Siena Vasan Makes Successful U25 Debut Winning $10,000 Under 25 Classic at Kentucky Summer Horse Show

Lexington, Ky. – July 28, 2019 – The Kentucky Summer Horse Show closed out in the Rolex Stadium with a variety of show jumping classes, including the $10,000 Under 25 Classic and the $5,000 1.40m Open Jumpers. Open to competitors who have not reached the end of the calendar year over 25 years old, the U25 class provides the opportunity for up-and-coming riders to gain experience jumping more challenging 1.45m course. The technical 15-effort course was designed by Marina Azevedo and athletes incurred both time and jumping faults during the day’s competition. Only one horse-and-rider combination, Siena Vasan and Tokyo D’Ellipse, successfully completed the course clear from any faults, which solidified her top placing.

Siena Vasan and Tokyo D’Ellipse

The second combination to enter the ring, Samantha Rice on NRG Farm LLC’s Ringwood Zebo, a 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, laid down a steady ride, only knocking one rail out of its cups and finishing in 82.329 seconds. They held onto their lead for the majority of the class until Riley Mackillop laid down another 4-fault finish, ensuring a jump-off of the 4-fault combinations unless one of the final two riders could jump clear. Mackillop finished his round in 78.13 seconds and one rail down with Amigo, a 15-year-old Zangersheide gelding owned by Hollow Creek Farm.

Samantha Rice and Ringwood Zebo

Second to last in the class, Vasan cantered into the ring ready to make her Under-25 grand prix debut. Making the trip from her homebase of Delray, Florida, Vasan is gearing up for her senior year in high school, while staying focused on her training with Kim Price. Crossing the timers at 82.329 seconds with zero jumping faults, Vasan sealed her first place finish in her first U-25 class on her 12-year-old Selle Français gelding, Tokyo D’Ellipse.

Siena Vasan and Tokyo D’Ellipse

Earlier in the day, Daniel Beisel topped the leaderboard with a clear round in the $5,000 1.40m Open Jumper on his 10-year-old KWPN gelding, Essince W, stopping the clock in 64.345 seconds. Placing second in the class with a clear round in 71.466 seconds, was Diego Perez Bilbao on Helios, his 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding, while Rachel Kennedy rounded out the top three with a 4fault finish in 60.507 seconds on Fandango, her 16-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding.

David Beisel and Essince W

Competition will continue on Tuesday, July 30 with the start of the High Schooling Jumpers in the Rolex Arena and the day will conclude with the $5,000 1.40m Open Jumpers to kick off the Kentucky Summer Class July 30 – August 4.

FROM THE WINNER’S CIRCLE

Siena Vasan – Under 25 Classic winner

On her performance today:
“I’m feeling really good. This is actually my first Under 25 class ever, so I didn’t really come in with a lot of expectations. I did the High [Junior Jumper] Classic yesterday and had a little miscommunication so we decided to enter him in this class today. He’s in really good shape right now, he’s super fit, he’s jumping better than he ever has and he’s hasn’t put a foot wrong all summer.”

On her horse:
“I’ve had Tokyo for almost two years now. We bought him in August of 2017 and I needed a horse to move up to the Medium [Junior] Juniors and I started in the Low [Junior Jumpers] and he’s taken me really far — for me he’s a horse of a lifetime. He’s just incredible. He always wants to please and he never does anything wrong. He’s the greatest horse.”

On her past results with Tokyo D’Ellipse:
“We’ve had a really good summer. We were second in the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Classic in Tryon and then I showed at the Chagrin Hunter Jumper Classic a few weeks ago and we won the High [Junior Jumper] Classic there, so I was coming here feeling good and hoping to do well. I didn’t do quite as well as I wanted to in the High [Junior Jumpers], but I’m really happy I got to come into this class and come out on top, especially as my first time doing the U25.”

Siena Vasan and Tokyo D’Ellipse

On the Under 25 division:
“I’m really excited to be doing the U25. Since I’m still 17, it’s a great way to get into the 3* and 4* grand prixs and I’m really hoping also do Tokyo during the U25 series during WEF and then also have some other horses in that division as well. It’s a great building block up to the higher levels. There are finals for it, so you can practice the championship format. It’s also great for the Young Rider competitions. Any 3 or 4* competition, or even the 5*, it’s a great way to get up to that level.”

On Sunday’s course:
“I thought the course was very well suited for my horse. He’s not the fastest horse in the world, but he has a very big stride so he can make up a lot of room. I made up a lot of time after the four stride line to the single oxer, I just let him gallop a little bit. Despite having such a long stride, it’s also really easy to get him to come back and collect so he was able to shorten up in the lines that were a little bit shorter. I think that’s what helped make my round smooth and why I was able to jump clear today.”

On her future:
“I’m definitely going to attend college and hopefully I still keep riding. I know throughout my senior year, I’m going to keep riding hopefully doing the High Junior [Jumper] classes and the Under 25 classes. As for college, I’m not sure where I’m going yet but I’m hoping that throughout college and the rest of my life I’ll be able to keep riding because I love doing it so much and I want to keep doing it in the future.”

Siena Vasan and Tokyo D’Ellipse

On showing at the Kentucky Summer Horse Show:
“I love coming to Kentucky! I’ve been coming here since 2012 and I’ve done everything here from the Children’s Ponies to the Under 25. I’ve done Pony Finals, equitation finals and I just love coming here. The show grounds are absolutely beautiful. It’s a competitive atmosphere. The jumper courses are technical enough that if you can jump around here, you can jump around at WEF or at Spruce [Meadows] or any other high level or national competition. The footing is absolutely incredible. The stables are nice, the stalls are big. There are great accommodations, great food in Lexington, and the weather is absolutely beautiful. We’ve been really lucky with it. I just want to thank the show organizers and sponsors for this class. You don’t see a lot of Under 25 classes at other horse shows that I’ve been to this summer so it’s been really nice to have that to build up for WEF.”

RESULTS

Under 25 Classic
Place / Horse / Rider / Faults | Time
1. Tokyo D’Ellipse / Siena Vasan / USA / 0 / 82.329
2. Amigo / Riley Mackillop / 4 / 78.130
3. Ringwood Zebo / Samantha Rice / 4 / 81.711
4. Quality Iris / Ty Simpson / 8 / 73.879
5. Chloe / Katherine Dash / 8 / 81.425
6. Deavantus / Rachel McMullen / 13 / 87.239
7. Caribic / Anna Beth Athey / 28 / 94.886
8. Kecho Du Sud / Kelly Arani / Eliminated

Riley MacKillop and Amigo

$5,000 1.40m Open Jumper
Place / Horse / Rider / Country / Faults | Time
1. Essince W / David Beisel / 0 / 64.345
2. Helios / Diego Perez Bilbao / 0 / 71.466
3. Fandango / Rachel Kennedy / 4 / 60.507
4. R.K. Vincent Santa Monica / Shannon Clifford / 4 / 68.409
5. First Finch / Logan Taylor / 4 / 70.760
6. S & L Elite / Sydney B. Carr / 11 / 82.395

Salt Creek and Havens Schatt Secure First $5,000 USHJA Hunter Derby Win at Kentucky Summer Horse Show

Lexington, Ky. – July 28, 2019 – Sunday at the Kentucky Summer Horse Show concluded with the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby sponsored by World Equestrian Center/Kentucky Horse Shows LLC. Havens Schatt held the lead from round one into the handy round to clinch the title aboard Salt Creek. Jennifer Waxman and Codex 22 settled for second place while Dominic Gibbs and Perseus YC claimed third place.

Havens Schatt and Salt Creek
Havens Schatt and Salt Creek. Photo: Shawn McMillen Photography

Lyman T. Whitehead and Tucker Ericsson judged a field of 33 entries comprised of professional, amateur and junior riders that tackled the course set by Jason Shelley. The track consisted of 11 obstacles that included four high options, and following the classic round, the top 12 horse-and-rider combinations returned for the handy round in reverse order. The second round gave riders the opportunity to display their horses’ handiness with a series of roll backs, four high options and a trot fence to a two-stride combination.

Jennifer Waxman and Codex 22
Jennifer Waxman and Codex 22

In the classic round, Schatt and Salt Creek earned an 88 plus 4 points for the high options for an impressive total of 92. Close behind was Waxman and Codex 22 with an 84 plus 4 points for taking the high options for a first round total of 88. With just 4 points separating them going into the handy round, Waxman left no room for error when she turned in a stellar round with scores of 91 from the judges plus all four high options, giving them an impressive score of 95 combined with their first round score to total 183 points, taking over the leaderboard. Schatt knew she had to impress the judges to overtake Waxman’s total, and opted for an inside turn and all four high options. Although Waxman’s score from the handy round would remain the top score of the second round, Schatt’s 89 from the judges plus 4 points for the high options for a grand total of 185 points, would be enough to surpass Waxman and take home the top placing.

Dominic Gibbs and Perseus YC
Dominic Gibbs and Perseus YC

Salt Creek is an 8-year-old black Selle Francais gelding owned by Schatt and is still new to competing in the national derbies, but is already building an impressive record. The pair were second in the USHJA National Hunter Derby at the Chagrin Valley Hunter Jumper Classic earlier in July and second in the same class in the spring at the Kentucky Spring Horse Show. Schatt and Salt Creek will return next week for the Kentucky Summer Classic and take another try for the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby title.

Havens Schatt and Salt Creek
Havens Schatt and Salt Creek

The National Hunter Derby Program was launched in 2010 to provide both horses and riders a place to gain experience in Derby competition at a lower height and difficulty level than the International Hunter Derbies. The program has enjoyed continued success and growth throughout the years and is rising in popularity. Sunday’s feature class is part of a 17-event USHJA National Hunter Derby series collaboration sponsored by the World Equestrian Center and Kentucky Horse Shows that includes $20,000 in rider bonuses to be awarded at the World Equestrian Invitational in October.

With the conclusion of hunter competition at the Kentucky Summer Horse Show, the hunters will continue on Tuesday, July 30 with the start of the Kentucky Summer Classic July 30 – August 4 featuring the Green Conformation Hunters in the Stonelea Ring.

Havens Schatt and Salt Creek
Havens Schatt and Salt Creek

FROM THE WINNER’S CIRCLE

Havens Schatt – $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby winner

On her performance today:
“He was super today! The first round was one of the smoothest rounds he’s ever had. He was on it from the beginning. I was a bit worried with so many broken lines because he is only 8-years-old and sometimes he gets a bit confused with broken lines, but he landed on all his leads and he was great.”

On her horse:
“I’ve had him for a year and a half. At the beginning of this year, I didn’t feel like he was ready to do the 3’6 Green Hunter and he’s not eligible for Pre-Green anymore, so I decided I would start to do some derbies with him and the 3’6 Performance. This was his first derby win — he’s been second and third a few times. I was happy for him to finally get the win. He’s really fun to ride. He goes in a rubber snaffle with no martingale and he just goes. He’s so brave and in the handy I didn’t even question to go inside to the second jump to the high option. It was a harder turn, but you put the jump in front of him and he’s game to do it.”

On what’s next for Salt Creek:
“He will show next week again in the national derby. After that, I may give him a break. I have another horse named Happy Thoughts that does these national derbies — I was giving him a break these weeks and then he will show at the Bluegrass Festival.”

On Sunday’s course:
“For me, I thought the first course rode great with Salt Creek. You had to ride the course a bit slower — it was not a course to attack. The handy had enough tricks which allowed for some great high scores. I was three points ahead of Jeff Gogul going into the handy. Since they don’t give handy points, I was thinking I was going to jump the low option at number two because why make it difficult and risk a mistake if you have that buffer? I didn’t see his round but he said he had a problem after the trot jump and I knew his score. Then Jen Waxman went in and got a 91 and I thought “I have to do the high option!” So I changed by strategy as I was walking down. We actually had a little rub behind on the first jump so I knew I had to really step it up to erase that little mistake.”

On showing at the Kentucky Summer Horse Show:
“We live in Georgetown so the show is very convenient for us. It’s been about 10 years since I’ve been competed at these two shows. How can you ask for a better place to show than the Kentucky Horse Park? It’s nice to be home and feel so lucky to have this amazing facility with top-notch competition, judges and managers. We are incredibly lucky to have that here.”

RESULTS

$5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby, Sponsored by World Equestrian Center / Kentucky Horse Shows LLC
Place / Horse / Rider / Owner / R1 Score / R2 Score / Total Score
1. Salt Creek / Havens Schatt / Havens Schatt / 92 / 93 / 185
2. Codex 22 / Jennifer Waxman / Elm Rock LLC / 88 / 95 / 183
3. Perseus YC / Dominic Gibbs / Erin Gibbs / 87 / 94 / 181
4. Helen / Kelly Mullen / Allison W Ventura / 86.5 / 92 / 178.5
5. Candid / Vivian Yowan / Jennifer Alfano / 86 / 91 / 177
6. At Last / Jeff Gogul / Roberts Stables LLC / 85 / 88.5 / 173.5
7. Balou Belle / Robin Rost Brown / Robin Rost Brown / 83 / 89 / 172
8. Freakfeld / Olivia Darnell / Lily Beck / 82.5 / 87 / 169.5
9. Quarterletto / Callie Schott / Riverview Farm LLC / 82 / 85 / 167
10. Snowbird / Jeff Gogul / Roberts Stables LLC / 89 / 64 / 153
11. MTM One Time / Kelly Lorek / MTM Farm / 84 / 68 / 152
12. Conor / Jennifer Waxman / Jennifer Waxman LLC / 85.5 / 62 / 147.5

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