4.00 44.36 $4500 LOUISBURG FARM
• 6 614 CALLAN SOLEM USA ALLISON 0.00 74.40 4.00 45.63 $3750 QUIET WINTER FARM
• 7 225 IAN MILLAR CAN PROMISE ME 0.00 74.14 8.00 46.53 $3000 THE BAKER'S DOZEN
• 8 837 AARON VALE USA SERVAL 1.00 75.96 $2250 SERVAL GROUP
• 9 436 ERYNN BALLARD CAN ROBIN VAN ROOSENDAEL 1.00 76.14 $2250 LOOKING BACK FARM
• 10 554 JAIME GUERRA MEX RMW POWER POINT 1.00 76.31 $1500 ROCKYMT WARMBLOODS
• 11 692 JIMMY TORANO USA MARLO 4.00 74.11 $1500 JIMMY TORANO
• 12 94 CHRIS KAPPLER USA VDL ORANTA 5.00 75.19 $1500 M&K ORANTALLC

PHOTO CREDIT: Leslie Howard and Youp win $75,000Grand Prix of Tampa. Photo by Randi Muster. This photograph may be used free of charge only in relation to this PMG press release.