Santiago Lambre (BRA) claimed his third victory of the week Sunday afternoon as he took top honors in the $138,600 Southern Arches CSI3* Grand Prix. To add to the impressive hat trick, he captured each win aboard a different horse throughout the opening week of the Tournament of Champions, this time with Chacco Blue II.
Lambre had the advantage of jumping late in the order in both the first round and the jump-off, coming in aboard the 15-year-old Oldenburg stallion (Chacco Blue x Cincaba Rouge) second to last in the starting order. He jumped one of six clear rounds over Michel Vaillancourt’s (CAN) course.
Shane Sweetnam (IRL) jumped off right before Lambre with Sweet Oak Farm’s Namaste van het Eyckeveld and set a new time to beat as the first double-clear effort in 38.10 seconds. It appeared all but won as Lambre stepped in and took every opportunity to subtract strides, picking up a full gallop to the last and ultimately crossing the timers in an impressive 36.69 seconds.
Lisa Goldman-Smolen (USA) was the last to jump-off with Barbara Disko’s Ivaro N and recorded just the third double-clear round, capturing third and also placing fourth aboard Sovereign, her second mount owned by Barbara Disko.
Sunday marked the third major victory in four days for Lambre during the first week of the Tournament of Champions, following a win in Thursday’s CSI3* Speed with Comtess 202 and in Saturday’s National Grand Prix with Pampero. The rider is in top form with a powerful string of horses and is certainly one to watch as action heats up for the American Gold Cup CSI5*.
“All week the horses jumped amazing in this ring,” Lambre commented. “Every time I come here I have good results. I came here early to prepare for the [American] Gold Cup and the horses are fresh and feel very good.”
Lambre acquired the ride aboard Chacco Blue II last year in preparation for the Olympic team selections. Though he missed out on Tokyo 2020, he has since changed nationalities from Mexico to Brazil and hopes to make the Brazilian team for Paris.
“He is a fantastic horse,” Lambre said of Chacco Blue II. “He’s 15 now, but he’s really fresh and I hope he’ll jump a few more years. He can jump 1.60m like it’s 1.45m. He’s really scopey, brave, and easy to ride.”
The stallion has been blind in his left eye for the majority of his life due to a field injury sustained early on in his life. “He’s been blind since he was two years old,” Lambre explained. “He’s an amazing horse. He was jumping the CSI5* grand prixs in Wellington. He’s a horse that I will prepare for the [American] Gold Cup and try to qualify next year for [FEI] World Cup Finals.”
Though Lambre doesn’t change his ride often to make up for the horse’s left side blindness, it did almost play a role Sunday at the skinny vertical late in the jump-off. “In the beginning, I called Luciana Diniz (BRA), who was riding him before, and she told me I don’t need to ride thinking that he’s blind,” he continued. “You turn to the left and he focuses on the jumps. I think it doesn’t affect him. Today the left turn [to the skinny] was difficult because it was a skinny jump and it’s harder to jump the middle. I turned a little short and he looked a little but he jumped. Normally I don’t think about it.”
Lambre’s fortunes always seem to fall in his favor when he comes to Traverse City, and he continues to return and see improvements. “I come every year and every year they improve a lot,” he concluded. “I think the facility is one of the best in the U.S. The horses are fresh and like the weather. The footing cannot be better. It’s a horse show that deserves five stars.”
Week two of the Tournament of Champions at Flintfields Horse Park welcomes the Silver Oak Jumper Tournament, featuring the $138,600 Agero CSI3* Grand Prix Sunday afternoon.
Final Results: $138,600 Southern Arches CSI3* Grand Prix
1. CHACCO BLUE II: 2007 OS stallion by Chacco Blue x Cincaba Rouge
SANTIAGO LAMBRE (BRA), Santiago Lambre: 0/0/36.69
2. NAMASTE VAN HET EYCKEVELD: 2013 BWP gelding by Elvis Ter Putte x Coriall
SHANE SWEETNAM (IRL), Sweet Oak Farm: 0/0/38.10
3. IVARO N: 2013 KWPN gelding by Elvaro x Celano
LISA GOLDMAN-SMOLEN (USA), Barbara Disko: 0/0/38.20
4. SOVEREIGN: 2006 SF stallion by Frontal x Galoubet A
LISA GOLDMAN-SMOLEN (USA), Barbara Disko: 0/4/39.51
5. INAJOTTIE WB: 2013 mare by Carrera VDL x Indoctro
SAMANTHA MACKENZIE, Samantha Mackenzie: 0/4/44.54
6. CAPTAIN Z: 2012 ZANG gelding by Calvino Z x Voltaire
SAMUEL PAROT (CHI), Samuel Parot: 0/RT
7. BIRDY DU THOT: 2011 SF mare by Magic D’Elle x Le Tot De Semilly
SHANE SWEETNAM (IRL), Ashley Vogel: 4/72.96
8. QUINN 33: 2012 HOLST gelding by Quidam De Revel x Contender
TANNER KOROTKIN (USA), Zascha Nygaard Andreasen: 4/73.01
9. KIRSCHWASSER SCF: 2010 BWP gelding by Amaretto D’Arco x Nabab De Reve
FREDDIE VAZQUEZ (PUR), Freddie Vazquez: 4/75.82
10. IMPOSSIBLE DREAM: 2013 KWPN gelding by Cardento x Peter Pan
KELLY ARANI (USA), Marigot Bay Farm, LLC: 4/75.85
11. DAMZELLE STE HERMELLE: 2013 SF mare by Uppercut Kervec x Paladin Des Ifs
LACEY GILBERTSON (USA), Seabrook LLC: 4/76.18
12. MANHATTAN VAN’T LEEUWERIKENHOF: 2012 BWP gelding by Emerald x Kashmir Van Schuttershof
FILIP DE WANDEL (BEL), Five Way Farm LLC: 4/77.33
Jacob Pope Pulls Off Another Derby Win with San Pedro 15
No stranger to top ribbons in hunter derbies, Jacob Pope won another Traverse City Hunter Derby Sunday morning aboard Don Stewart’s San Pedro 15. Taking the high score in the handy round, the pair rose into first place to take top honors and the lion’s share of $15,000 in prize money during the first week of the Tournament of Champions.
“I did my first class on him here back in June, so it’s been a summer of getting to know him,” Pope said of the 8-year-old Hanoverian gelding (Stakkato x Contendro). “He’s really an awesome horse. It’s nice to get the ride on him.”
With three other mounts qualifying for the handy round, Pope stayed busy and put in solid rounds on each. His final ride was onSan Pedro 15 after earning a first-round score of 89. Megan Ghere and Don Stewart’s Fountain Balou went in just prior and earned an overall score of 183 to take the lead and put pressure on Pope to deliver.
The duo came through, handily turning and jumping beautifully over the shorter course for a base score of 91, plus four high options to earn a second-round score of 95 and a two-round total of 184. Along with the win, San Pedro 15 was named the Platinum Performance Hunter Horse of the Week.
“He actually has a jumper background,” Pope said of San Pedro 15. “Don [Stewart] bought him back in March right out of the jumper ring, so I know he’s really good at turns. There weren’t a ton of inside turns to do, so I knew I had to be really tidy and handy everywhere.”
This was the pair’s second big victory in Traverse City Hunter Derby action, and they have taken other notable results throughout the summer as well. Combined with Pope’s success in the jumper ring, this summer has been a career highlight for the young professional.
“This has been one of the best summers I’ve had, especially since becoming a professional,” Pope noted. “Part of that is due to how diverse the horse show is up here. We have kids in short stirrup and I won my first grand prix up here also. It’s nice to have all things featured. I won the [USHJA] International Derby as well. It’s been a great summer for the horses and riders. 2022 will be one to remember for sure.”
Second place honors went to Ghere and Fountain Balou, while round-one leader Hillary Johnson with Copper Fox, LLC’s Moonwalk took third with a score of 179 overall.
Pope, who trains with Team Rakowsky and spends his summers in Northern Michigan, balances his own riding and competing quite well with training other students and helping them achieve their goals.
Pope and other top hunter riders are gearing up for the Traverse City Hunter & Derby Finals, which are now just two weeks away, taking place the final week of the Tournament of Champions. With $325,000 in prize money across divisions, hunters have a chance to shine as the season in Traverse City draws to a close.
Final Results: $15,000 Traverse City Hunter Derby
1. San Pedro 15 / Jacob Pope / Donald Stewart / 89 + 95 = 184
2. Fountain Balou / Megan Ghere / Donald Stewart / 90 + 93 = 183
3. Moonwalk / Hillary Johnson / Copper Fox LLC / 91 + 88 = 179
4. Checker 69 / Olivia Sweetnam / Staci Arani / 88 + 88.5 = 176.5
5. Blue Monday / Hillary Johnson / Stephanie Battershall / 88.5 + 87.5 = 176
6. G. Eleven / Jacob Pope / Donald Stewart / 85 + 90.5 = 175.5
7. True That / Megan Ghere / Donald Stewart / 83.5 + 91 = 174.5
8. Vincent / Jacob Pope / Natalie Groulx / 87 + 87 = 174
9. J’Adore / Jacob Pope / Team Rakowski Equestrian LLC / 87.5 + 86 = 173.5
10. Jagerbomb / Isabelle Ehman / Infinity Equestrian LLC / 83 + 89 = 172
11. Ustica / Olivia Sweetnam / Sweet Oak Farm / 86 + 168
12. Suede / Hillary Johnson / Copper Fox LLC / 82 + 69 = 151
