Colonia and Leeann Kelly Win in 1.30m Jumpers, Berkley and Carlotta Take 1.35m Victory at Tournament of Champions

Tampa, FL – The final week of the 2007 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) began today. This week is the Tournament of Champions and leads up to the finale of WEF, the $200,000 Budweiser American Invitational, to be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 7, 2007, at the Raymond James Stadium.

The open jumpers had four classes today, and the final class was the 1.30m Jumpers. Colonia, ridden by Leeann Kelly of New York and owned by Bynum Farms of Palm City, FL, took the victory over Julie Welles and Esther 126. In the 1.35m class, Ken Berkley and Rivers Edge Farm’s Carlotta had the faster jump-off time over Beezie Madden and Integrity.

The courses in the covered arena this week are designed by Stephen Renouard of Great Britain. The 1.30m class had 26 entries, and Kelly had the fastest jump-off time of 36.190 seconds, which just edged Welles and Esther 126, who finished in 36.272 seconds. Margie Engle and Hidden Creek’s Zenzi finished third, close behind in 36.433 seconds.

The Bynums bought Colonia at the beginning of the year and she “has been a consistent ribbon winner in the 1.35m,” Kelly said. “We decided to do her in something easier since it’s her first time in a covered arena.”

The eight-year-old German Warmblood mare is “so lovely and so easy,” Kelly described. “She’s totally straightforward and is just a blast. We don’t know a lot about her background, but she seems to do her job very comfortably.”

Kelly’s plan today was to get Colonia more adjusted to going in a covered arena. “She’s naturally fast. She has such a big step that it was easy for her to do the inside turn and do the four strides, where others did five,” she said. Of her win today, Kelly said with a smile, “It’s very exciting. She’s one of my favorites, so the win is special.”

Another new horse and rider combination is Berkley and Carlotta, who sped around the 1.35m jump-off today in 41.026 seconds, which edged out Madden and Integrity, owned by Abigail Wexner. They finished in 43.107 seconds. Haddon House Carlson and Ramiro Quintana were third in 43.644 seconds.

Berkley purchased Carlotta, a nine-year-old Bavarian Warmblood mare, in December of last year from an amateur rider in Germany. “She was a very successful horse there,” Berkley mentioned. “I did the 1.30m the first few weeks in Palm Beach and then the 1.40m the rest of the season. This is her first win, but she’s been consistently in the ribbons.”

Carlotta did not have trouble with the speed portion of today’s class. “She has a lot of blood. She’s definitely a speed horse, and she can turn and jump like a cat. There’s no two ways about that!” Berkley said. “I’m just working with that, trying to get used to her. She’s definitely a fighter and a winner and a careful horse in the ring.”

The Tournament of Champions, CSI continues tomorrow with the WEF Challenge Cup Round 10 at 1 p.m., which is the final qualifier for Saturday’s Budweiser American Invitational.

The grand finale of the Winter Equestrian Festival is the $200,000 Budweiser American Invitational, which will be held in Raymond James Stadium on Saturday, April 7, at 7 p.m. General admission tickets, which range from $25 to $40 for advance purchase, are still available by calling 877-909-9436.

Results of Class 1009 $2000 1.30M II, Sec 2b Tournament of Champions April 3-7, 2007 T/A: 70.00 T/A: 47.00

• 1 950 COLONIA LEEANN KELLY 0.00 67.880 0.00 36.190 BYNAM FARM
• 2 535 ESTHER 126 JULIE WELLES 0.00 66.719 0.00 36.272 MISSY CLARK
• 3 880 HIDDEN CREEKS ZENZI MARGIE ENGLE 0.00 66.545 0.00 36.433 HIDDEN CREEK FARM
• 4 342 SHANE LAUREN HOUGH 0.00 66.990 0.00 37.341 TEQUESTRIAN FARMS
• 5 485 Q'S CHARM RAMIRO QUINTANA 0.00 69.401 0.00 37.673 KATHRYN QUIRK
• 6 670 PENTAGON JIMMY TORANO 0.00 69.197 0.00 38.843 JIMMY TORANO
• 7 315 LITTLE BIG MAN LAURA CHAPOT 0.00 63.519 1.00 47.555 LAURA CHAPOT
• 8 729 RIVAL DU POINT DU JOUR LAURA KRAUT 0.00 67.285 4.00 37.352
• 9 403 TARCO CANDICE KING 0.00 68.626 4.00 41.076 JOAN KALMAN
• 10 721 RUSHDY AMY MILLAR 0.00 66.802 4.00 45.943 TRADE WINDS FARM
• 11 25 AMIS DE KANNAN LISA JACQUIN 0.00 67.692 4.00 46.647 TRESTLE TREE FARM
• 12 287 AUTO BE AUBIE AMY MILLAR 4.00 67.312 VICTORIA PITTMAN SMITH
• 13 69 SELECT BEEZIE MADDEN 4.00 68.022

Results of Class 1006 $2500 1.35M II, 2b Tournament of Champions April 3-7, 2007 T/A: 68.00 T/A: 47.00

• 1 235 CARLOTTA KEN BERKLEY 0.00 65.723 0.00 41.026 $750 RIVERS EDGE FARM
• 2 74 INTEGRITY BEEZIE MADDEN 0.00 66.733 0.00 43.107 $425 ABIGAIL S. WEXNER
• 3 65 HADDON HOUSE CARLSON RAMIRO QUINTANA 0.00 63.532 0.00 43.644 $325 BERKLEY STABLES
• 4 725 CONECKO Z LAURA KRAUT 0.00 67.620 0.00 44.405 $210 FREEDOM GROUP
• 5 994 WHY NOT MARIE HECART 0.00 67.078 0.00 45.975 $150 DON EDDIE FARM
• 6 662 CALDAM'OR JIMMY TORANO 0.00 67.370 0.00 46.010 $100 SCNC INV INC
• 7 203 ONTARIO CHRISTINE MCCREA 0.00 66.000 0.00 46.320 $100 CANDY TRIBBLE
• 8 347 ELEGANCE LAUREN HOUGH 0.00 67.483 0.00 46.440 $90 LAURA MATEO
• 9 26 SKYS THE LIMIT LISA JACQUIN 0.00 65.790 4.00 43.955 $90 FLINTWOODE FMS LLC
• 10 1007 TOP GUN AINSLEY VINCE 0.00 67.950 4.00 44.985 $90 IRON HORSE FARM
• 11 847 LARRY LAUREN HUNKIN 0.00 63.887 4.00 45.830 $85 RIDGEFIELD HOUSE
• 12 54 HAMLET DE FLANDRE LESLIE WARD 0.00 67.738 7.00 49.085 $85 TOP OF THE LINE

Photo Credit: Colonia and Leeann Kelly, winners of the 1.30m Jumpers at the Tournament of Champions. Photo © 2007 Jennifer Wood.