Day 1: 2009 Penn National Speed Jumping
Harrisburg, PA
Like last year, I dedicated this weekend to advanced level equestrian events, starting with an evening at the 64th Annual Penn National Horse Show. The main event of the ten-day show is tomorrow, the Jumping Grand Prix, but I already have plans, so I gladly settled for tonight’s events.
Note: The competition was in an indoor arena with very poor light. It was difficult to take pictures, however I still tried. Most turned out rather blurry, but decent enough that I’m willing to share them.
Show Jumping Hall of Fame Amateur Owner Jumper Classic – Time First Jump Off
Paige Johnson and Chiron S
The first event of the evening was an amateur jump off. Four pairs made it through the first round with clear scores, pitting them against each other in the final jump off. Paige Johnson and her mount Chiron S eventually won after clearing the final in 36.768 seconds.
Misc Events
Budweiser Clydesdale East Coast Hitch
Rhonda Mutt’s Combined Driving Team
In between the two jumping events, the Budweiser Hitch and a Combined Driving competition filled the space. We strolled around to see the vendors for a part of the intermission, but I catch some of it. Rhonda Mutt and her pair won the driving competition.
North American League Open Jumper Speed Final
McLain Ward and Goldika 559
The big event for the night was the NAL Open Jumper Speed Final. Twenty-four riders competed, including US Olympic Equestrian, McLain Ward. Ward, a two-time Olympic Team Gold Medalist, completed tonight’s course clear in 58.359 seconds on Goldika for the win. The next fasted clear run on the night was more than a second behind than his showing.
I actually think last year’s pictured turned out better, generally speaking, which isn’t a good sign. Perhaps, I should have reviewed my notes on my camera settings, instead of just winging it again. Oh well, I’ll try again later. Shooting Indoor activities is still a work in progress for me.
This evening’s Flickr set: show pics
Day 1: 2008 Penn National Speed Jumping
Harrisburg, PA
I’ve dedicated this weekend to the equestrian world, specifically stadium jumping & equestrian eventing. Tomorrow I’m going back to Fair Hill with a friend, but to add to my new interest, this year I went to an evening session of the Penn National Horse Show. The actual “show” is a huge two-week exhibition, touching on every horse-related. There are quite a few vendors set up, which apparently is somewhat of the appeal, but I just wanted to see a top-notch competition.
The main event, the Grand Prix Stadium Jumping, is tomorrow morning, however I can’t get up here to see it. Since I have plans that I’m not willing to miss, I had to settle for the next best competition, the NAL Open Jumper Speed Final. Many of the top athletes scheduled to ride tomorrow morning, also enter the speed jumping competition, so that works for me.
Note: The competition was in an indoor arena with very poor light. It was difficult to take pictures, however I still tried. Most turned out rather blurry, but decent enough I’m willing to share them
North American League Open Jumper Speed Final
The goal of speed jumping is just as the name implies, to get through the course clear as quickly as possible. So, unlike Grand Prix competition, here time matters in the rankings. The winner is the pair who gets through the fastest with the few penalties.
#832 Lorenzo, ridden by Anne Kursinski
#143 Prima, ridden by Beezie Madden
#106 Mon Gamin, ridden by Brianne Goutal
#1363 Goldika 559, ridden by McLain Ward
#478 Bradberry, ridden by Laura Chapot
Several Olympians competed, including two who recently returned from Beijing. Anne Kursinski was a member of the US team at the 1988 Soul, 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta Games. Riding Lorenzo, she was the first to finish tonight’s course clear in 63.385 seconds, earning her second place overall.
Beezie Madden and McLain Ward are both current US Olympic team members and have both won team golds at the last two Games (2004 Athens & 2008 Beijing). Madden won the individual bronze this year, after an exciting jump off for the medal. I actually caught the jump off on TV in August. It was amazing. Something around 10 pairs were tied for third, including her teammate Ward, but she pulled it off. Ward, on Goldika, finished tonight’s competition in fourth, with the night’s fastest time (55.533s) but one jumping fault.
Laura Chapot on Bradberry, the top qualifiers and last to go, won the event. Only the second pair to finish clean, their time of 60.211 seconds put them at the top.
Various Equestrian Championships
Since I made the ‘long’ drive, I decided to stick around to see the rest of the night’s festivities, including the Mount Police drill team program at the end.
Open Roadster Horse Championship
Three-gated English Country Pleasure Stake
Draft Horse – Heavyweight Pairs
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride
Star Formation
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Dome
The night’s special exhibition was the RCMP Musical Ride, which was actually kind of neat.
This evening’s Flickr set: show pics
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