Norman
Dello Joio and Glasgow Capture First Global Champions
Tour Event with Win in €150,000 CN Worldwide Florida
Open
 Wellington,
FL – March 5, 2006 – Riders from around
the world assembled for the first event on the all new
CN Worldwide Global Champions Tour on Sunday at the
Winter Equestrian Festival, but it was a rider from
just around the corner from the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian
Club that took home the top prize. Wellington, Florida’s
Norman Dello Joio and his long time equine partner Glasgow
survived two rounds of show jumping and a timed jump-off
to take home the $59,300 (€45,000) top prize in
the inaugural event on the new worldwide six nation
tour.
Sixty-two starters went to the post for the 3p.m. lift-off
of the €150,000 CN Worldwide Florida Open, presented
by Cosequin, CSI-5*. The Internationale Arena Course
Designer was Marco Cortinovis of Italy. Today’s
class was scored under the FEI Rules Table A. Article
273. 2.1-3.1-4-1, with two different rounds, against
the clock for the first round, not against the clock
in the second round, with one jump-off against the clock.
Under this format, the top eighteen from round one were
eligible for the second round. The scores from round
one and round two were cumulative and those tied for
first place jumped off against the clock.
The first round was held over a very demanding and ambitious
championship level course of thirteen numbered obstacles,
with seventeen jumping efforts, set at 1.60m-1.80m,
with a triple combination, a double combination, and
a water jump. Only four of the eighteen that survived
round one to advance to the much easier second course,
carried a clean round with them. Three riders cleared
the seventeen hurdles without penalty, but failed to
get under the wire within the tight time allowed and
advanced to round two with a single time fault. The
remaining eleven competitors carried four faults into
the second round of action.
The four fault performers from round one returned first
in the second round according to their times from the
first round, and all but one were clear over the far
less challenging second set of fences.
The three duos that returned with only that single time
fault blemish on their scorecard all had difficulties
in their second effort. Eliza Shuford of the United
States and Larentino, owned by the Larentino Group,
was the best of the three, coming home with just one
time fault to put her at the top of the leaderboard
(2 total faults) with the four clean riders from round
one yet to come.
Of the four that were clean in round one, three went
clean again, to set up the encounter against the clock.
Bulgaria’s Samantha McIntosh returned first with
Loxley, owned by Horst Jaeggle and G. Orsche. McIntosh
found a fast and furious pace and toured the second
round fault-free, setting what appeared to be a tough
standard for her two challengers waiting in the wings.
She crossed the finish line in 41.51 seconds.
McIntosh was followed immediately by “Stormin”
Norman Dello Joio and his long time partner Glasgow,
owned by the Glasgow Group. Dello Joio never let off
the gas from start to finish, and his dazzling performance
put him in the driver’s seat as he topped McIntosh’s
time by 5/10ths of a second, flashing across the finish
line in 40.94 seconds.
Dello Joio’s win was secured when Kimberly Prince
and the Overlook Farm’s Couletto K. James pulled
an early rail on her tiebreaking run, then ran into
further difficulties and finished with eighteen faults
in 56.70 seconds.
“I was very happy today, because I didn’t
think my horse was that jumping fit,” admitted
Dello Joio following his victory gallop. “I was
concerned after the first round. We kind of sneaked
through. But, he actually felt better in the second
round and even better still in the third round. I thought
he gave me everything he had today.”
For Dello Joio, it was great to return to the winner’s
circle in Wellington with Glasgow. “He’s
just a great old friend. He always a pleasure and he
certainly doesn’t owe me anything. When he stops
jumping well, he’ll be retired, but as long as
feels as good as he did today, he’ll keep jumping.”
“I couldn’t have gone much faster,”
said McIntosh said with a smile. “Norman was extremely
fast.”
Third place finisher Kim Prince added, “I was
pleased with my horse today. He’s not much of
a speedster, so I knew going in that I didn’t
have much of a chance to catch Norman.” She said,
“But, I loved giving it a try anyway. It was a
great class, and I was very happy to be third.”
All of the riders spoke of the two different courses
offered in today’s main event. “I thought
the first round was a real championship course. I thought
it was very difficult,” Dello Joio said. “I
thought the second round could have been a little bit
harder. It could have separated the horses a little
more. If they were going to make us jump our horses
that much, I would have liked to not have the horses
that jumped clear be in jeopardy of being pushed out.”
“I feel pretty much the same as Norman does about
the courses,” agreed McIntosh. “I was happy
to go clear in the second round to get into the jump-off.”
And Prince added, “I thought the first round was
very difficult, and I wish the courses could have been
a little more balanced, with the first round maybe being
not quite so hard and the second being a little more
difficult.”
For the Bulgarian rider McIntosh, the balance of the
CN Worldwide Global Champions Tour will be close to
home, but she was thrilled to get a leg up on her European
counterparts. “For us, it’s a big
thing for to come from Europe to America for the first
leg of the Global Champions Tour. I’m very happy
that it was successful here, and I really hope I can
keep going on the tour. All of the shows in Europe are
high class shows and should draw a great field.”
And the plans for the winner? “I have no plans
at the moment,” laughed Dello Joio. “I just
want to get all my junior and amateur riders through
next week. It looks like a wonderful concept, and it
seems like a great thing for all of us.”
Today’s €150,000 CN Worldwide Florida Open,
presented by Cosequin, CSI-5* was the twelfth of fourteen
qualifying events for the FTI Rider Challenge, a rider
bonus pool for $200,000 in which the riders receive
points based on the number of riders in the seven Thursday
and seven Sunday Grand Prix events that are part of
the WEF Wellington series. The winner of the all new
FTI rider Challenge will be known following next Thursday’s
$25,000 WEF Challenge Cup, Round Seven and Sunday’s
$150,000 US Open Jumper Championship CSIO-5*, presented
by CN.
Next week, the final week in Wellington, features the
$75,000 Nations’ Cup, presented by CN, CSIO-5*,
a competition that pits teams of show jumpers from multiple
countries against each other in two rounds of competition.
The 2006 Nations’ Cup, presented by CN on Friday,
March 10th, marks the fifth time that the Winter Equestrian
Festival will host this prestigious international event.
Making the competition especially exciting, the Nations’
Cup will once again be held at night under lights in
the Internationale Arena.
The richest show jumping event of the seven weeks in
Wellington will take center stage on Sunday, March 12th.
The $150,000 US Open Jumper Championship, presented
by CN, CSIO-5*, brings the WEF Wellington series to
a close.
Results of Class 106 $177,905 Florida Open CSI 5* presented
by Cosequin – Internationale Arena Wellington
Open CSI 5* -3/5/06Tot
1 $59300 Glasgow - Norman Dello Joio -Glasgow
Group 0-0-0/40.94
2 $35580 Loxley- Samantha McIntosh -Horst Jaeggle/G. Orschel
-0-0-0/41.51
3 $23720 Couletto K. James -Kimberly Prince- Overlook
Farm – 0-0-18/56.70
4 $13640 Larentino -Eliza Shuford -Larentino
Group -1-1 = 2 -80.46
5 $11270 Omelli -Tim Gredley - Mrs. Gredley-4-0=4
-73.10
6 $5930 Judgement -Beezie Madden - Iron
Spring Farm -4-0=4 -73.53
7 $5930 Madison -Kent Farrington - Alexa
Weeks -4-0=4 -73.99
8 $2965 VDL Groep Fleche Rouge-Leopold Van Asten -Stoetery
Duyselhof -4-0=4-74.00
9 $2965 Sapphire -Mclain Ward -Double
H Farm – 4-0=4-74.47
10 $2965 Little Big Man -Laura Chapot -Laura
Chapot -4-0=4-75.05
11 $2965 Arriscraft Rocca - Keean White -Randy
White -4-0=4-75.93
12 $1780 Hickstead- Eric Lamaze -Torrey Pines
Stable – 4-0=4-76.31
13 $1780 Obelix-Herve Godignon -Herve Godignon
– 4-0=4-76.74
14 $1780 Ollandaise -Megan Lamaze -
Stoney Hill -4-0=4-76.87
15 $1780 Coeur - Cayce Harrison -Double
H Farm – 1-4=5 – 78.06
16 $1185 Baloubet Du Rouet -Rodrigo Pessoa -Diogo
Coutinho -4-4=8-74.89
17 $1185 Quebec -Harry Smolders -Euro
Horse -0-8=8-75.49
18 $1185 Capone 1-Kyle King - Corrine Super
-1-8=9-80.46
From
www.StadiumJumping.com
Photos:©professionalsphoto.com
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