Andre Thieme and Contanga 3 Win $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix at HITS Ocala VI; David Tromp and horse Bill Clinton Top Brook Ledge Welcome

Ocala, Florida (February 20, 2015): Million Dollar Man André Thieme from Germany and his Contanga 3 won the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix at HITS Ocala on Thursday, hitting top form while continuing his quest for a repeat win in the Ocala Great American $1 Million Grand Prix. As winner of last year’s Great American Million and the 2011 Saugerties $1 Million Grand Prix, Thieme has made Ocala his mid-winter destination with that goal in mind.

“I competed last week in FEI week as an individual riding for Germany, and was third with my horse Conthendrix in Sunday’s $150,000 Grand Prix. I rode a slow easy trip on Contanga for sixth in the Thursday Prix. I will use the next three weeks here at HITS to get my horses in shape for the really big classes, then fly to California for the AIG Million (at HITS Desert Horse Park, March 15),” said Thieme at a celebration dinner with friend and trainer Emil Spadone, and fourth place winner Adrienne Iverson, whom Spadone also trains.

(c) ESI Photography
Andre Thieme and his Contanga 3 win the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix at HITS Ocala on Thursday, February 19.

It appears that Contanga 3 is already in shape as the 11-year-old mare topped the 31 horses competing in the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix at the Ocala Masters. The Ocala Horse Properties Stadium was set with a course of 16 efforts at 1.5 meters which included three combinations by Course Designer Jack Robson, of Coronado, California. The quality of the horses showing was evident, with 15 horses jumping clear first rounds.

Every rider took a shot to win in the jump-off, speeding through the course, resulting in rails falling throughout, and only four jumping double-clear. The first rider to clear all nine efforts in the jump-off was Iverson from Califon, New Jersey, riding Redfield Farm’s Donar R, stopping the clock at 43.628. Iverson’s trainer Spadone commended her saying, “In a sport that has become so specialized, Adrienne is one of the few riders that can be successful in both the hunter and jumper rings. This week she was champion in the Pre-Green Hunter 2 Division on my new stallion Fandago HX and reserve in the High Performance Hunter Division with Chapman ET – and today she was fourth in the Grand Prix.”

(c) ESI Photography
Andre Thieme and his Contanga 3 get the blue ribbon after winning the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix.

Amanda Flint from Long Valley, New Jersey, riding the Coverboy Group’s Superbad, bested Iverson’s time and finished in 43.032. Flint said, “Thinking ahead for Sunday I really didn't’t go that fast since we went early and there were so many in it.”

The next rider to jump double-clear was eventual winner Thieme, who stopped the clock at 39.812. He described the jump-off, saying, “There were two or three risky turns and an option to leave out to the last jump, which my friend Emil told me to do. I think a lot of other people tried to do the same and had the last jump down.”

One other person who was able to successfully leave out the stride to the last fence but did not quite catch Thieme’s time was David Tromp, of Saugerties, New York. “With 15 in the jump-off, conservative was not really an option,” said Tromp, who finished second on Koyo Investment Group’s horse Bill Clinton, after winning the Brook Ledge Welcome on Wednesday. Tromp continued, “Wednesday’s quick round really helped prepare my horse for Thursday’s jump-off. I opened up his stride and he stayed with me every step of the way.” Tromp’s time of 40.701 earned second place in the class.

​$25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix

Place	Horse	Owner	Rider	Prize	Rd. 1 Faults	JO Faults	JO Time
1	Contanga 3	Andre Thieme	Andre Theime	$7,500	0	0	39.812
2	Bill Clinton	Koyo Investment Group	David Tromp	$5,500	0	0	40.701
3	Superbad	The Coverboy Group	Amanda Flint	$3,250	0	0	43.032
4	Donar R	Redfield Farm	Adrienne Iverson	$2,000	0	0	43.628
5	Ammeretto	Equine Holdings, LLC	David Beisel	$1,500	0	4	37.216
6	MacArthur	Christina Fried	Michael Hughes	$1,250	0	4	30.013
7	Acolina R	Sarah Turner	Aaron Vale	$1,000	0	4	38.602
8	Fedor	Southern Cross Equestrian	Scott Keach	$750	0	4	38.872
9	Troya Montecristo	Juan Pablo Betancourt	Juan Pablo Betancourt	$750	0	4	39.358
10	Balotan	The Coverboy Group	Amanda Flint	$500	0	4	39.792
11	Kenwood	The Kenwood Syndicate	Daniel Geitner	$500	0	4	40.422
12	Lucky Strike	Hays Investment Corp.	Brandie Holloway	$500	0	4	40.425

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

David Tromp and Bill Clinton Top Brook Ledge Welcome

A day before placing second in the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, Tromp and the 9-year-old, 17.3 hand grey, Bill Clinton topped the leaderboard in Wednesday’s Brook Ledge Open Welcome in the Ocala Horse Properties Stadium. Horses competed over Robson’s first round course of 14 efforts set at 1.4 meters, which included an optional water jump. Nine horses advanced to the jump-off.

Five had already gone clean in the jump-off before Bill Clinton stepped in to the ring. MTM Cravitz, owned by the MTM Farm and ridden by Tracy Fenney of Flower Mound, Texas, had stopped the clock at 37.744 seconds, and held the lead until Bill Clinton and Tromp finished with a time of 36.634 for the new Great American Time to Beat.

(c) ESI Photography
David Tromp and Koyo Investment Group's Bill Clinton trump competitors in the $2,500 Brook Ledge Open Welcome on Wednesday, February 18, 2015.

Tromp said, “I wasn't’t really trying to win but he accelerated really well off the rollbacks. He has a huge step and there were several long gallops. He is the first horse purchased for me by the Koyo Investment Group...He’s really easy to ride and we are happy with his progress since we bought him late in the summer. He’ll be showing in both the Thursday and the Sunday Grand Prix here at HITS.”

Fenney came in second on her MTM Grand Slam at 36.893 seconds. Ian Silitch, of Ocala, Florida, riding, Cordova, owned by Gaston Family Investments, LLC, made a bid for the lead but fell short in a time of 37.161 for third. Fenney’s other horse MTM Cravitz, who had held the early lead, ended up in fourth place. Flint riding her own VDL Wittinger, was clear in 38.420 for fifth place.

 

$2,500 Brook Ledge Open Welcome

Place	Horse	Owner	Rider	Prize	R.1 Faults	JO Faults	JO Time
1	Bill Clinton	Koyo Investment Group	David Tromp	$750	0	0	36.634
2	MTM Grand Slam	MTM Farm	Tracy Fenney	$450	0	0	36.893
3	Cordovo	Gaston Family Investments, LLC	Ian Silitch	$300	0	0	37.161
4	MTM Cravitz	MTM Farm	Tracy Fenney	$250	0	0	37.744
5	VDL Wittinger	Amanda Flint	Amanda Flint	$225	0	0	38.420
6	Chicco W	Edith Rameika	Christina Kelly	$200	0	0	38.656
7	Afandina	Lexy Reed	Lexy Reed	$175	0	0	39.172
8	Corlensky G II	Brawley Farms, Inc.	Bob Brawley	$150	0	0	41.321
9	Cassevel	Maddie Skimming	Derek Petersen	*	0	4	38.347
10	AF Karatino	Mauricio Garcia	Mauricio Garcia	*	4	4	*
11	MTM Timon	MTM Farm	Tracy Fenney	*	4	4	*
12	Condor	Adnre Thieme	Andre Thieme	*	4	4	*