Alex Granato and Carlchen W claim second victory at Great Lakes Equestrian Festival II. Photos Andrew Ryback Photography
Traverse City, Mich. – July 18, 2021 – Competition in Week II of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival (GLEF), presented by CaptiveOne Advisors, came to a head on Sunday, July 18, with the Major League Show Jumping (MLSJ) $230,000 Grand Prix CSI5* taking place in the Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel International Ring. Thirty-five top show jumping competitors gathered once again to vie for the most prestigious individual honors of the MLSJ Tour’s inaugural week. At the conclusion of the class, it was Alex Granato and Bright Lights Group’s Carlchen W who claimed their second CSI5* win of the week, and their first CSI5* grand prix win together.
The technical first round course designed by Marina Azevedo (BRA) proved challenging for many competitors, with just four going clear and advancing for the jump-off round. Riders were required to navigate tricky turns and tight distances around the 16-effort track. Kyle King (USA) and Coffee To Go, a 12-year-old Westphalian gelding, were the only clear pair until Natalie Dean (USA) and Chance Ste Hermelle, a 13-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare, stepped in the arena as seventeenth in the first round order. Granato (USA) and Carlchen W, winners of Friday’s MLSJ $72,900 Honor Hill Farm 1.50m CSI5*, were next to add their names to the jump-off list with an expertly ridden clear round. Kristen Vanderveen (USA) and Bull Run’s Risen, a 15-year-old KWPN gelding, were the final combination to earn a ticket to the tiebreaker for their clear effort.
Eager to set the pace early on, King and Coffee To Go crossed the timers in 40.81 seconds, but rolled an unfortunate rail early on in the course to end on 4 faults, leaving the door open for the remaining three athletes. Dean and Chance Ste Hermelle were next to try out the shortened track, but difficulties on course would result in an 8 fault finish in 43.14 seconds. Hot on the heels of their win earlier in the week, Granato and the notoriously quick Carlchen W, a 13-year-old Warmblood gelding, sliced and diced their way through the spacious arena, crossing the timers in 36.87 seconds and clearing each fence with ease to make themselves the undeniable leaders with just one left to challenge their time. Try as they might, however, Vanderveen and Bull Run’s Risen were unable to best Granato’s speedy time, tripping the timers at 39.35 seconds with 4 faults to their name and ledning Granato and Carlchen W their second CSI5* win of the week and first CSI5* grand prix win in the history of their partnership. With Granato’s Sunday win, he jumped up to sixth place with 20 points on the 2021 CaptiveOne Advisors Open Jumper Rider Bonus leaderboard.
Kyle King, Alex Granato and Kristen Vanderveen.
Vanderveen and Bull Run’s Risen would ultimately settle for second place, and completing the podium in the third place position at the conclusion of the class was King and Coffee To Go.
MLSJ $72,900 Premier Equestrian 1.45m Winning Round CSI5*
Speed was the name of the game in the MLSJ $72,900 Premier Equestrian 1.45m Winning Round CSI5*. Always a force to be reckoned with, Sydney Shulman (ISR) and Jill Shulman’s Villamoura bested the field of 37 horse-and-rider combinations. Shulman and the 12-year-old Selle Francais mare sped through the timers in just 40.63 seconds, leaving all obstacles intact. Ireland’s Shane Sweetnam came in a close second to Shulman with his The Buckle Buckle Group owned entry, Indra Van De Oude Heihoff. The pair put in a clear round in 40.91 seconds, just beating fellow Irishman Cormac Hanley and Rushy Marsh Farm LLC’s RMF Chacco Top who would claim the third place prize on a time of 41.36 seconds.
MLSJ $36,600 NetJets 1.45m Grand Prix CSI2* Earlier in the day, the MLSJ $36,600 NetJets 1.45m Grand Prix CSI2* took center stage in the Turtle Creek Casino International Ring. A total of 49 entries put their names forward in hopes of claiming the top spot and a piece of the $36,000 purse. Nineteen entries would produce a first clear round to advance to the tiebreaker, but only 10 would cross the timers with no faults to their name. In the end, it was Ashley Vogel (USA) and her own mount, Bellissimo Z, who galloped to the victory. Vogel and the 12-year-old Zangersheide mare bested Lindsay Archer (USA) and Rhys Farms LLC’s Jarpur time by just one tenth of a second on a time of 36.29 seconds, leaving Archer and Jarpur in the second place position. Luciana Roberta Gonzalez Guerra (MEX) and Ehrens would round out the top three.
Australia’s Katie Laurie remains in the top spot for the 2021 CaptiveOne Advisors Open Jumper Rider Bonus leaderboard with a whopping 42 points after a successful Traverse City Spring Horse Show series. Karl Cook (USA) sits in the second place position on a total of 37 points after his win in the $137,000 Staller Grand Prix CSI3* during the final week of Traverse City Spring Horse Show, and another victory in last week’s $137,000 Meijer Grand Prix CSI3*. Currently rounding out the top three on the leaderboard is Tiffany Foster of Canada with 27 points. Offering show jumping competitors the chance to accumulate points throughout the 12-week Traverse City Horse Shows series, the bonus is awarded to the athlete with the most points at the conclusion of the 2021 $230,000 American Gold Cup Grand Prix CSI5*, presented by CaptiveOne Advisors. The CaptiveOne Advisors Open Jumper Rider Bonus is a highly sought-after prize among the field of international competitors that attend Traverse City Horse Shows.
Week Two of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival has now concluded. Week Three of competition will kick-off Tuesday, July 20, highlighting junior equitation athletes for the first installment of Equitation Tuesday at the 2021 GLEF. Show jumping competitors will return to the arena Wednesday, July 21, for another week of CSI5* and CSI2* competition.
FROM THE WINNER’S CIRCLE
Alex Granato – Major League Show Jumping $230,000 Grand Prix CSI5* winner
On winning two CSI5* classes in a row:
“I feel great! My horse feels incredible this week. This was our first big venue of the summer, so it feels amazing to have him going this well and feeling this good. This is the most consistent he has felt all summer and our first CSI5* grand prix win, so that feels even better! I am just excited for how things are going.”
On the pressure in the jump-off:
“Kristen [Vanderveen], I know she is on a big, slow looking horse, but Kristen is always deceivingly fast and I obviously never count her out. My horse is quick so I just really wanted to stay on pace in the beginning. Everybody else did seven [strides] up the first line, which was my plan, but when he jumped so huge over the triple-bar I thought it would be better to stick with eight [strides] and get back on my canter from there. I also planned to do one less [stride] to the double, but he jumped so well. At the vertical, I was worried about running in too hot too the double, so I regrouped and did an extra stride there as well. Talking with Kristen after, she actually had the same thought as well going down the double and she ended up getting there too deep, which is why she thought she had the rail considering she went in with the same plan I did. I was lucky and it worked out that my horse was adjustable and was working with me today.”
On his week:
“[Carlchen W] is always there for me. I really feel like any time we are not in the jump-off, it is probably because of something I did to him. He is amazing, he feels great. When he is going in top form like this then there is no other feeling like it that I have had, so I just want to keep doing right with him. We are planning to go next week with him, but we are going to regroup now that we won’t have to qualify for the grand prix. We will probably do the low 1.40m class at the beginning of the week to level out and be smooth, then do the grand prix with him next week, and then he has a good rest for a few weeks before we come back in September.”
On what is next for Carlchen W:
“I want to just stay consistent and keep him at this level for a long time, as long as he is feeling good. My next year, year and half, I would really like to focus him back towards CSI5* Nations Cups and team appearances, and obviously ideally a championship or two will still be in his future.”
On the jump-off:
“I went in with two plans in mind for the first three jumps. With it starting with a triple-bar and taking out A of the line, my initial plan was to do seven [strides], but he jumped so big and high over the triple-bar that I was worried about running down too hard. I thought I could still get the seven but that it would really throw off my track for the next jump, so I stuck with the eight even though it was a little slow feeling. Then I got right back on my canter, so I did eight and eight [strides]. He rolled back beautiful to the vertical, I think we did seven on the rollback, then he jumped it a bit slow so I did an extra stride than I had in my plan to the double, which worked out great. He jumped that great and then I tried to get on a big canter. I went a little wider than I probably normally would anticipate, but they didn’t really narrow up the oxer, so I went a little wide with a big gallop. Then he rode great in the eight home.”
On how Carlchen W feels:
“This is the best he has felt since the Pan American Games. With COVID and everything that went on, it threw a lot of wrenches in our plans, so this year I refocused on having him at his peak as the season goes. He did very little during [the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF)] and I really just focused on his fitness and maintenance. He jumped the last CSI5* there really well. This was our first CSI5* appearance since the [$500,000 Rolex CSI5* Grand Prix] at WEF and obviously he feels great. I think he is jumping even stronger and better than he did all of the 2020 season. I really just went back to the drawing board with him. With him being thirteen, and even though I know him so well I think his home routine caught me a little off guard as he is aging, so I really refocused back in on his flat work and just small rail and grid work to work on his straightness and fitness, and that is where I think it really paid off today. It was a technical enough course with a lot of scope questions and rideability questions, and he jumped beautifully, straight and strong and was there for me when I needed it.”
RESULTS Major League Show Jumping $230,000 Grand Prix CSI5* Place / Horse / Rider / Country / Owner / R1 Faults | R1 Time / R2 Faults | R2 Time 1. Carlchen W / Alex Granato / USA / The Bright Lights Group / 0 | 73.02 / 0 | 36.87 2. Bull Run’s Risen / Kristen Vanderveen / USA / Kristen Vanderveen / 0 | 73.55 / 4 | 39.35 3. Coffee To Go / Kyle King / USA / Spruce Meadows / 0 | 73.55 / 4 | 40.81 4. Chance Ste Hermelle / Natalie Dean / USA / MArigold Sporthorses LLC / 0 | 74.88 / 8 | 43.14 5. Gakhir / Erynn Ballard / CAN / Ilan Ferder / 1 | 77.34 6. Tulara Colmine / Georgina Bloomberg / USA / Gotham Enterprizes LLC / 1 | 77.49 7. Chatou 7 / Nicolette Hirt / USA / Iron Horse Equestrian / 1 | 78.37 8. Dandy / Kaitlin Campbell / USA / HD Horses LLC / 3 | 85.16 9. Lima 47 / Alison Robitaille / USA / Alison Firestone LLC / 4 | 73.32 10. Robin De Ponthual / Schuyler Riley / USA / Katherine Gallagher / 4 | 73.92 11. Royce / Margie Engle / USA / Gladewinds Partners LLC / 4 | 73.92 12. Very Chic Du Tillard / Gavin Harley / IRL / E2 Show Jumpers / 4 | 74.44
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