The $34,000 Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic was the second class of the day on Sunday with 22 entries jumping on the grass field at The Stadium at PBIEC. Five made it through to the jump-off, where Sweden’s Alexander Zetterman and Flecu were the winners.
Samuel Parot (CHI) and Carla TM were first to jump-off and finished fourth with their time of 41.30 seconds. Chris Ewanouski (USA) and Rosiano Farm’s Chicago 88 were next to return and jumped into third place with a time of 40.80 seconds. Katie Dinan (USA) followed with the second place time of 40.20 seconds aboard Grant Road Partners LLC’s Bijou de Balou. Up next, Jessica Springsteen (USA) had a great time in 38.37 seconds with Stone Hill Farm’s Lisona, but a rail at the last fence put the pair in fifth place. Zetterman and Flecu were last to go with the winning clear round in 37.78 seconds.
Zetterman won the same class last year with his mount Cafino, who he recently sold. This time it was Flecu’s turn to take the round of honor, and the 11-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding (Hip Hop x Flamingo) jumped a fantastic round to carry his rider to victory.
“He is the horse that I have had for the longest amount of time; I have had him since he was six,” Zetterman explained after the class. “He is a horse who kind of took a year or two longer to bring along, but I always felt that he has the ability to do great things in the big classes. It is a good age. He is 11 now. It is nice when you sell a good one that you are not completely gone.”
Last season, Flecu carried Zetterman to a win in the $50,000 Artisan Farms Young Rider Grand Prix Series Final, which was also held on the grass field at The Stadium, and the horse has since stepped up to the next level.
“He was great last year here on the grass,” Zetterman noted. “He has always had really good results on big grass fields like here and at Falsterbo at home. He really likes to cover ground, and once he starts getting momentum, he is very quick.”
“His style is quite special,” Zetterman detailed. “He is a very careful horse. He used to go up very high, and it took a while for him to learn how to go more across the jump. He has always had the scope, but he was always going up and now he is getting across. Careful-wise, he has always been super careful. I just really had to take my time with him in the small classes and never make him go too high. Now he is jumping more modest, and I am really happy with him. He is super consistent.
Source: Equestrian Sport Productions
Final Results: $34,000 Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic
1. FLECU: 2004 Swedish Warmblood gelding by Hip Hop x Flamingo
ALEXANDER ZETTERMAN (SWE), Alexander Zetterman: 0/0/37.78
2. BIJOU DE BALOU: 2006 Rheinlander mare by Balou du Rouet x Graf Grannus
KATIE DINAN (USA), Grant Road Partners LLC: 0/0/40.20
3. CHICAGO 88: 2003 Westphalian gelding by Cordobes I x Potsdam
CHRIS EWANOUSKI (USA), Rosiano Farm: 0/0/40.80
4. CARLA TM: 2003 Holsteiner mare by Colman
SAMUEL PAROT (CHI), Samuel Parot: 0/0/41.30
5. LISONA: 2001 Irish Sporthorse mare OBOS Quality 004 x Porsch
JESSICA SPRINGSTEEN (USA), Stone Hill Farm: 0/4/38.37
6. DEAUVILLE S: 2006 Holsteiner gelding by Diamant de Semilly x Lux
NICK SKELTON (GBR), Julius Peter Sinnack: 1/85.92
7. WILLIAM WALLACE: 2004 KWPN stallion by Unknown
SAMUEL PAROT JR. (CHI), Samuel Parot: 1/88.56
8. ADVENTURE E: 2005 KWPN gelding by Damiro x Calvados
COLIN SYQUIA (USA), Eurasia Inc: 2/89.27
9. CATACHI: 2005 Holsteiner gelding by Caretino x Calando I
HENRIK GUNDERSEN (DEN), Henrik Gundersen: 2/89.94
10. POLYTELLE: 2003 mare
LUIS PEDRO BIRABEN (ARG), Eduardo Braun: 4/83.63
11. VERSUS: 2005 Belgian Sport Horse gelding by Moujik de Sohan x Jasper
RAMIRO QUINTANA (ARG), Michael Smith: 4/83.90
12. ABUNOLA: 2005 KWPN mare by Numero Uno x Voltaire
LUIS PEDRO BIRABEN (ARG), Luis Pedro Biraben: 4/84.85