Olivia Chowdry and Balkana du Tillard Bring Home $36,600 Welcome Stake CSI3* Victory

Traverse City, Mich. – Friday’s $36,600 Welcome Stake CSI3* featured 30 world-class athletes from nine nations competing during the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival (GLEF), presented by CaptiveOne Advisors. Three combinations produced double clear efforts in the Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel International Ring ahead of Saturday’s $137,000 CaptiveOne Advisors Grand Prix CSI3*, but it was Olivia Chowdry (USA) who scored the victory with Balkana du Tillard. Schuyler Riley (USA) piloted Sandilot PS to second place, while Ireland’s Simon McCarthy and Gotcha earned the third place honors.
The first round of Alan Wade’s (IRL) technical 12-obstacle track featured a triple bar, an oxer-vertical double combination early in the course and a vertical-oxer-vertical triple combination in the final line. Only three athletes cleared the course without error to advance to the tiebreaker, while five combinations crossed the finish line with all the rails intact but incurred time faults. For the jump-off, combinations had to make three tight turns and complete the double combination again before a bending line to the final oxer.
Chowdry was the first to return for the jump-off as the pathfinder during the first round with Atlas Equine Holdings LLC’s 10-year-old Selle Francais mare Balkana du Tillard. With two riders to follow her, Chowdry wanted to put on the pressure, taking a risky slice through the middle of the ring and quickly galloping to the final oxer to clear the course in a quick 35.28 seconds.
McCarthy entered the ring prepared to challenge Chowdry’s round with Gotcha, a 10-year-old Holsteiner mare owned by Rock Ridge Farms. They had the pace to win, slicing both of the verticals, but their pace came at the expense of the penultimate fence as they crossed the finish line in 34.64 seconds with 4 faults.
Riley was the final athlete to enter the Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel International Ring with  Esperanza Imports LLC’s 9-year-old Oldenburg stallion Sandilot PS. The duo easily left all the rails intact, but their pace was not quick enough to catch Chowdry, breaking the beam in a clear 37.20 seconds for the second place prize. Chowdry would lead the lap of honor with her quick double clear effort, while McCarthy rounded out the top three.
RESULTS
$36,600 Welcome Stake CSI3*
Place / Horse / Rider / Country / Owner / R1 Time | R1 Faults / R2 Time | R2 Faults
1. Balkana du Tillard / Olivia Chowdry / USA / Atlas Equine Holdings LLC / 0 | 73.36 / 0 | 35.28
2. Sandilot PS / Schuyler Riley / USA /  Esperanza Imports LLC / 0 | 72.50 / 0 | 37.20
3. Gotcha / Simon McCarthy / IRL / Rock Ridge Farms / 0 | 73.89 / 4 | 34.64
4. Quirie / Ali Wolff / USA / Ali and John Wolff / 1 | 75.13
5. Flying Dutchman / Victoria Heurtematte / PAN / Victoria Heurtematte / 1 | 75.14
6. Morris Horta / Martien van der Hoeven / USA /  Luccirelli International LLC / 1 | 75.16
7. Bugatti / Wilhelm Genn / GER /  Eduardo Leon / 1 | 75.50
8. Jamica van Kattebeek / Kendall Gath / USA / The Equine Platform / 2 | 80.18
9. Bonita vh Keizershof Z / Ali Ramsay / CAN / Ramsay Equestrian Inc / 4 | 70.55
10. Coffee to Go / Kyle King / USA / Spruce Meadows Ltd / 4 | 71.19
11. Oak Grove’s Enkidu / Nicolas Pizarro / MEX / Gestüt Eichenhain GmbH / 4 | 71.79
12. Noortje vd Windheuvel / Mark Bluman / COL / Over the Top Stables LLC / 4 | 72.39

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