Quentin Judge and HH Medarco PS started the Traverse City Horse Shows (TCHS) season with a win during opening week of the TCHS Spring Series. They returned to familiar territory on Friday when leading off the victory gallop in the $32,000 Elk Rapids Marina CSI3* Welcome during the third week of the summer’s Great Lakes Equestrian Festival (GLEF), presented by B&D Builders, at Flintfields Horse Park.
HH Medarco PS, a horse sired by Judge’s former five-star grand prix mount, HH Messenger combined with Darco breeding on dam’s side, is one that keeps impressing.
“He’s a really special horse to us, and he just keeps getting better,” said Judge of the 10-year-old Oldenburg stallion owned by Double H Farm and The Creel Family. “Even as a young horse he was a quick horse, but he kind of had to find his scope jumping bigger. He keeps impressing me and stepping up to the plate.”
Judge has been working with four-time U.S. Olympic medalist Beezie Madden and John Madden on the ground for two seasons and their expertise is paying off. “They’ve been unbelievably helpful to me top to bottom,” he said. “Not only in the ring and the warm-up but they are such horse people themselves and committed to slowly building horse, which is the hardest thing to do in this sport. You want success now but they’ve been helping me build my string of horses and take my time. Today was our day to take a shot and that’s not always the plan so when they say it, that means they think I’m doing a good job.”
Judge and HH Medarco PS’ winning time over Andy Christiansen’s (ECU) two-round course was 33.86 seconds.
Last to go, Cathleen Driscoll (USA) put it all on the line riding Idalgo, but pulled up fractions of a second off Judge’s pace in 34.14 seconds riding a 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Catoki x Quidam de Revel) owned by Don Stewart. The podium finish catapulted Driscoll to the top of the Traverse City Horse Shows Jumper Rider Bonus standings, a title she is looking to keep under her name after winning in 2023.
Driscoll pipped Thursday’s speed winners—Jimmy Torano (USA) and Kochio Z—by two tenths of a second. Torano and his 10-year-old gelding Zangersheide gelding (Kannan x Diamant de Semilly) stopped the clock at 34.33 seconds for third.
During his winner’s interview, Judge was joined by daughter June and wife Cayce, who are spending their summer in Traverse City along with their son Rhodes.
“June is in day camp, Rhodes is in bike camp, we go to the beach and enjoy time with our team and the Creel Family,” said Judge. “It’s a great environment for us, which is not always the case when you’re horse showing with kids. We are taking full advantage of being here in Michigan.”
Three-star competition during GLEF III comes to a peak on Sunday with the $120,000 CSI3* Grand Prix to cap GLEF III.
For complete results, click here.
Ella Endzweig and Private Message Top USHJA Pony Hunter Derby
Twelve-year-old Ella Endzweig captured top call in the $2,500 USHJA Pony Hunter Derby, presented by Memorial Park Hunters, to highlight Friday’s competition at the Pony Palooza Pavilion.
Endzweig, who hails from Palm Beach, FL, piloted Private Message, a 12-year-old Welsh Pony mare by Gayfields Speedy Getaway, to the blue for owner Twin Island, LLC. Combining top scores in both the classic and handy rounds of 89 and 89.5, respectively, the pair finished on a total of 178.5.
“She was green when we got her and I really didn’t have that much experience at all,” said Endzweig, who got the ride on Private Message in 2020. “We learned together and it took a long time to get the hang of each other, but once we did it was really fun to ride her. I did my first derby with her and we have done a lot since.
“What I love most about her is the way she always puts her ears up when I go into her stall,” noted Endzweig about the mount she was Regular Small Pony Hunter Champion on at the 2022 USEF Pony Finals.
Pony derbies are a new addition to the six-week Great Lakes Equestrian Festival (GLEF), presented by B&D Builders, and have been met by rave reviews.
“It’s more than the same old lines; this one started on an end jump and was a challenge,” said Endzweig’s trainer Kyla Makhloghi. “It keeps them thinking and I really like that. The handy is a separate event, so when you have to come out and wait a little bit before jumping again it’s a real test for the riders.”
Ellie Wexler of Houston, TX, guided the pint-sized Blitz to scores of 81 and 89 to finish on a final score of 170 for second place, and Endzweig bookended the podium by also finishing third riding Secret Crush, owned by Jill Shulman, to scores of 87 and 82 to finish on a 169.
For complete results, click here.
