Crete, Il. – August 16, 2017 – Wyndmont Inc. continued their successful summer at the prestigious Balmoral Horse Park to compete in the first week of the HITS Showplace of Summer series. With the guidance of trainers Ronnie Beard and Michael Dorman, Shawn Casady and Cas kicked off the event with a win in $5,000 Johnson Horse Transportation 1.40m Open Jumpers, completing a jump-off almost two seconds faster than the second place finisher.
“That was a great win for him,” Casady said of Cas. “There were a lot of fast horses in it and he really stepped up to the plate and performed well for me. Here it was definitely a little bit bigger, a little bit more course, and the ring is a little bit smaller.
Casady continued, “It was his first class of the week, he had a week off, and he went right into it and was a really good boy. Those were some of the biggest tracks he’s jumped and I’m really impressed with him. The courses here, with it being a smaller ring, tend to be a little bit more technical, so I was really pleased with his attitude and his performance.”
Valinski S and Casady also continued their strong partnership, one that they have been developing since May. Casady and Valinski S have had a consistent summer thus far, finishing with top ribbons at every major show they have attended. This past week, the pair continued their success with a second place finish in the $25,000 SmartPak Welcome Grand Prix, followed by a second place finish in the week’s highlight event, the $50,000 AIG Grand Prix.
On his rounds with Valinski S, Casady said, “I think on both occasions we were just fractions of a second off of the time, and some days that wins and some days that’s second. But that’s kind of been our summer – second, third, first, always really good placing in the classes. We are just trying to keep consistent ride and consistent results and winning where we can. I think we’ve had a really phenomenal summer with him.”
Casady has also been working on developing and bringing up some of Wndmont Inc.’s younger horses. In the $10,000 KinderedBio 1.40m Open Jumpers, Casady finished in sixth place with Amai Du Bourgeonet, and seventh with Evelien. Earlier in the week, Casady placed second, third and fourth with Amai Du Bourgeonet, Favoriet U and Evelien, respectively, in Wednesday’s 1.40m Open Jumpers.
Casady said, “All the young horses were phenomenal this week, I’m ecstatic. Amai Du Bourgeonet walked right into the 1.40m, jumped clear in the $10,000 1.40m, which was probably the biggest 1.40m they had this week. It was a lot of course, everything kind of came up quick, and he really stepped up to the plate and was good.”
He continued, “Evelien did the same thing, just walked right into the 1.40m and gave us clear rounds and really tried his heart out. It’s an impressive ring and it has a lot of character here. But they all really just walked in and did their thing, focused on their job without too much distraction being in this venue. “
Casady added, “I’m having a great time, and I’m very appreciative that this is all going the way it’s going and that I have this opportunity from all of these people, and the support as well. It’s been incredible.”
Beard concluded, “It’s exciting to see the young horses continue to be successful in a new venue. They are getting better and better each week. We have a great team with Michael preparing the horses and Shawn taking them to the show ring. Cas has stepped up beautifully to the grand prix level and Valinski continues to be superstar.”
The team at Wyndmont will continue their stay at HITS Balmoral before beginning their fall tour. For more information about Wyndmont, please visit www.wyndmont.com.
