Continuing her winning streak, McKayla Langmeier of East Grandby, CT, captured another big win Saturday in the $25,000 Traverse City National Grand Prix, this time aboard Chadina. Opening the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival (GLEF), presented by CaptiveOne, with two wins, the young rider is quickly accumulating points toward the CaptiveOne Leading Open Jumper Rider Bonus to be awarded at the end of the season.
Despite just three entries jumping clear over Catsy Cruz’s (MEX) first-round track and advancing to the jump-off, the pace was quick and competition kept getting more intense as the riders came forward. Mimi Gochman, winner of Friday’s $37,000 Innovo CSI3* Welcome Stake, jumped off first with Andretti BH, but pulled the first rail to finish on 4 faults. Cathleen Driscoll, second in the Welcome, produced the first double-clear in a very quick time of 39.428 seconds.
Topping Driscoll was going to take nerve, but Langmeier stepped up to the plate and shaved off two seconds, navigating the 9-year-old Oldenburg mare (Conthargos x Narew) to a clear-round time of 37.447 seconds for the win. Driscoll claimed second place while Gochman took third.
“She’s a really fiery mare being chestnut, so she has a lot of attitude and personality which makes her a lot of fun,” Langmeier said of Chadina, owned by Rafferty Farm, LLC. “got her from Plain Bay Sales, from Katie, Henri, and Adam Prudent about a year and a half ago.”
Since their start together, Langmeier has strategically developed Chadina to ultimately bring her up to the higher levels. “We’ve gone very slowly,” she continued. “We’ve put her in bigger classes and stepped down, then repeated up until now to give her confidence and develop her at this height. This is definitely a highlight of mine on her. She’s just starting to be really competitive at this height. Hopefully we can do some two- and three-stars.”
The first-round course was challenging, producing only three clears. Langmeier commented on her plan for the first round, “I [identified] the spots where I had to take more time and think through what I needed to get done. The skinny and the plank were both very careful jumps that you had to respect.”
Saturday marks two wins in one week for Langmeier, and both were aboard fiery mares. “As a typical chestnut mare, she’s opinionated but also very sweet,” she said of Chadina, echoing a bit of sentiment she felt for Bahira S, who won the CSI3* Speed on Thursday. “I have all mares and one gelding. It’s not so much [that I prefer them,] I just seem to have acquired a lot of mares.”
Langmeier will return to the Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel Grand Prix Ring Sunday for the $138,600 Meijer CSI3* Grand Prix for a chance at top prize money and more valuable points toward the CaptiveOne Advisors Open Jumper Rider Bonus.
Final Results: $25,000 Traverse City National Grand Prix
1. Chadina / McKayla Langmeier / Rafferty Farm LLC / 0/0/37.447
2. Magnolia / Cathleen Driscoll / Plain Bay Sales / 0/0/39.428
3. Andretti BH / Mimi Gochman / Gochman Sport Horses / 0/4/41.515
4. Escapado S / Jamie Sailor / Mountain View West Farm LLC 2/78.485
5. Wonder If / Amanda Derbyshire / Gochman Sport Horses / 4/72.071
6. Pewit Dezoito / Amanda Derbyshire / Ehs, LLC / 4/74.724
7. Honneur T&L Z / Cormac Hanley / Glynn Way Sporthorses / 4/75.126
8. Dame De Pique / Cathleen Driscoll / Plain Bay Farm / 5/77.962
9. Fata Morgana Di Villagana / Taylor Madden / Taylor Madden / 7/79.641
10. Deleyn / Sofia Cady / Sofia Cady / 8/73.099
11. High Nitro / Cathleen Driscoll / Margaret Frank / 8/74.018
12. Stakan 4 / Charlie Jayne / Ammann Equestrian LLC / 8/74.109
Like Father, Like Daughter: Ingrams Sweep Amateur-Owner Classics
Saturday wasn’t a bad day to be an Ingram.
John Ingram and Martha Ingram took wins in the 3’6” and 3’3” Amateur Owner Classics, respectively, to close out their divisions for week one of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival.
John Ingram wasn’t quite satisfied with just the win, as he ended up in both first and second place with his mounts, Dynamo and Romeo, in the Rider’s Boutique 3’6” Amateur-Owner Classic. He and Dynamo scored 174 over the two rounds while Romeo followed close behind with a 172.5. John led his closest competition by 4.5 points.
Coming off of his jumper career, Dynamo has adjusted well to the hunter ring under the piloting of John. “He’s just getting more and more comfortable with this new job and he was just terrific here,” explained John. “He loves his job and he loves Michigan in the summer.”
Romeo, on the other hand, is a new partner for John, who spoke highly of the 11-year-old. “This is my first show at 3’6” with him; he’s fantastic,” Ingram expressed.
The Ingram family has a long history in Traverse City and makes sure to stop by each season. “Hard to beat 75 degrees in the summer,” said John of the Michigan weather. “The setup is fantastic,” said John. “They keep making it better and we’re happy to be exhibitors, happy to be sponsors, and happy to be here.”
Not to be outdone by her father, Martha Ingram captured the second Amateur-Owner Classic of the day as she and veteran mount Private Practice rode to the top of the leaderboard in the Madd Horse LLC 3’3” Amateur-Owner Hunter Classic.
“I think his expression going around the course really set us apart today,” she said. “He’s an excellent jumper who absolutely loves his job, and his presence is really noticeable to the judges.”
The pair bested 16 other horse-and-rider combinations for the honor as they prepared for WCHR classes in the coming week.
“I am still learning from him because he is a bit like a Ferrari in that he has so many different gears,” Martha added. “You can add or leave out as many strides as you want so my main focus is managing his stride, especially at this height. He is always up for anything which is amazing.”
The younger winning Ingram has been attending summers at GLEF since her years of piloting small ponies and noted that the family plans to continue to make it a highlight event of their travels for years to come.
“We have been here every year, and I just absolutely love Michigan and this show,” she stated. “Everything is always so beautiful, and the management does such a fantastic job.”
Hunter competition concludes Sunday with the $5,000 3’ Non-Pro Traverse City Derby and the $10,000 3’ Pro Traverse City Derby, presented by Perfect Products.
