Edited Press Release
Jake Endicott made it clear he did not come to mess around as the first and ultimately fastest rider to contest the clock in the Kasowitz Benson Torres High Junior/Amateur Jumper Class Friday morning. Endicott and the Pegasus Show Stable Inc.’s 12-year-old Hanoverian mare (Diarado x Chacco Blue) Diamant’s Aurora dominated from the minute they stepped foot into the Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel International Ring after clearing the timers in an unmatched time of 60.250 seconds.
“She has jumped some bigger classes around the world and her experience definitely helped me out today,” he said of the mare – a former ride of international competitor Jessica Mendoza. “She has a huge stride so she covers the ground deceivingly well, and she is easily able to leave out strides in every line. She makes my job pretty easy.”
A total of 13 top junior and amateur athletes put forth their best efforts to overtake the top honors but Endicott, from Rancho Santa Fe, CA, maintained a lead of nearly one second faster than the closest challenging rider, Stella Wasserman.
“I was very tight in my turn back to jump four, and I did seven strides out of the double combination to fence nine where most other riders did eight strides,” explained Endicott.
Wasserman piloted Karen O’Connor’s Clear Water into the second place position with a finishing time of 61.350 seconds, and Skyler Fields rounded out the top three aboard her own Elegance De Pessel after crossing the timers in 62.562 seconds.
For Endicott, the win is a great start to his first experience at GLEF and the beginning of what he hopes will be an exciting season.
“We are here for the full six weeks this year, and I absolutely love it so far,” he stated. “I am hoping to be able to finish the season out with some two- and three-star classes with this horse; that would be great.”
Final Results: Kasowitz Benson Torres High Junior/Amateur Jumper
1. Diamant’s Aurora / Jake Endicott / Pegasus Show Stable Inc / 0/60.250
2. Clear Water / Stella Wasserman / Karen O’Connor / 0/61.350
3. Elegance De Pessel / Skyler Fields / Skyler Fields / 0/62.562
4. Elektrisk / Erin Haas / North Face Farm / 0/62.655
5. Isabelle / Tessa Downey / Horse Orchard LLC / 0/62.989
6. Cubiki / Emma Catherine Reichow / Emma Catherine Reichow / 0/64.805
7. Byzance Mail / Lacey Gilbertson / Seabrook LLC / 4/60.293
8. Fresca / Augusta Iwasaki / Roberto Teran / 4/60.867
9. Vox Dei / Daneli Miron / Miron Sport Horses LLC / 4/60.960
10. Kadafi Van’t Hof Van Payz / Katarina Ammann / Ammann Equestrian LLC / 4/63.649
11. Cornetta / Skyler Fields / Skyler Fields / 4/64.507
12. Jolene AK / Anna Beth Athey / Anna Beth Athey / 4/65.736
