Portland, Oregon, USA – August 07, 2022 – The final day of Split Rock Portland I CSI 2* took place on Sunday, August 7 with the feature event of the week, the $100,000 Lugano Diamonds Grand Prix CSI 2* hosting top jumper competition with a stunning backdrop and world-class grass footing at the Hidden Creek Horse Park. After an exciting jump-off, it was Keri Potter (USA) and Tres Palomas’ Ariell La Sirene who topped the podium.
Olaf Peterson Jr.’s (GER) 16-effort track challenged athletes to utilize the expansive grass arena in the first round of competition. With rails falling in various locations throughout the course for some, four horse-and-rider combinations were able to navigate the test foot perfect to advance to the jump-off portion.
Jennifer Waxman (USA) and Scato van de Molenbrug Z (Hunter’s Scendix x Charisma) were the first to contest the shortened track. While the pair left all the jumps standing, their time of 49.01 seconds proved to be beatable.
Jeffrey Fields (USA) and Sherlina Ale (Sheraton – Bolina), winners of the $10,000 1.40m Speed CSI 2* earlier in the week, shaved four seconds off of Waxman’s time to take the lead.
“I’ve been riding [Ariell La Sirene] for a while now – four years. She is such a trier. She is a great, fun, fast and sensitive mare. She is quite opinionated, but as long as you play her game a little bit she is very friendly,” Potter commented of her close partnership with the 13-year-old mare Westphalian mare (Arioso du Theillet x Silvio I).
Potter was third to go and after watching her fellow athletes contest the course with no faults, the pressure was on and she delivered, registering the winning performance in 44.91 seconds.
“She is pretty fast across the ground and [in the jump-off] I think I took a bit of a risk coming into that double combination. Then I took a very tight rollback [to fence 15] and I got pretty lucky at that plank – she ticked it but it stayed up. I was able to get a nice even pace to the last fence so I was pretty happy with it.”
Fields ultimately finished in second place while Waxman, who was also a winner earlier in the week in the $37,000 1.45m Welcome CSI 2*, settled for the third spot on the podium.
“Split Rock has always been one of my favorite horse shows to come to just because Derek [Braun] and his team go all out and try their best to make their horse show a meaningful experience for the horse, rider and owner. I’ve always enjoyed the quality of these events,” Potter closed.
Competition will continue at Hidden Creek Horse Park through next week, with the Split Rock Portland II featuring competition for hunter and jumper athletes at all levels on August 10-14, 2022. Up next, the 2022 Lugano Diamonds Split Rock Jumping Tour will head to the Paso Robles Horse Park for the first time ever. Split Rock Paso Robles CSI2* will take place on September 7-11, 2022.
Final Results –$100,000 Lugano Diamonds Grand Prix CSI 2*
1) Keri Potter (USA) & Ariell La Sirene– 0 / 0 – 44.91
2) Jeffrey Fields (USA) & Sherlina Ale – 0 / 0 – 44.98
3) Jennifer Waxman (USA) & Scato van de Molenbrug – 0 / 0 – 49.01
Source: Press Release (edited) from the Split Rock Jumping Tour
Photos: © SRJT / Winslow Photography
Categories: CSI 2*, English, Jumper News USA
