Federico Sztyrle and Lorena 90 Are Only Clear Round to Win 1.50m Jumper Classic at Winter Equestrian Festival

Natalie Johnson and Crocket 16 Outrace 17 in Jump-off for Victory in Show Jumping Hall of Fame Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic

Wellington, FL – In today’s jumper competition in the Kilkenny Internationale, CSI 3* at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF), the amateur jumpers sponsored by Prestige took center stage in the Internationale Arena, followed by the 1.50m Jumper Classic. Natalie Johnson and Crocket 16 beat a field of 17 other competitors in the jump-off to win the Show Jumping Hall of Fame (SJHOF) High Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic. On the other end of the spectrum, Federico Sztyrle (ARG) and Lorena 90, owned by Christian Wolffer, were the only clear round to lead the victory gallop in the $20,000 1.50m Jumper Classic.

The course designer for this week in the Internationale Arena is Olaf Petersen of Germany. Petersen set an imposing course today for the 1.50m Jumper Classic. The most difficult element came at fence five, which was a triple combination consisting of a triple bar in two strides to a tall plank vertical in one stride to a wide oxer. The combination caught many horses struggling to clear the “c” portion. Directly after the combination came the open water. Another careful two stride later in the course brought faults for many. Sztyrle was the only clear, while eight riders had four faults and one rider had four jumping and one time faults. The balance of the class (36 competitors) had eight faults or more.

Twenty-six trips into the class, Laura Kraut and Anthem had a clear round going until the final oxer on course, which came down for four faults when Anthem touched the rail with his hind feet. They finished in a time of 79.566 seconds, and they received third place.

Perhaps bolstered by Kraut’s near-clear performance, Sztyrle and Lorena 90 entered the ring next. The mare was careful through the triple, had no trouble with the water and galloped around the rest of the course. They finished clear in a time of 82.085 seconds.

A handful of riders to follow Sztyrle just missed making a jump-off. Joe Fargis and Edgar 12 had fence 11 down, a tall vertical set after the two stride combination. They had four faults in a time of 79.921 seconds, which put them in fourth place.

Molly Ashe and Lutopia had a bogey rail at fence three, after which Ashe turned on the rocket boosters. Knowing there was only one clear and one rider to follow her, Ashe flew around the rest of the course. They stopped the timers in 76.950 seconds, which left them in second place with the fastest four-fault round.

The final competitor in the ring was Paige Johnson with Kadena R. They had two rails for eight faults, which ended the chance for a jump-off in the class.

“I just decided to show today because my horse was not that fit,” Sztyrle admitted after the class. “I didn’t show the past two weeks.” About the course he described, “The course was tough. You really had to work a lot. It was very technical. You had to be very, very precise in every line.”

Sztyrle was very surprised that he was the only clear round, but very happy that he did not have to jump off. “It’s fun to win like that,” he said with a smile. He has ridden the ten-year-old mare since July of 2006. “I thought she was ready to do it, and today was so much fun. She really, really tries. She’s very careful and fast. She really fights and wants to be clear. I love her.”

The winner of today’s SJHOF High Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic almost missed her chance to show. Natalie Johnson, a student at New York University, had planned to fly to Florida earlier this week but with all flights cancelled out of the city, Johnson had to make other plans. With the help of fellow Heritage Farm rider Murray Kessler, Johnson found a ride on a plane down to Florida. They showed in the 1.40m class yesterday to warm up and then competed this morning.

Johnson went 57th in the 59 horse class. In the jump-off, she went 17th out of 18 and was chasing the time of 43.362 seconds set by Leo Paoli of Venezuela on Remonta Escaupil. Johnson raced around the course and Crocket 16 had no trouble with the turns and long gallops. They crossed the timers in 41.188 seconds and no faults.

“My horse felt amazing. I just went in and cantered around,” she remarked. When asked where she made up time on the jump-off course, Johnson replied, “In that first line I did eight instead of nine, and I think that made up a lot of time. My horse is a real easy turner, so while he really doesn’t look like he’s going that fast, he lands and turns beautifully. I end up making up time with fewer strides and shorter turns. He’s pretty easy because once you put him in a gallop he doesn’t stop, you just keep going. The jumps came up perfectly, and it worked out well.”

Johnson has had success with Crocket 16, including the team gold medal and individual bronze medal at last year’s North American Young Rider Championships. However, this was her first win in a SJHOF class at WEF and her first high jumper division championship. “It feels really good. I’ve always wanted to win one of these. I’ve been second so many times, it’s nice to post the win,” she said.

Jumper action wraps up tomorrow with the highlight event, the $60,000 Kilkenny Internationale Cup, CSI 3* on the main field at 2 p.m. The SJHOF High Junior Jumper Classic will start the morning at 9 a.m.

Results of CLASS 1001 - 1.50m CLASSIC - Kilkenny Internationale - February 17, 2007 T/A: 86.00 T/A: 60.00

• 1 1017 LORENA 90 FEDERICO SZTYRLE 0.00 82.085 CHRISTIAN WOLFFER
• 2 595 LUTOPIA MOLLY ASHE 4.00 76.950 JANE F. CLARK
• 3 3531 ANTHEM LAURA KRAUT 4.00 79.566 SUMMIT SYNDICATE
• 4 1467 EDGAR 12 JOE FARGIS 4.00 79.921 MARY B. SCHWAB
• 5 661 RULANDA CAROLYN KELLY 4.00 80.624 LULU EQUESTRN ENT
• 6 1233 NARCOTIQUE DE MUZE II ERIC LAMAZE 4.00 81.045 ASHLAND STABLES
• 7 2940 RANVILLE FRANKIE CHESLER ORTI 4.00 81.397 SHER AL FARM
• 8 2832 QUIDAM JUNIOR SHANE SWEETNAM 4.00 81.580 SHANE SWEETNAM
• 9 2284 CINDERELLA ELLEN HOLTGERS 4.00 81.770 GUT EINHAUS
• 10 1330 CANTERO Z AINSLEY VINCE 5.00 86.923 IRON HORSE FARM
• 11 1719 YOUP LESLIE HOWARD 8.00 77.461 S'BLIEFT GROUP
• 12 946 COURAGE CANDICE KING 8.00 79.253 ESPERANZA INC.

Results of CLASS 1025 - SJHOF AO JUMPER CLASSIC - Kilkenny Internationale - February 17, 2007 T/A: 86.00 T/A: 55.00

• 1 2547 CROCKET 16 NATALIE JOHNSON 0.00 79.329 0.00 41.288 NATALIE JOHNSON
• 2 530 REMONTA ESCAUPIL LEO PAOLI 0.00 81.680 0.00 43.362 LEO PAOLI
• 3 764 SALSA GABBY SLOME 0.00 79.345 0.00 43.683 GABBY SLOME
• 4 1572 QUINCY B HILLARY DOBBS 0.00 79.606 0.00 44.011 HILLARY DOBBS
• 5 397 JACKSON ASHLEY BAKER 0.00 82.535 0.00 44.509 ASHLEY BAKER
• 6 1473 CROMWELL TRACEY WEINBERG 0.00 82.554 0.00 45.245 TRACEY WEINBERG
• 7 1845 LAMALUSHI CLARA LINDNER 0.00 81.986 0.00 45.603 ALL SEASONS FARM
• 8 1474 LINDA Z TRACEY WEINBERG 0.00 82.054 4.00 42.320 TRACEY WEINBERG
• 9 1511 ARDECHE VAN DEZELM LISA SILVERMAN 0.00 81.208 4.00 43.166 LISA SILVERMAN
• 10 722 MADONNA KATHERINE MIRACLE 0.00 80.858 4.00 43.193 OVERLOOK FARM INC.
• 11 1475 LARONE TRACEY WEINBERG 0.00 79.518 4.00 43.471 TRACEY WEINBERG
• 12 302 U-2 MARLEY GOODMAN 0.00 78.491 4.00 44.717 MARLEY GOODMAN
• 13 2618 KING CARA CHESKA 0.00 82.431 4.00 44.891 DONALD CHESKA
• 14 1228 UNCLE SAM ASHLEY FLEISCHHACKER 0.00 81.490 4.00 47.184 ASHLAND STABLES
• 15 701 SUBLIEM WHITNEY WEEKS 0.00 78.545 8.00 42.524 WHITNEY WEEKS

Photo Credit: Lorena 90 and Federico Sztyrle, winners of the $20,000 1.50m Jumper Classic at the Winter Equestrian Festival. Photo © 2007 Peter Llewellyn/PMG Pictures.