Temecula, Calif. – May 25, 2019 – Hosting its third grand prix of the four-week series, the Temecula Valley National Horse Show resumed Saturday at Galway Downs with competitors coming out in large numbers to test their skills in the titular event of the week, the $40,000 MediVet Equine National Grand Prix. Held in the Audi Grand Prix Arena, presented by Evergate Stables, the class featured 33 partnerships eager for victory, with John Pearce (CAN) adding yet another victory to his trophy case in Temecula, as he and Firestone S overcame the field as the swiftest double-clean pair to secure the greatest stake of the prize money.

In the $40,000 MediVet Equine National Grand Prix, the first round course, designed by Anderson Lima (BRA), consisted of 15 efforts at heights of 1.40m and 1.45m to test the pack of contenders from five countries, with the 75-second time-allowed proving tough to attain for a number of entries. Third to ride in the initial order, Susan Artes (USA) and Laurence Z served as the first successful pathfinders, with Olympic champion Will Simpson (USA) and Whoop De Doo immediately forcing a jump-off as the second team with a fault-free effort. Also advancing to the second round of riding, Lindsay Archer (USA) with the reins on Jarpur, Chenoa Mcelvain (USA) riding Wallstreet RC, Alex Volpi (USA) and Foster 39 and Pearce aboard Firestone S each added their names to the list of returners to keep themselves in contention for the top prize.

The abridged 8-fence jump-off track saw six eligible horse-and-rider combinations return to the ring in reverse order of the sequence in which they qualified. First to tackle the jump-off pattern, Artes directed Laurence Z to a quick and clean round in 39.175 seconds to set the pace, but were quickly overtaken by the always-speedy Simpson and Whoop De Doo, who tripped the timers in 37.592 seconds with all the rails still up. Nearly matching the leading pair, Archer and Jarpur put in an almost identical time of 37.594 seconds, but downed one rail to incur 4 faults against them.

Alex Volpi (USA) & Foster 39

The only junior rider earning a spot in the jump-off, Volpi jockeyed her own Foster 39 to an impressive performance as the duo sliced across the ring, surpassing all the earlier competition with their clear time of 37.424 seconds to propel to the top spot with only one challenger left to go.

John Pearce (CAN) & Firestone

Closing out the night as the final exhibitor, Pearce left nothing to chance, galloping Nicole Teague’s Firestone S at full tilt in an attempt to go for the gold, crossing the finish line with all the obstacles intact in 36.865 seconds to put them at the top of the leaderboard and secure first place in the $40,000 MediVet Equine National Grand Prix.

Pearce’s win with Firestone S is a welcome addition to his growing collection, having also earned the lead spot in classes such as the $10,000 Cypress Point Stables 1.40m Jumpers and the $7,500 Interactive Mortgage 10 & Under Futurity Classic aboard multiple horses over the course of the past two weeks. Closing out Saturday’s highlight class just behind Pearce and Firestone S, Volpi and Foster 39 claimed the runner-up position, while Simpson and Coxe Horses, LLC’s Whoop De Doo rounded out the top three in the rankings.

John Pearce (CAN) & Firestone S during the awards ceremony

John Pearce – $40,000 MediVet Equine National Grand Prix Winner

On his reaction to winning:
“It was a very exciting jump-off; I’m thrilled. I’m just thrilled with my horse every day. I haven’t had him that long and every day I’m getting more and more connected with him. He is really loving my ride and getting more and more careful and faster in the jump-off, so I couldn’t be happier with the way my horse jumped today. It’s just not possible – we were so together today and it was great, a really good feeling. Thank you very much to MediVet for their sponsorship and to Anderson Lima for his terrific course design once again. It made the whole event just about perfect.”

John Pearce (CAN) & Firestone S

On his success at the Temecula Valley National Horse Show:

“Seven Seas, this was his inaugural grand prix today. He had a couple down but it was his first grand prix and I was extremely happy with him today. I think he has a bright, bright future. Chantico has won a lot of the speed events, and that is his forte. I couldn’t be happier with the last two weeks I’ve had, for sure.”

On his strategy for the jump-off:
“It’s always an advantage to be last. I made it a point to watch Will Simpson. He was second in the jump-off, and he is a great competitor. I watched him go and watched what he did, and he told me exactly what I needed to do. That was an advantage going last. All of us were very close. We were all in the same hundredths of a second practically, so it was a really good jump-off. It was fast, and I just had a great day.”

$40,000 MediVet Equine National Grand Prix

Place / Rider / Horse / R1 Faults / R1 Time / Jump-off Faults / Jump-off Time

1. John Pearce (CAN) & Firestone S – 0 / 73.057 / 0 / 36.865

2. Alex Volpi (USA) & Foster 39 – 0 / 73.842 / 0 / 37.424

3. Will Simpson (USA) & Whoop De Doo – 0 / 74.515 / 0 / 37.592

4. Susan Artes (USA) & Laurence Z – 0 / 75.211 / 0 / 39.175

5. Lindsay Archer (USA) & Archer – 0 / 72.587 / 4 / 37.594

6. Chenoa Mcelvain (USA) & Wallstreet RC – 0 / 75.049 / 4 / 38.683

7. Tiffany Sullivan (USA) & The Gladiator – 4 / 71.918

8. Harley Brown (AUS) & Mylord Cornet – 4 / 72.679

9. Mandy Porter (USA) & Wt Ca Pow! – 4 / 72.996

10. Will Simpson (USA) & Chicharito – 4 / 74.259

11. Emma Reichow (USA) & Apex – 4 / 74.320

12. Femke Courchaine (CAN) & Dereusa S – 4 / 74.452

Source: Press release from Elaine Wessel / Phelps Media Group for Nilforushan EquiSports

Photos: © Phelps Sports / Emma Miller