2021 Southeast Medal Finals Penultimate Day of Competition Focuses on Fun

The penultimate day of competition at the 2021 Southeast Medal Finals focused on fun as horse-and-rider combinations took to their respective rings for unique feature classes prior to the highly anticipated Finals Sunday, September 5. Show jumping riders dashed for the cash hoping to pocket the largest portion of the prize in the $2,000 Gambler’s Choice, presented by The Adams Group eXperience of eXp Realty. Stephanie Cook and Lord Arthur 1916 turned and burned in the Grand Prix Ring claiming the top prize, while Gretchen Swanson, Macie Sousa, and Mina Godden put forth their best collective efforts to win the Equitation Team Challenge, presented by Tenney’s Custom Saddlery.
Eager horse-and-rider pairs lined up at the Grand Prix Ring in hopes of gathering the most points to win the $2,000 purse. Open to riders of all ages and levels, competitors were allotted 50 seconds to forge their own path around the course with the goal of racking up the most points. With each fence assigned a point value based on the degree of difficulty, riders were able to jump a fence no more than twice and in either direction. It was ultimately Cook who took home the grand prize aboard one of her three mounts entered in the class, Lord Arthur 1916, Lionsway Farm’s 13-year-old Holsteiner stallion.
With the advantage of planning and executing multiple courses, Cook’s first trip aboard Vulco Monaco briefly held the lead with a score of 990. The Tennessee native laid down her winning round as the middle of the three trips with Lord Arthur 1916, scoring a whopping 1260. Her final round aboard Augusto produced a score of 1110, which would be good enough to take fourth place. The highly competitive amateur is a frequent competitor on the East Coast circuit and has racked up countless wins. Cook most recently pocketed two blue ribbons at Camp Encour in the $1,000 .95 Mini Prix and the $1,000 .95 Back To The Beach Welcome.
The race for second and third place came down to just a 20-point difference as Juliet Johansson and her own 16-year-old Warmblood gelding, TH Magic, rocketed into second place with a score of 1190. Sitting closely behind was Amy Foster who piloted Abigail Princz’s 11-year-old North American KWPN mare, Florentina HF, to a score of 1170.
www.southeastmedalfinals.com | Photo Phelps Olivia Airhart
HSJ