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Page 12 • Open Season • Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009
A Lo o k Ba c k to 2009’s Se a s o n En d i n g Fi n a l e
a t Pa l m Be a c h In t e r n a t i o n a l Eq u e s t i a n Center
McLa i n Wa r d & Sa p p h i r e Win
$400,000 FTI Fi n a l e Gr a n d Pr i x CSI 5*
To d d Mi n i k u s Ta k e s $200,000 FTI
Ri d e r Ch a l l e n g e at Pa l m Be a c h
Olympic double gold medalist
McLain Ward and
Sapphire won the biggest
purse in his career Saturday
night by capturing the $400,000
FTI Consulting Finale CSI 5* Grand
Prix Saturday March 21st at the Palm
Beach International Equestrian Center.
Todd Minikus of Wellington won
the $200,000 FTI Rider Challenge in
a double header event that made the
total purse the largest pay day in U.S.
jumping history.
The finale grand prix of the 12
weeks of the FTI Winter Equestrian
at PBIEC that has undergone
a multimillion dollar makeover was
a dramatic highlight of the world’s
longest and largest horse show with
prize money approaching $6 million
in jumpers, hunters and dressage.
Lauren Hough of Wellington, Fla.
who had dominated the circuit-long
FTI Rider Challenge withdrew her
horse, Quick Study, only hours before
the competition due to a slight
strain in the high suspensory on the
left hind leg, an ailment that veterinarians
said could have allowed her
to ride. She withdrew “for the sake of
the horse,” an action that drew unanimous
praise.
Despite heavy rain throughout
much of the day that stopped just as
the first of 35 horse and rider combinations
went on the course designed
by Guillherme Jorge of Brazil, about
5,000 spectators turned out for the
event under lights.
Eight pairs made it to the jump
off.
Ward of Brewster, N.Y. and the 14-
yeard-old Belgian warmblood mare,
owned by Ward and Tom Grossman’s
Blue Chip Bloodstock, were the fastest
in the jump off, posting a time of
41.56 secs., earning them $120,000.
The win was the third in a row for
Ward and Sapphire, earning the pair
$320,000 at this winter circuit.
Great Britain’s Nick Skelton and
Nemo 119, owned by Beverly Widdowson,
cleared the course in 42.55
secs., earning them second place and
$88,000. Venezuela’s Pablo Barrios
and Lagran, owned by Pablo Barrios
and Andres Olivares, rounded out the
top three with a time of 43.64 secs.,
earning them $52,000.
The Finale Grand Prix was the
concluding event of the $200,000
FTI Rider Challenge.
After Hough’s withdrawal was announced,
Ward said: “Lauren made
a hard call today. A lesser horseman
would have gone. By taking herself
out tonight, she took herself out of
the bonus.”
The fifth place finish tonight by
Pavarotti, owned by Todd Minikus
LTD., the Wellington resident captured
the top spot on the Rider Challenge
rankings and $100,000.
Ward was second in the Challenge
taking home another $50,000. Third
place and $30,000 went to Beezie
Madden of Cazenovia, N.Y., the
2008 winner, while fourth place and
$20,000 went to Charlie Jayne of Elgin,
Ill.
Minikus said of the Challenge:
“There’s no question you think about
it. Tonight was a huge class. It’s a
high pressure situation.”
“My stomach started to turn yesterday.
It’s a familiar feeling. I was
excited for tonight and giddy this
afternoon,” Ward said of Saturday’s
class which he ranked as one of the
top three victories of his career that
includes gold medals on Sapphire at
the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.
Skelton, one of the most celebrated
riders in show jumping history, said:
“I knew McLain was going to take
a bit to beat. I think it was a lack of
experience on the horse and a trip up
by the in-gate. I was going as fast as
I could.”
Dennis Shaughnessy, Chairman of
FTI Consulting, the New York Stock
Exchange company that sponsored
both the grand prix and the chal-
Please turn to page 13
Left, Nick Skelton and Nemo 119. Above, Todd Minikus and FTI Rider Challenge
winners McLain Ward, Beezie Madden and Charlie Jayne with Dennis Shaughnessy,
FTI Chief Executive Officer. (ph © 2009 Ken Braddick)