The longtime partners add another victory to their Traverse City record during GLEF II
Samantha Schaefer and Frasier are no strangers to winning in Traverse City. They’ve come to this venue nearly every year together and have taken home many big wins in their five years as a pair. On Friday of week two of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival, presented by B&D Builders, they added another major victory to their Traverse City record in the $31,100 Elk Rapids Marina CSI3* Two Phase.
“He comes here and has a whole other gear,” Schaefer said of Frasier, a 16-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Carambole x Padinus). “I like the Two Phase for him because I can keep him packaged up for the first half and then my strategy for today was to be efficient and to take a shot without coming too undone for Sunday. I thought the strides and everything really suited him. I tried to be smooth and efficient and let everything fall where it may.”
The second phase resulted in a time of 30.38 seconds for Schaefer and Frasier, which proved to be the fastest of the double-clear efforts over Mauricio Garcia’s track. Coming up just behind was Abbygale Funk (USA) with In The Stars. David Oberkircher (USA) ended up third with Munin, with only about three-quarters of a second separating the top three.
“This is the highlight of my summer for sure,” Schaefer remarked about bringing home top results from Traverse City. “We bring a lot of horses here as a team, so I’ve saved him leading up for these couple weeks that he’s here. He feels really good and fresh. I didn’t necessarily think I was going to win today but it shook out and the course suited him.”
Frasier certainly isn’t alone in loving the venue and weather in Northern Michigan, but Schaefer believes he really comes into his own as he returns north for the summer season.
“He loves it here,” she went on. “There are times that the competitiveness of Florida can feel like he’s not that into it. Something about the weather and the ring and everything, he just loves it. He’s happy to be here and he’s happy to be jumping.”
With her eyes on Sunday’s $116,500 Southern Arches CSI3* Grand Prix, Schaefer knows the horse is up for the task, and she’d be delighted to go two for two during week two.
“I hope it’s going to suit him again,” she joked about the Grand Prix course. “He’s a fantastic horse. He’s been a winner for me in all sorts of classes and heights so he’s been my ‘first for everything’ horse. He can do everything.”
Team Muckler Wins $10,000 World Wide Technology Non-Pro Team 1.10m Jumper Challenge
Later in the day, the $10,000 World Wide Technology Non-Pro Team 1.10m Jumper Challenge returned for its second week of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival, with Team Muckler finishing on a completely clear slate. Tied with Team Smith after two rounds, the teams selected jump-off riders to decide the winner.
For Team Muckler, that rider was Teddie Goffstein. With added pressure to deliver for her team, Goffstein and Zara HBZ Z produced a clear jump-off nearly three seconds faster than their opponents.
“I was riding a really fast horse so I knew she’d have it in her mind,” Goffstein explained of her approach to a nerve-wracking jump-off. “I just had to stay calm and let her do her job and she knows how to do it. We delivered a clear round.”
All four team riders, Goffstein, Brooklyn Webb, MJ Maestas, and Sydney Chmel, agreed that they were so focused they couldn’t even hear the loud cheers coming from their fan section.
But overall, they agreed it was a fun team experience and something they look forward to hopefully competing in again throughout GLEF.
Saturday of GLEF II features the $20,000 1.40m-1.45m Jumper Classic, followed by a course reset for the evening’s feature, the $100,000 World Championship Hunter Rider Central Spectacular, presented by Frank & Eileen. Fans and competitors can view full schedules, results, and live updates through the Traverse City Horse Shows Mobile App.
