Mark Kinsella Scores Traverse City Spring Speed Win
The luck of the Irish was on Mark Kinsella’s side Thursday when he and Bogano topped the $32,000 CSI3* Speed by more than a full second during the Traverse City Spring Series at Flintfields Horse Park.
The Spring Series, presented by Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel, continues through June 29 and features three weeks of FEI jumper competition, weekly hunter derbies, including the International Hunter Derby Regional Championships, in addition to the USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championships and the Markel/USHJA Platinum & Zone Jumper Team Championships.
Kinsella started his partnership with Bogano in December and spent the winter getting to know the 11-year-old Italian-bred gelding (Ogano Sitte x Voltaire Pref). This week marks their third international outing together, and the pieces all fell into place for their first victory.
Ten horses jumped clear over Anderson Lima’s (BRA) one-round speed track. Kinsella topped the field, stopping the clock at 65.68 seconds, just ahead of Richard Spooner (USA) and Serenity Spring Farm’s Belle Esprit (67.04 seconds)—the same pair that won Sunday’s Traverse City National Grand Prix. Lacey Gilbertson (USA) and Karlin van’t Vennehof, owned by Seabrook, LLC, took third in 68.22 seconds.
“Now we’ve been here for three weeks, he’s really gotten used to the place and I think horses thrive in this ring,” said Kinsella of his time spent at Traverse City Horse Shows. “He was second in a ranking class last week, so to get the win today is just icing on the cake.”
Bogano is the former ride of fellow Irishman Jeremy Sweetnam, who campaigned the mount in Europe. “[Bogano] has great technique and he’s naturally a very fast horse and that’s the ride that he likes,” said Kinsella of what caught his eye about the mount. “Regardless of the format—speed, jump-off—he can do it all. He’s a phenomenal horse and he thrives on being a competitor.”
Kinsella and Bogano will now contest the $117,000 Molon Excavation CSI3* Grand Prix on Sunday before he and his wife Sophie soon return to their home base in California to prepare for the arrival of their second child. “We are hoping for a really good finish to our trip to Traverse City,” he concluded.
International competition at Flintfields Horse Park continues on Friday in the $32,000 CSI3* Welcome Stake. To see complete results from the $32,000 CSi3* Speed, click here.
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Mark Kinsella Scores Traverse City Spring Speed Win – Traverse City Horse Shows
