Diego Perez Bilbao and Mystic Lindenhof Snag the Blue in the $24,500 Horseflight Jumper Classic
Competition during Hits-on-the-Hudson II at HITS Hudson Valley in Saugerties, New York, came to a close on Sunday, June 2, with the $24,500 Horseflight Jumper Classic. Thirty-two horse-and-rider combinations aimed for the top prize, but it was Diego Perez Bilbao and Mystic Lindenhof that finished victoriously.
Mystic Lindenhof has been Perez Bilbao’s part-time mount for two years. The Spanish athlete shares the ride with U.S. amateur Catherine Kubiak, and together they have competed the 11-year-old Belgian Warmblood stallion owned by Over Fences Farm LLC in a variety of classes, including the high amateur jumpers, two-star grands prix, as well as national grands prix.
“For a stallion, he’s a really nice horse to flat every day, and to be around him, he’s calm and he’s quiet,” described Perez Bilbao. “He’s a little bit lazy, but he has a big stride and he’s not afraid to turn short to the jumps. Once he gets in the ring, he’s a good fighter.”
Perez Bilbao’s clear first round came toward the end of the class,and with 11 other duos contesting the short course, he knew he would have to put the pedal to the metal to come out on top. The pair raced around the jump-off track, ending with a time of 41.010 seconds, just a fraction of a second in front of second place.
“I liked the course,” said Perez Bilbao of the first round. “It wasn’t too big, but the time allowed was short. The in-and-out with the plank plus the liverpool and the last double combination made it tricky, so we saw people make errors around the whole course. I don’t think I was the fastest in the jump-off today, but I tried to leave out strides everywhere I could.”
Just behind Perez Bilbao was U.S. rider Gracie Allen and her own Picante ‘ter Elzen’, an eight-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare (Elvaro x Quattro B). The pair held the lead for almost the entirety of the class withtheir time of 41.401 seconds but were just pipped at the end by Perez Bilbao.Third place went to Alexa Pessoa and Carlito’s Way 6, a 14-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Casall x Lordanos) owned by Artemis Equestrian Farm LLC, in a time of42.324 seconds.
Before the $24,500 Horseflight Classic was the $5,000 Pyranha Junior/Amateur 1.25m Jumper Classic. Taking first place out of 26 entries was junior rider Brooks Hull, 17, of Ocala, Florida, and Amy Shafmaster’s Conny 424, an eight-year-old Holsteiner mare by Colore. As one of eight entries to jump clear in the first round, they advanced to the short course, ultimately winning with a time of 31.262 seconds.
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