Jeffery Welles Cashes Out with a $10,000 Brook Ledge Open Welcome Win

Saugerties, NY (June 9, 2016): The final week of spring shows in Saugerties, New York, kicked off with Wednesday’s $10,000 Brook Ledge Open Welcome at HITS-on-the-Hudson III.

After snagging the win in last week’s $15,000 KindredBio Open Jumper Prix, Jeffery Welles of Wellington, Florida, returned to the Grand Prix Stadium to capture another victory. This time, the winning title came aboard Freestyle 3, owned by Juan Bancalari.

“This was my fourth time showing this horse, so I was very happy with the result,” said Welles of Freestyle 3. “The owner, Juan Bancalari, was out here as well and was excited with how the horse performed.”

Ten advanced over the course of 15 jumping efforts set by Manuel Esparza of Mexico City, Mexico, to compete in the immediate jump-off, where six would go double clear and the top three would be separated by just three hundredths of a second.  

“Manuel [Esparza] designed a nice course that wasn’t too tricky,” said Welles. “The course was fair and straight-forward, but the time allowed was short, making all of us in the field step up our game a bit.”

First to contest the shortened course was Cassandra Kahle of Langley, British Columbia, piloting Tequila Girl, owned by Redfield Farm. They set the tone for the class, going double clear in a time of 43.814, which would ultimately earn them sixth-place.

Following Kahle was Neshanic Station, New Jersey equestrian Laura Chapot and BEC Hugo. Chapot cleaned house during HITS-on-the-Hudson I, taking home the win in the $15,000 KindredBio Open Jumper Prix, the $10,000 Brook Ledge Open Welcome and the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix. Returning to HITS Saugerties for Week III, Chapot made yet another speedy appearance, and crossed the timers in 40.538.

Michael Desiderio of Chester, New Jersey, followed Chapot with Snatch De Cordrae, owned by Remarkable Farms LP. Desiderio put down an efficient, clear round, but it was not enough to climb ahead of Chapot’s current leading time. They would eventually slip into fifth-place.

Welles and Freestyle 3 had the next double-clear round. The course contained a few tight turns and galloping options that got the crowd out of their seats. Welles executed each option strategically to shave time wherever possible.

“I took my time in the middle of the course, but towards the end there was a tight turn to a vertical followed by a long gallop to the last fence, which is where I really pushed to get ahead of the time.”

The blue-ribbon victory was on the horizon as the seconds ticked by. Welles and his mount stopped the clock fault-free in 40.325, fractions of a second ahead of Chapot, for the lead.

Michael Hughes of Allendale, New Jersey, and Tanaka III, owned by Drumnacross Farm LTD, challenged next. After winning last Sunday’s $75,000 Horseware Ireland Grand Prix, Hughes put in a valiant effort to top Welles’ time with a clear round in 40.617, which put him in the ultimate third-place behind Chapot.

The last clear round of the jump-off belonged to German equestrian Max Nieberg, now residing in Califon, New Jersey. and Candorie, owned by Rebecca Lewis. They too had a fault-free run, but their time of 42.521 was not enough to overtake the lead, ultimately earning them the fourth-place prize.

Two more trips tested the shortened course including Laura Chapot with her second mount, Out of Ireland, and Cassandra Kahle with her second ride aboard Pyrenes De Louzes. Both riders had four-fault scores earning them seventh- and eighth-place respectively.