Sports

Good week for Kim Farlinger at Equestrian Park

July 6, 2017   ·   0 Comments

By Bill Rea
A swift horse can make a major difference in competitive show jumping, and that’s just what Orangeville’s Kim Farlinger had last week.
Competing in the Summer Classic at Caledon Equestrian Park in Palgrave, she won the $10,000 Open Welcome presented by Horseflight Friday afternoon riding Stanley Stone. The two teamed up again Sunday and rode to victory in the $25,000 Grand Prix presented by Vestrum.
“It was a great week,” she declared after being presented with her victory ribbon Sunday, giving plenty of praise to her mount. “He was really jumping fantastic well in both classes.”
Farlinger and Stanley Stone were among 29 entries in Friday’s event, and there were plenty of clear rounds. The result was 12 entries making it to the jump-off. There could easily have been 13. Farlinger turned in a clear round on her other mount Concello, but they missed the time allowed by almost a second and picked up a time fault.
Sam Pegg of Cannington was first to go in the jump-off and he established a blistering time of 32.9 seconds on Shaia de Macheco. It looked for a while like no one was going to top it. Several riders seemed more concerned with just riding clear. Palgrave area resident Erynn Ballard had two horses that advanced. Both were fast, but EDISON P still fell 0.18 seconds short, settling for third place in the end. She was fourth on her other entry, Royale du Rouet. It was a different matter with Farlinger and Stanley Stone. They were the second last combination on the course, and it was clear they meant business, as they shaved more than a second off Pegg’s time.
The 12-year-old warmblood gelding is owned by Alan Chesler, and this was the first open class competition in which she had ridden him this year.
“He felt great,” she said after the event.
Farlinger knew Pegg had a fast mount to beat.
“I thought for sure he’d be the one to catch,” she said.
Schomberg’s Hugh Graham was clear in the jump-off to take sixth place on Knock Out 3E, and Mac Cone of King City was seventh on Amor Van de Rostal. Susan Horn of Bolton also got into the jump-off riding Balintore, but they knocked a rail down on the course.
Sunday’s event was much trickier. There were 24 entries in the field, with only seven advancing. Time was not much of an issue in the opening round, but a combination jump toward the end of the course provided a considerable amount of grief. Ten horses missed the second element there, and that combination remained in place in the jump-off. Farlinger later observed the horses would have been approaching it on a gallop and had some trouble adjusting their pace.
But she was able to get Stanley Stone through it.
There was almost an eighth entry advancing. Cone was clear on the course riding ZAIA DI SAN GIOVANNI, but he took a fraction of a second too long to do it.
There were plenty of jumping faults in the second round, with only Farlinger and Jeff Brandmaier of Guelph, riding Jenny Van Het Waterblok, jumping clear.
“It was a tricky jump-off,” Farlinger said later. “A lot of turning, especially at the beginning.”
Ballard was third Sunday on BELLA DONNA, and she also took fourth place on EDISON P. Graham and Knock Out 3E took seventh place, while Cone settled for eighth.

Stanley Stone was in an exuberant mood for his rider Kim Farlinger at the ribbon presentation after their victory Friday.

Erynn Ballard rode clear in Friday’s jump-off, but her time was only good enough for third place.

Susan Horn from Bolton and Balintore made it to the jump-off in Friday’s event.

         

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