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Winner of the $5,000 Amateur/Young Rider Speed Competition
Champion, ridden by Charlie Jayne, owned by Alex R. Jayne
Photo Credit Randi Muster
Charlie Jayne And Champion Win $5,000 Amateur/Young Rider Speed Stake
Beezie Madden And Conquest II Win $10,000 International Jumpers Top Score

CHARLOTTE, NC – April 10, 2004 – Launching day two of the Charlotte Jumper Classic CSI**** in the Charlotte Coliseum, Charlie Jayne, 18, of Elgin, IL, riding Champion owned by Alex Jayne won the $5,000 Amateur/Young Rider Speed Stake. Jayne topped a field of 14 horses in this speed class where every rail down added four seconds to the rider’s time and the fastest time, regardless of knockdowns, earned victory. Georgina Bloomberg of New York, NY, riding Action for owner Gotham Enterprizes posted the fastest ride, but a fence down added four seconds to her time, edging her into second place. Kate Levy of South Salem, NY, riding her own Matheus placed third.

Course designer Steve Stephens set a 12-effort track. Jayne was the third rider on course and jumped clean in 51.84 seconds, which proved to be the ride to beat for the rest of the field, but none could top his performance. Bloomberg was the 14th rider on course and blazed over the jumps, stopping the timers in 49.69 – more than two seconds faster than Jayne, but a rail down at Fence No. 9 added four seconds to her time, giving her a final score of 53.69 seconds for the red ribbon. Levy went just before Bloomberg and kept all the fences up, but her time of 54.89 bumped her from her second place slot down to number three.

When every stride can add another second to the rider’s time, Jayne focused on leaving out as many strides as he could all over the course. “I started galloping right to the first fence and then going to the second jump I left out one or two strides more than everyone else and I caught that good,” explained Jayne. "I was planning on doing five or six strides to the third jump, but I saw the five so I galloped right down to that one too.” Jayne performed a neat, tight rollback to the fourth fence but noted that where he really shaved seconds off was after the sixth fence going to No. 7, the Charlotte Bobcats jump. “I made a lot of time there because I kept galloping, and I kept galloping right into the in-and-out (8AB) and then at the last jump (11) I took a little chance – I galloped to it and I left the ground a little long and just hoped to get to the other side.”

Jayne explained that his mount Champion, an 11-year-old Belgian warmblood that he’s ridden for two years, has not competed in many speed classes, but instead has been his steady mount in the High Junior Jumpers. “I usually do well in the first rounds and then my speed parts are my problem, but he’s getting a little better at that,” said Jayne. “In Tampa last week, I won the High Junior Jumper Classic, so he’s been on a roll in the last couple weeks.” Jayne and Champion had no problem with the indoor arena environment. “I’ve been going to indoors every year of my life basically, so I’m used to it, “ he said. “All the jumps come up quicker, you’ve got to think faster, but he was good today.”

Beezie Madden And Conquest II Win $10,000 International Jumpers Top Score


Winner of the $10,000 Top Score Competition Conquest II, ridden by Beezie Madden, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Patton
Photo Credit Randi Muster

A crowd-pleasing ‘Gambler’s Choice’ wrapped up the afternoon competition in Charlotte, NC, with Beezie Madden, 40, of Cazenovia, NY, claiming her second victory in this inaugural show. Madden topped a field of 20 horses in the $10,000 International Jumpers Top Score competition riding Conquest II for owners Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Patton – her parents. Cara Raether of New York, NY, aboard News for the Trelawny Farm placed second. Debbie Stephens of Palmetto, FL, aboard Raket owned by her Centennial Farm was third.

Course designer Steve Stephens built 11 single-effort fences with point values varying from 20 to 120 points and set a fixed time of 60 seconds for riders to rack up as many points as they could by devising their own course. No score or penalty was given for knockdowns. After 60 seconds, the riders had to race across the timers to stop the clock, as time determined the winner if points were tied. Riders then had the option of attempting the Joker Fence – the Charlotte Bobcats vertical set at 5’ 5” – if they cleared it, they received an extra 200 points, but if they knocked it down, it was a minus 200 from their score.

Madden tallied up 1,260 points, including the Joker in a time of 62.35 seconds. Raether also earned 1,260 but crossed the timers in 67.13, which put her in second place as the slower time broke the tie. Stevens added up 1,220 points for third.

Madden followed the course she designed for herself, but turned the wrong way at the end. “My last three jumps I did a little in the wrong order but it didn’t make a big difference,” she said. “Instead of going left and around, I went to the right and did the same three fences anyway. Some people got very close by doing almost the same plan. It was a very good course because people were trying to do different things – for some it was better for their horse to do a certain direction or take a certain line over another, but it was hard to tally up enough points to win.”

Madden’s plan to rack up points was simple and direct, “We try to put the highest point value fences in a way that you get to jump them twice – that’s your first objective. Then you have to figure how many fences you think you can get. Sixty seconds in a small ring like this, I planned on 14 fences. I just missed the 14th fence – I was in the air so they didn’t give me the points. I just missed it by fractions of a second.”

Conquest II, Madden’s mount for this victory, is a 13-year-old Dutchbred stallion who was her partner on the US Gold Medal winning team at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. She’s had the ride on him for two-and-a-half years. “He’s a very fast horse, he’s clever, he’s careful, he doesn’t like to hit the fences,” said Madden. “You need one like that when you put your own course together and try to get the high point value fences all in. Sometimes it gets a little bit tricky – you can beat yourself sometimes making your own course too difficult. You need a clever, handy horse for that.”

Evening Show

Competition starts at 7:00 pm tonight with the $5,000 Amateur/Young Riders Top Score Competition. Highlighting tonight’s entertainment roster is R & B star Jeffrey Osborne who will perform in concert from 8:30 pm to 9:15 pm. Competition in the $25,000 Grand Prix of Charlotte Round One For The Charlotte Bobcats Cup follows. The evening wraps up with awards presentations at 10:00 pm.

The Charlotte Jumper Classic CSI**** produced by Eugene R. Mische and Stadium Jumping, Inc. runs from April 9 -11 in the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, NC, with a total purse of $260,000. The featured event is the $150,000 Grand Prix of Charlotte For the Charlotte Bobcats Cup, Member Event of the AGA Grand Prix Series of Show Jumping, on Sunday, April 11.

Net proceeds from the horse show will benefit the Bobcats Charitable Fund, the organization’s philanthropic giving arm.

General Admission

To order tickets for the Charlotte Jumper Classic, visit www.ticketmaster.com or to order by phone, call 704-522-6500. Three levels of tickets are available: Level One (Season Boxes) or Level Two and Level Three (Reserved Seats). Prices range from Level Three single tickets at $15 to Level One five-show packages at $220. For more information, and a complete listing of the weekend’s events, log on to www.charlottejumperclassic.com



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