Edited Press Release
Wilmington, Ohio – Tiffany Hammack (USA) returned to the top of the podium Saturday evening at World Equestrian Center – Wilmington (WEC) Fall Classic IV after she bested a field of 40 internationally acclaimed horse-and-athlete combinations in the $60,000 Grand Prix. Exhibitors filled the stands in the Standlee Sanctuary to watch only eight partnerships to move onto the jump-off phase, where the ladies were unstoppable to fill all three podium placings.
Hammack left no room for error over Alan Wade’s (IRl) technical tracks to ultimately score her second consecutive grand prix win of the Fall Classic Series, this time aboard the $15,000 Welcome Stake winner, Ghana FS Z (Glasgow W VH Merelsnest x Uschi-Vira).
Hammack felt that Wade’s tracks made her rise to the occasion, “I thought the track was really good tonight. I always get a little bit nervous when Alan designs. I jumped my first CSI3* when he designed and I felt like I was at the Olympics,” Hammack laughed. “I do ride better when he sets because I feel like I really need to bring my A game. He is one of the best. I really enjoyed it today and the jump-off was super fun.”
Like Hammack, the 11-year-old Zangersheide mare, Ghana FS Z, was in it to win it, impressing the crowd with her efforts.
“Ghana was super. In the first round, I didn’t get her to the best place over the last oxer and she tried really hard and jumped it clear. I didn’t really plan to leave out to the last jump in the jump-off, but I saw it from really far away and I didn’t quite make it there,” Hammack laughed. “She just tried so hard and has the biggest heart. Sometimes it doesn’t necessarily feel like she can do it, but I just believe in her and she always does it,” she spoke highly of her gritty mare.
Laying down an impressively quick effort, the duo galloped to the last oxer to stop the clock in an unmatched 38.776 seconds.
“She likes to go really fast and she is good at it. We don’t go very fast this height all the time though, so I was very proud of her today. I bought her at the end of her six-year-old year in Europe. I have developed her slowly,” Hammack noted.
“She is really careful and I have to get on her in the ring sometimes. She wants to do her job; we just do what she says and she tries her heart out for me in the ring,” she laughed about Ghana’s quirky personality.
Virginia Bonnie entered to contest Hammack’s time, but was just shy of the lead. Aboard Nine Bonnie’s 15-year-old KWPN mare, Efodea (Kashmir Van Schuttershof x Fodea), Bonnie made her first trip to WEC – Wilmington one to remember, claiming second place in 39.04 seconds.
Rounding out the top three was Taylor Land and Team Land Syndicate LLC’s Escobar WW (Etoulon x Pretty Woman), a nine-year-old Oldenburg gelding, in 39.504 seconds.
$60,000 Grand Prix Results:
1 Ghana FS Z, Tiffany Hammack, Foxwood Farm | 0 | 38.776
2 Efodea, Virginia Bonnie, Nina Bonnie | 0 | 39.04
3 Escobar WW, Taylor Land, Team Land Syndicate LLC | 0 | 39.504
4 Beijing Ls La Silla, David Cameron, Laura Sloey | 0 | 40.417
5 Retroflex, Sarah Long, John Kimmel | 0 | 41.47
6 Heldorado, Virginia Bonnie, Nina Bonnie | 0 | 42.056
7 Forever Alve, Emma Catherine Reichow, Emma Catherine Reichow | 4 | 41
8 Phil V/D Wezelse Heihoeve, David Arcand, Santos Equestrian Investments | 8 | 39.046
9 Ideaal Es, Chris Pratt, Take The High Road | 1 | 81.61
10 Casalletto, Adam Prudent, Plain Bay Farm | 2 | 82.056
