Audrey Coulter & Capital Colnardo. Ph SIHS
California native Audrey Coulter won the first feature class of the Sacramento International Horse Show CSI3*-W on Thursday, October 7, 2016, capturing two top placings in the $36,500 Morning Star Sporthorses Grand Prix Qualifier.
Coulter, who spends most of her time competing in Europe, where she trains with Harrie Smolders of The Netherlands, showed off her smooth and confident riding style to easily complete the best double clear round of the evening against a nine horse jumpoff. She rode the 11-year-old Holsteiner stallion Capital Colnardo (Colman x Coronado) to the win.
A big starting list of 50 star-studded entries tacked up for the evening class held under the lights in SIHS’ indoor arena. Coulter also jumped clear aboard her second mount Alex to place 3rd, with Jack Hardin Towell placing 2nd aboard Lucifer, and Karl Cook rounding out the double clears to place 4th with Caillou.
With a ranking class coming up on Friday and the World Cup Jumping Grand Prix looming on Saturday evening, a few notable pairs jumped slow clears and/or chose to save their horses from jumping off. Rich Fellers and Flexible, who in 2014 won the Word Cup Qualifier at Sacramento, jumped clear in round 1, as did Georgina Bloomberg and Lilli, who are competing at SIHS for the first time. Both pairs voluntarily withdrew from the jumpoff. Olympic silver medalist Kent Farrington jumped a clear with Creedance, picking up just a single time fault.
See full results of the $36,500 Morning Star Sporthorses Grand Prix Qualifier at this link.