Mary Hilton for Phelps Media Group, Inc. MEDIA CONTACT: Mason Phelps, Jr. of Phelps Media Group, Inc. at (561) 753-3389 or at info@phelpsmediagroup.com WEB SITE: Phelps Media Group, Inc. Press Releases and Photos are available for download at http://www.phelpsmediagroup.com/ ATTACHED PHOTO: Joie Gatlin And Plutus.com Delivers Photo by Flashpoint Photography NEW YORK, NY – November 4, 2004 – The evening session of The Metropolitan National Horse Show in New York City kicked off on November 4 with the first phase of the $50,000 Junior/Amateur-Owner Liberty Cup. Danielle Torano, 30, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, riding LaBelle owned by Sir Ruly, Inc. won the $12,500 Liberty Cup Speed Class, besting a field of 27 horses. Georgina Bloomberg of New York City aboard Action owned by Gotham Enterprizes placed second. Ashley Partow of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, riding Cool Flood placed third. Only five riders posted clear trips over course designer Linda Allen’s 11-jump track that included two double combinations with Time Allowed set at 64 seconds. Going 10th in the order, Whitney Lindners of Manhattan, Kansas, riding Hemmingway was the first to go clean, clocking in at 55.86 seconds, which eventually placed her fifth. Amanda Forte of Glenmore, Pennsylvania, aboard Minuet ousted Lindners from the top spot with a clean trip in 54.71, but she ended up fourth. Forte’s lead was also short-lived, as Bloomberg and Action, going 13th in the order, took over the top spot with a time of 51.86. Partow was the 22nd rider and tried to catch Bloomberg with her clean trip aboard Cool Flood in 53.05 seconds, but she ended up third. Last to go, the 27th rider, Torano had the edge and put on the gas to edge Bloomberg into second place and take the win with her time of 51.03 seconds. Torano said she watched most of the class and noticed that riders were leaving out and adding strides, so she found it difficult to decide how to ride the course. “I had a plan but I didn’t follow it,” Torano admitted. She noted that LaBelle, a nine-year-old warmblood mare, felt like she was slipping in the turns, so she changed her plan and began adding strides. “I never quite got out of the adding up but her normal canter is so fast that’s what made up for it,” Torano explained. She noted with a grin that the only place she left out strides wasn’t planned. “I meant to stay out a little bit at Number 5 and I turned and the jump was right there!” Torano and LaBelle are newly partnered and The Metropolitan National Horse Show is only their fourth show together. “I did Culpeper, Capital Challenge, and Washington. She won the Ambassador’s Cup at Washington last week,” Torano said. Torano does have a game plan set for the rest of the $50,000 Junior/Amateur-Owner Liberty Cup. “Tomorrow I’m going to go with my other horse, Lojana, then back with LaBelle on Saturday.” The Liberty Cup is a three-phase competition with two more classes to be contested. The $12,500 Jump-Off Class will be held tomorrow night, November 5, and the $12,500 Two Round Final will be held on Saturday night, November 6. In this Modified World Cup Format, the winner of the Liberty Cup will be determined when the overall results are tallied. An additional $12,500 will be divided among the top 12 competitors based on overall ranking. Tonight’s winner, Torano, earned $3,900 Following the Liberty Cup Speed Class, the highlight of the evening was contested in the first phase of the $100,000 Tavern On The Green Metropolitan Cup. Nineteen horses raced over course designer Linda Allen’s 12-jump track in the $25,000 Speed Class where jumping faults were converted to time faults. Joie Gatlin, 37, of San Juan Capistrano, California, aboard Plutus.com Delivers owned by Canyon Capital Insurance won. Peter Pletcher of Magnolia, Texas, riding Charmed for owner Alex Dillard placed second. Kate Levy of South Salem, New York, riding her own Lagretto 5 placed third. Seven riders managed the 12-jump course without incurring jumping faults, but Gatlin clearly took the win with her nearest challenger more than two seconds slower. Gatlin was the 10th rider on course and posted the unbeatable time of 68.56 seconds. Going 15th in the order, Pletcher clocked in at 70.50. The 18th rider to go, Levy, was more than four seconds behind the leader with 72.97 seconds. Plutus.com Delivers is a nine-year-old Oldenburg mare that Gatlin has been riding since July. “She’s super brave, she’s scopey. I hope in the near future she’ll be doing the bigger Grand Prixs,” said Gatlin. The course proved to be a challenge for the green mare and the new partnership, but Gatlin praised course designer Linda Allen. “She gave us some options where you could leave out strides or be conservative. She had some tight rollback turns. For my horse, from Fence 6 to 7, the white plank rollback, she was a little green there and she got just a little bit confused on which to jump. We worked it out and that was a good learning experience for her to look and see which jump comes up next. Linda had turns and gallops and stride options, so we had a little bit of everything in there for the speed class. It was a real nice track to get us started in the Metropolitan Cup.” Gatlin talked with Allen before the course, set her plan, and executed it. “I wanted to have a smooth gallop, a smooth rhythm, and ride parts of it like you would an equitation course, being very organized on the rollbacks to the planks. Everything came up nicely. I was able to stick to my plan and keep galloping around and it all worked out really nice.” Gatlin plans to ride Plutus.com Delivers, known as “Luna” in the barn, for the remaining classes in the $100,000 Tavern On The Green Metropolitan Cup. “I’ll have my other horse, SunCal’s King in the other $25,000 Open Class on Saturday,” she said. Gatlin won the $25,000 Open Jumper class riding SunCal’s King on opening night, November 3. The Metropolitan Cup is a three-phase, modified World Cup formatted competition. The $25,000 Jump Off Class will be held tomorrow night, November 5, and the $25,000 Two Round Final will be held on Saturday evening, November 6. The winner of the $100,000 Tavern On The Green Metropolitan Cup is based on the overall result of the three performances. The top 12 competitors will divide an additional $25,000 based on overall ranking. For tonight’s win, Gatlin earned $7,500. During the intermission between the Liberty Cup and Metropolitan Cup competitions, vaulters entertained the audience. World-renowned vaulter Kerith Ann Lemon of New York City and her troupe of seven vaulters performed Individual and Team compulsory movements. Along with Lemon, the vaulters were Mary McCormick of Springfield, TN; Elizabeth Brigham of Potomac, MD; Anna VanVranken of Mays Landing, NJ; Sarah d'Auriol of Suffolk, VA; Ali Williams of San Francisco, CA; Jessie Price of Swedesboro, NJ; and Katie Haynie of Oak Hill, VA. Manhattan Cup Adult Equitation Championship Earlier in the evening, Alison Agley, 36, of Aspen, Colorado, aboard Archie won the Manhattan Cup Adult Equitation Championship topping a class of 13 horses. Agley trains with Archie Cox in Los Angeles, California. “This is a special moment for Alison because it’s her last show with this horse,” said Cox who has worked with the duo for five years. “It’s a great way to end their partnership. Alison is a very good rider, strong and confident. She complements the horse.” Agley said the first round of eight fences was a “normal” equitation course of bending lines. The top four riders were called back to test, and she earned the win, overcoming her toughest challenge – a hand gallop to the last fence. “I just decided to go!” she explained. Agley, who operates a software developing business called Treat-It, has enjoyed success with her horse “Archie” in the First Years, Second Years, and Regular Hunters. She leased him to Jane Frave last year. Frave recently purchased Archie and is showing him in the Adult Amateurs. Agley borrowed Archie for the Championship class. Agley qualified for the finals by notching wins and scoring points in the USEF Medal classes and was intent on competing in the equitation finals. “I wanted to support a big equitation finals back east. I am hoping this will become a special equitation finals,” explained Agley. She has been riding since age 13 and her early trainer, Marsha Williams, was at the show to witness the win. Archie is an 11-year-old, 16.2-hand, chestnut Hanoverian gelding with a distinctive white face. Ayers said she will miss him. “He was so great,” she said. “He is very easy and cooperative. This is a great way to finish riding him. I want to thank my mom, who bought him for me, and Archie Cox, my trainer.” The Metropolitan National Horse Show The Metropolitan National Horse Show features five days and five nights of action, November 3-7, 2004, at Pier 94 and the Show Piers on the Hudson in New York City. Tickets and passes are available in a variety of packages and can be reserved by calling 866-NHS-SHOW or on the web at www.nhs.org Directions Pier 94 and The Show Piers is located at Twelfth Avenue (West Side Highway) and 54th Street. Use any access point to New York City, including the Lincoln, Holland, or Queens Midtown tunnels, or the George Washington Bridge, and proceed to the West Side Highway in Manhattan at 54th Street. Ample parking is available at Ship Terminal, Pier 92. Public Transportation Subway: A, C, E, to 50th Street, Manhattan Bus: M31, M11, M50, Manhattan Livery Cars: On standby at Pier 94 Entrance during show hours Information For further information on the Metropolitan National Horse Show, contact the National Horse Show Association of America, Ltd., PO Box 386, Greenvale, NY 11548. E-mail: NationalHS@aol.com; Phone: (516) 484-1865; Fax: (516) 484-1982. Or on the web, visit: www.nhs.org Return to Press |
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