Madison Kondracki Scores First Season Win in $15,000 STX Open Speed Series Finale
Throughout the entirety of the inaugural STX Open Speed Series at the HITS Ocala Winter Circuit, 17-year-old Madison Kondracki has steadily widened the gap between herself and the other contenders. On Friday afternoon at the final week of the 10-week long circuit, the young competitor sealed the deal as she scooped up one final victory in the series’ exciting finale. Held weekly over the course of the winter, the series offered a new and exciting one-round speed challenge for exhibitors and horses looking to test their talents in HITS Post Time Farm’s Grand Prix ring without contending a course of grand prix proportions.
With a wide array of homebred and self-produced horses to choose from, Kondracki put the pressure on the classes’ other contenders early on in the season and continuously raised the bar as she earned the majority of the winnings across the ten weeks. Over Olaf Petersen Jr’s (GER) fast track, Kondracki put the final nail in the coffin as she edged Tracy Fenney and MTM Peanut out of the lead with her own eight year old Hanoverian gelding (Escudo 1), E Storm Cat.
“It’s been a really good season so far, from the beginning to the end it’s really just been about finding consistency for me. My horses are all really green and young horses, just working on consistency and pace and this class is really perfect for us. I just go off of my eye for everything, i never walk my speed courses for the most part because ill get more so in my head. At home we work a l;ot on galloping because i have a big eventing background, so at home we work on galloping and here its all about putting the pieces together. I got my first locker last year but it was smaller, i didnt even realize until the third week that the prize was a locker but i am so excited to get it in use for the rest of our show season!”
Having had consistent results herself, Fenney was the only athlete who would even stand a chance to overthrow Kondracki’s reign, but ultimately she settled for the overall second place title of the series as well as second place in the finale class on a time of 66.13 seconds with the MTM Farm’s 10-year-old Warmblood gelding (Capistrano). Bryn Sadler threw her hat in the ring with a valiant effort good enough for third place at the class’s completion aboard Showcase 81 LLC’s 17-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Clearway), Cinven CR.
Kondracki was also gifted with a brand new STX Tack Locker for her success. The $15,000 STX Open Speed Series will resume at HITS Hudson Valley where a new series champion will be named and another lucky competitor will come away with a deluxe locker. For a full list of the class results, please visit www.showmanagementsystem.com.
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