Amanda Flint, pictured on Superbad, tied herself for the win in the $30,000 Battenkill Grand Prix, presented by the Inns at Equinox, on July 12 at the Vermont Summer Festival in East Dorset, VT. Photo by David Mullinix Photography
Amanda Flint, mounted on Chester VDL, is presented as the winner of the $30,000 Battenkill Grand Prix, presented by the Inns at Equinox. Her groom, Milton Yanes, holds Chester VDL while Equinox Resort's Director of Sales and Marketing Gerry McFarland, McFarland's son, Kellan, and Vermont Summer Festival Marketing Director Ruth Lacey, hold the prizes. Photo by David Mullinix Photography

July 12, 2014 – East Dorset, VT – Amanda Flint of Long Valley, NJ, added a fourth victory to her string of wins at the Vermont Summer Festival by claiming the $30,000 Battenkill Grand Prix, presented by the Inns at Equinox, on Saturday, July 12.

Flint tied herself for the win with Superbad and Chester VDL after producing the only two clear rounds in the $30,000 Battenkill Grand Prix, presented by the Inns at Equinox. At the end of the first round, Flint had no one to compete against except herself in the tie-breaking jump-off, and elected to save her horses for another day. Superbad, a 10-year-old German Sport Horse gelding by Ludwig von Bayern, and Chester VDL, a seven-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Silverstone VDL, are both owned by The Coverboy Group.

Flint's first clear round of the day came aboard Superbad, the winner of week one's $30,000 Vermont Summer Special Grand Prix, presented by Johnson Horse Transportation. As the final rider of the day, Flint again went clear with Chester VDL, the horse she rode to victory two days earlier in the $10,000 Vineyard Vines Open Welcome, presented by Manchester Designer Outlets.

For all the other grand prix contenders, rails fell across the course designed by Canada's Chris Brandt, with a wide oxer leading into an oxer-vertical-oxer triple combination proving to be troublesome for many competitors.

"It was hard for any horse, I thought," said Flint. "It wasn't the triple really; it was the (wide) jump coming into the triple. You got to the triple combination really forward, and then there wasn't another stride. The triple was super tight and a little scopey, so that was the hardest part of the track."

She continued, "The course was a lot wider than what was built in the last two weeks. There were a lot of jumps on a half-stride, so you had to really know your horse and know what number (of strides) you were going to do."

Flint has ridden both her horses for several years, which she felt gave her an advantage over Saturday's challenging grand prix course. Her well-devised plan for where to add or leave out strides throughout the track went off without a hitch.

The $30,000 Battenkill Grand Prix, presented by the Inns at Equinox, marked Chester VDL's first outing at the 1.50m height, and Flint was thrilled with how well he handled the step up.

"He's only jumped 1.40m before," Flint said. "He handled it really well. He's a very scopey horse. He's only seven, which is why we just moved him up. He's jumped every round we've asked him to clean so far, and he was great today. I think he's finally getting strong in his body."

Flint also praised the gelding's simple and straight-forward personality, which she admitted was the complete opposite of his barnmate, Superbad.

"Chester's so much easier (than Superbad)! He's just a consistent horse," Flint explained. "With Superbad, you don't always know what you're going to get. He can jump anything; he definitely has 1.60m ability. This year he has started to become consistent a little bit."

The Vermont Summer Festival offers a full schedule of hunter, jumper, and equitation competition. The $10,000 Open Welcome Stake Series, presented by Manchester Designer Outlets, is held each Thursday while the week's feature event, the $30,000 Grand Prix, takes place each Saturday at 1 p.m. The $50,000 Vermont Summer Celebration Grand Prix will be held during the sixth and final week on Saturday, August 9.

Spotlighting the hunter competitors, the popular $5,000 3'3" NEHJA Hunter Derby series is held each Thursday, culminating in the $15,000 3'3" NEHJA Hunter Derby, presented by Land Rover Experience.

Competition runs weekly from Wednesday through Sunday, beginning at 8 a.m. Admission prices are $5 for adults, $3 for children from Wednesday through Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, admission is $7 for adults, $5 for children. 100% of the gate proceeds benefit area libraries, including Manchester Community Library.

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.

$30,000 Battenkill Grand Prix, presented by the Inns at Equinox

	Rider	Horse	Faults
1. (tie)	Amanda Flint	Superbad	0
1. (tie)	Amanda Flint	Chester VDL	0
3.	Cassandra Herman	Whisper	4
4.	Bryn Sadler	Bon Giorno	4
5.	Amy Momrow	Baldino Du'Rouet	8
6.	Jackie McQuade	Copilot	12
7.	Katie Tyler	Kroner Z	12
8.	Kimberly Mulligan-Magione	Psalms 23	16
9.	James Gillam	Chanel	16
10.	Kirk Webby	Dio Febo Aremac	16