De Pfyffer Wins 1.35m Open Jumper Speed Class
Edited Press Release
North Salem, NY – August 21, 2024 – Fifty-nine riders representing 13 countries challenged the $1,000 FEI 1.35m Speed Class on Wednesday, kicking off the new Old Salem Farm Summer Jumper Classic CSI2*. Caitlin Boyle (USA) and Prianti Van Het Mikkenhof set an early time to beat of 59.09 seconds, which proved uncatchable as the class went on.
One of the premier stops on the American hunter-jumper horse show circuit, Old Salem Farm debuts its new Summer Jumper Classic CSI2* at its beautiful North Salem facility August 21-24. Old Salem will also add to its world-class schedule with a new CSI4*/2* and CSI3* during its September Horse Shows.
Boyle and Beyaert Farm Inc.’s 9-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare took top honors in Wednesday’s $1,000 FEI 1.35m Speed Class with their 59.09-second round, riding faultlessly over a 13-effort course designed by Oscar Soberon. They finished 6.2 seconds ahead of their fellow competitors, with the rest of the top five placings separated by just hundredths of a second.
“I just focused on being very fast for some of the long, galloping parts of the course,” Boyle said. “I stuck to the set numbers, and then I tried to be as slick as possible in the one inside turn that I opted to take. We imported Prianti last year in the spring, so I’ve been able to develop a bit of a partnership with her now. She’s been great. We’ve been showing her as my ranking horse, and she’s such a good girl. She’s super brave, she wants to leave the jumps up, and I know what I’m going to get from her every time I go in the ring.
“Prianti is going to show in the Welcome Stake tomorrow, and then my other horse is going to do the Grand Prix on Saturday,” Boyle added. “We’re lucky enough to live right around the corner from Old Salem, and we love coming here. Today was a beautiful day for some show jumping, and everything was just really well run.”
Fresh off this summer’s Paris Olympic Games, Rodrigo Pessoa (BRA) finished in second place with Artemis Equestrian Farm LLC’s 10-year-old Selle Français stallion Eclat Du Cerisier in a time of 65.32 seconds. Earning third in 65.79 seconds was the USA’s Sarah Segal aboard Electra De Talma, a 10-year-old Selle Français mare owned by Horatio Street Ventures LLC.
Earlier in the day, Josephine De Pfyffer of New York, NY, blazed ahead of her fellow competitors in the $1,000 1.35m Open Jumper Speed Class, topping a field of 20 riders aboard DP Ventures’ 17-year-old Zangersheide gelding Luron S Z with a faultless time of 61.793 seconds. The pair was 6.6 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Segal, who posted a clear score of 68.399 seconds riding Sloopy Z, Shari De Laet’s 11-year-old Zangersheide gelding. Hilary McNerney of Wellington, FL, and her 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare Nala NBS took third with a time of 71.516 seconds.
Full show results can be found at HorseShowsOnline.com.
