Jake Endicott Snags Victory in $30,000 1.45m Open Classic
It hasn’t been too long since Jake Endicott was just learning the ropes of show jumping, and now he’s a top contender every time he steps in the ring. On Thursday of Desert Circuit 2, presented by Adequan®, he rode to a big win in the $30,000 FarmVet 1.45m Open Classic aboard his top partner, RMF Chacco Top, owned by Ashland Farms.
The pair went early on over Colm Quinn’s single-round speed track, and they weren’t necessarily looking to be the fastest, but the time they put in, 68.229 seconds, held until the very end of the 32 entries. Skylar Wireman took both second and third places, aboard Crunch K and Citoki, respectively.
“It’s been a little over a year now,” Endicott said of his partnership with RMF Chacco Top, a 15-year-old Hanoverian stallion (Chacco-Blue x Graf Top). “He was with Ashland Farms in Wellington, who I rode for a little as a junior. Everything fell into place and I got lucky enough that we could get him over to us. It was a bit of a right place, right time kind of situation. He fell into our hands and he’s been great ever since.”
RMF Chacco Top is rich with experience, winning classes up to the CSI5* level in Europe with extremely notable riders, so he’s teaching Endicott the ropes of higher level jumping. Endicott is grateful to have a seasoned partner as he navigates tougher tracks and bigger jumps.
“He’s got all the experience in the world,” he continued of the stallion’s resume. “He’s jumped 1.55m all over the world for many years. He’s 15 which I think is a great age for someone like me who wants to start jumping bigger classes. He’s brought me from the lower level to be able to go for wins and jump a lot of clear rounds.”
Endicott has wisely utilized the network available to him to get to know the horse better, connecting with previous riders of the horse and asking for their opinions and thoughts. “I actually knew Cormac Hanley when he had him in Wellington and I had watched him and knew the horse a little bit. Shawn Casady also jumped him out here so when I see him walking a course I ask him what he thinks is right for this horse. There’s always a rider that’s ridden him, so it’s easy to get advice from other people,” he shared.
It’s still just the beginning for the 19-year-old, as he hopes to continue building his string of horses and racking up top results, during this circuit and beyond.
“With him I think I’ll jump some three-star classes; that’s kind of his peak classes and he’s great at it,” Endicott said of his upcoming plans. “I can win those classes if I ride well. For myself hopefully I can get lucky and get another horse in my string to jump some bigger classes and start stepping up.”
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