Lisa Goldman Wins Inaugural $25,000 InIt2WinIt Speed Jumping Class at HITS Balmoral
Lisa Goldman & Centurion B. 2017 InIt2WinIt Speed Jumping class at HITS Balmoral’s Fall Classic II. ph: Andrew Ryback 2017
The inaugural InIt2WinIt Speed Jumping Series kicked off at the HITS Balmoral Fall Classic II on Friday, September 22, 2017. The first class of the series was held at Chicago’s Balmoral Park, with 19 challengers taking to the course designed by Canada’s Danny Foster. To secure a 1st place victory, USA’s Lisa Goldman and Centurion B posted a clear round in a leading time of 67.775s.
The competition was the first of four events to take place throughout the Midwest, with riders having multiple opportunities to qualify for the $100,000 InIt2WinIt Championship on April 12-15, 2018. Riders can also qualify for the championship though wild cards issued by each qualifying show and the Omaha Organizing Committee, as well as through monies won at qualifying events. Riders do not have to compete in all of the qualifying events to be eligible for the championship.
Goldman closed out the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place positions with mounts Balavan, Hindsight and Sovereign, respectively. In securing a podium finish, she also qualified for the championship.
The top four riders in each of the events will also qualify for the championships. Brooke Cudmore of Omaha, Nebraska, Christian Heineking of Hudson Oaks, Texas and Steve Schaefer of Maple Park, Illinois qualified for the final with respective 5th, 6th, 7th placings.
The riders praised the new InIt2WinIt Speed Jumping Series, which gears towards bridging the gap between talent and sport, particularly in the Mid-West. “It’s a great thing to draw spectators into the sport more and to draw exhibitors and spectators to the qualifying shows in the Midwest,” said Goldman. “I think it’s a pretty great thing to draw spectators into the sport more and to draw exhibitors and spectators to the qualifying shows in the Mid-West.
Cudmore and Heineking went on to echo Goldman’s thoughts. “I’m excited that the Finals will be in my back yard,” said Cudmore, whose family’s Heartland Farm is located near Omaha. “It will bring a lot of people to see a really fun class.”
“Omaha is a very special place to me,” said Heineking, who has won four grand prix events at the International Omaha since 2012, and most recently rode there in last year’s Longines FEI World Cup Finals™.
The International Omaha will be held at the CenturyLink Center on Omaha’s downtown riverfront. Besides the InIt2WinIt Championship, it will also feature a $130,000 International Grand Prix in jumping and a Dressage Team Challenge featuring grand prix, freestyle, youth and amateur riders.
“This series is designed to give riders from the Midwest more opportunities to compete at a high level in the area,” said Lisa Roskens, OEF founder and chairman. “We couldn’t be more pleased to have riders such as Lisa, Brooke, Christian and Steve among the first qualifiers for next April’s Championship.”
The next qualifier will be the $25,000 InIt2WinIt class at the American Royal in Kansas City, Missouri on October 13, followed by a $20,000 InIt2WinIt class at the Queenie Productions’ St. Louis Horse Show on November 11. The final qualifying class, a $10,000 class, will be held at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado on January 12.