Article compiments of
Phelps Media Group, Inc. International
|
Call Me Hannes and David Beisel Say Call Us Winners in the $50,000 Great Lakes Grand Prix
By: Carrie Wirth
Traverse City, MI - July 26, 2015 - The four-week Great Lakes Equestrian Festival came to a close on a high note with the $50,000 Great Lakes Grand Prix, presented by The Peninsula Group at Morgan Stanley. Enthusiasts, friends, owners and community members gathered to watch the great sport of show jumping at Flintfields Horse Park. David Beisel, from Goshen, Ohio and Call Me Hannes, a huge gray Holsteiner gelding, owned by Harlow Investments, LLC of Mason, Ohio, walked away with the top prize and celebrated by leading the victory gallop. Beisel had a winning circuit with previous firsts in last week's Welcome Stake Grand Prix aboard Ammeretto, a feisty Dutch Warmblood stallion, owned by Equine Holdings, LLC of Traverse City. Portuguese course designer Bernardo C. Cabral built a twisty and windy course that produced six clears in the first round with no stand-out trouble spots on the course and downed rails distributed evenly around the course. For each of the six clean rounds, the announcer sounded the boat horn and the audience enthusiastically cheered the accomplishment of each successful horse and rider pair.
Lisa Goldman, from Hawthorn Woods, Illinois, was the first to return and attempt Cabral's short track aboard her own Rocs to Riches, an 8-year-old, chestnut Oldenburg mare. The boat horn sounded as the pair accomplished the clear round and set the standard and the time to beat at 39.681 seconds.
"My goal with the mare was just to go double clean," said Goldman. "She was a little tired and this was a big track for her, so double clean but a little slower was good."
Next on course for the jump-off, Beisel and Call Me Hannes stepped on the gas and outran Goldman's time significantly, breaking the beam at 36.238 seconds. For such a large horse, Call Me Hannes has a huge stride and is surprisingly handy and fast in the turns. The duo moved to the top of the leaderboard.
"I thought while walking the course that the jump-off probably suited Call Me Hannes a little better, versus Friday's class," said Beisel. "Friday's class had a little bit more tricky stuff, and this was a little more galloping. Hannes has a bigger stride in the open field, so I let him rip."
A renowned horseman with over 100 grand prix wins under his belt, Wilhelm Genn was next on course with the Eduardo Leon's formidable Bugatti, the winner of the Week II $50,000 Grand Prix of Michigan. This pair also left all the rails in place and finished with a time of 37.328 seconds, putting them in second place.
Goldman returned for her second trip on Mary Goldman's Centurion B, winner of the Week III Welcome Stake, and it appeared as if they may surpass Beisel and Call Me Hannes with their speedy execution of the course, but the pair knocked a rail of the final fence. Though they had the faster time of 35.178 seconds, they incurred four faults, putting them in fourth.
Beisel followed with Ammeretto, and the pair had two rails and stopped the clock at 36.607 seconds, eventually taking sixth place. Last to go was Javier Berganza Anderhub, from Lexington, Kentucky, and Armani 224, owned by Keystone, LLC. Berganza Anderhub piloted the elegant bay Oldenberg gelding around the short track and had a single rail finishing in a time of 38.763 seconds to land him in fifth place.
Beisel and Call Me Hannes maintained their lead to win the feature event of Week IV and close out the four-week circuit with another blue ribbon to add to their considerable collection. Owner Phyllis Harlow was thrilled with her horse's achievement.
"We bought him in December of 2013, she said. "He's always been with David. He did his first Grand Prix a year ago today."
Next on Beisel's schedule is Kentucky and he has made plans for the American Gold Cup in September, another event produced by Stadium Jumping, the management of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival.
"I've loved this horse show, said Goldman. "The new management has been great this year, and they really figured out the footing. It's been better this year than the past 10 years I've been here."
|