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Louis Jacobs is Singing in the Rain at Vermont Summer Festival


Louis Jacobs of East Aurora, NY, guided Kachina to victory in the $10,000 Hickey Freeman/Bobby Jones Open Welcome Stake, Presented by Manchester Designer Outlets, at the Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT .
Photo by David Mullinix Photography
Duncan Snitkin, Manager of the Hickey Freeman/Bobby Jones Store, congratulates Louis Jacobs riding Kachina on his win in the $10,000 Hickey Freeman/Bobby Jones Open Welcome Stake, Presented by Manchester Designer Outlets.
Photo by David Mullinix Photography

July 23, 2010 – East Dorset, Vermont – Louis Jacobs of East Aurora, NY, won the $10,000 Hickey Freeman/Bobby Jones Open Welcome Stake, Presented by Manchester Designer Outlets, on Friday, July 23, at the Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT.

It had been threatening all morning, and finally the rain started falling just before the start of the day’s featured event, the $10,000 Hickey Freeman/Bobby Jones Open Welcome Stake, Presented by Manchester Designer Outlets. Jacobs did not let the rain stop him from guiding Kachina to victory for the second week in a row, having also claimed the $10,000 Vermont Bird Place Open Welcome Stake, Presented by Manchester Designer Outlets, on Friday, July 16.

The course of 12 elements and 15 jumping efforts set by designer Kenny Krome of Westminster, MD, did not appear overly difficult at first glance, and the time allowed of 93 seconds seemed more than generous. However, five riders left the ring with time penalties, attesting to the tight time allowed. Still, 11 horses were able to navigate the first round fault-free to advance to the jump-off.

Prior to the start of competition, Jacobs joked with the other competitors that he might not show because of the rain, but he gamely donned his helmet and jacket and climbed aboard. Jacobs and Kachina, a 13-year-old selle francais mare owned by Deeridge Farms, put in a flawless performance that looked effortless, and while a fault-free performance did not come as a shock for the experienced pair, their time of 34.357 seconds was impressive - a full two seconds faster than the nearest competition.

Hillary Dobbs, 22, of Sussex, NJ, has been bringing along her young stallion, Udento VDL, slowly, but asked for speed in the Welcome Stake. Udento VDL responded with a jump-off time of 36.541 to take second place.

“He is amazing,” said Dobbs of the nine-year-old grey Dutch Warmblood stallion owned by The Dobbs Group. “He has really stepped up and decided to be a big horse. I am so excited about him.”

Jimmy Torano, who comes to Vermont every summer from his home base in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, rode one of his young prospects owned by Sir Ruly Inc. Winsom, a seven-year-old grey gelding, has only been showing under Torano for a few short months but performed like a seasoned campaigner. A fault-free jump-off in a time of 36.817 seconds gave Torano third place.

Ken Berkley of Flemington, NJ, has been riding a winning streak in the hunter rings at the Vermont Summer Festival, and on Friday made the move to the Grand Prix ring to guide John Rosenthal’s Amore Mio to a fourth place finish with a time of 37.194 seconds.

Fresh from winning the USEF Talent Search class in the morning, Chase Boggio, 16, of Canton, GA, tried his hand in the grand prix ring. Piloting his new horse, Hennessey, Boggio managed to clear all the obstacles in the first round and gallop through the finish line to stop the timers in 92.930 seconds, just shy of the 93 second time allowed. More aware of the clock in the jump-off, Hennessey again cleared all the fences without penalty in a time of 40.207 for fifth place.

Jacobs was not the only member of the family to enjoy winning at the Vermont Summer Festival on Friday. His wife, Joan, brought home second and third place ribbons for her efforts in the High Adult Amateur Jumper competition while his daughter, Charlotte, 15, won the High Junior/Amateur-class with Draco and placed second with Promised Land. She also won two over fences classes with Bring It On in the Large Junior Hunter 15 and Under division.

The third of six weeks of competition concludes on Sunday, July 15, with the $30,000 Otter Creek Grand Prix, Presented by Devoucoux, beginning at 1 p.m. Located at Harold Beebe Farm in East Dorset, admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children Wednesday through Saturday. On Grand Prix Sunday, admission is $7 for adults and $5 for children. All gate proceeds benefit Manchester Elementary-Middle School (MEMS).

Running July 7 through August 15, 2010, the Vermont Summer Festival offers more than $750,000 in prize money, making it the richest sporting event based on purse in the state. The six-week Vermont Summer Festival culminates with the $50,000 Vermont Summer Celebration Grand Prix on Sunday, August 15. The Vermont Summer Festival is a proud member event of the Show Jumping Hall Of Fame, the Marshall & Sterling League, and the North American League (NAL). For more information about the Vermont Summer Festival, please e-mail: info@vt-summerfestival.com or visit www.vt-summerfestival.com.

$10,000 Hickey Freeman/Bobby Jones Open Welcome Stake
Presented by Manchester Designer Outlets

Rider/
Horse/Faults/Time
1.     Louis Jacobs     Kachina     0:0     34.357
2.    Hillary Dobbs     Udento VDL     0:0     36.541
3.     Jimmy Torano     Winsom     0:0     36.817
4.     Ken Berkley     Amore Mio     0:0     37.194
5.     Chase Boggio     Hennessey     0:0     40.207
6.     Jimmy Torano     Topaz     0:4     37.235
7.     Hillary Dobbs     Marlo     0:4     37.436
8.     Chris Ewanouski     Vertigo     0:4     37.686

 


 
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