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Samantha Wagner and Abigail McArdle Earn Rewarding Gambler’s Choice Victories at the Showplace Spring Spectacular II

June 18, 2010

Wayne, IL –-– The Showplace Spring Spectacular II continued on Friday with two very exciting gambler’s choice classes held in the Grand Prix Ring of the Lamplight Equestrian Center. The $5,000 Low Junior/Amateur-Owner Gambler’s Choice was held first, sponsored by The Haas Family and North Face Farm of Chelsea, MI, with a big win for Samantha Wagner and Ronoldo. The $5,000 High Junior/Amateur-Owner Gambler’s Choice followed, sponsored by Gruno’s Diamonds of Rockford, IL, with a victory for Abigail McArdle and Sacha 12.

The jumper courses for week two have been designed by Ken Krome, of Westminster, MD. Krome set a great course for the classes this afternoon, with 13 obstacles ranging from 50 to 170 points in value and a 250 point optional joker fence set at the finish. Riders were able to set their own track in order to earn as many points as possible within the 60-second time allowed.

Finishing up just before a big storm hit the show grounds this afternoon, the $5,000 High Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Gambler’s Choice had 17 entries to compete. Riders chose many different routes through the obstacles, but it was the navigation of 18-year-old Samantha Wagner, of South Barrington, IL, that earned the highest score of 1,580 points. Wagner took the optional joker fence, a tall vertical set at almost five feet in height, and cleared it effortlessly to earn an additional 250 bonus points for a total score of 1,830. Ryan Genn and Poco 3 finished in second with 1,790 points, Erin Nelson and Gabriella Z grabbed the third place prize with 1,600 points, and Kassi Smith earned 1,550 points with Ceno 3 to finish in fourth place.

Samantha Wagner was thrilled about the win today aboard her 12-year-old Danish Warmblood gelding, Ronoldo. “I have had him for four years now and he has been the toughest horse I have ever had to ride, so winning this class was very rewarding,” she stated. “So much hard work and dedication has been put into him and I just felt like it all paid off today. Everything has been a challenge, but it is just all working out and things could not be any better right now; he has just been perfect.”

Wagner has been riding with trainer Dan Jayne for six years, and credited Jayne and her father for helping her come up with the perfect strategy on course. “Dan told me a course and we stuck with it and then my dad helped us figure out what we had to do to get the most points, so we all worked together to get the job done and it worked out perfectly,” Wagner smiled. “My strategy going into the ring was just to remain calm and not get too fired up about it because I knew that leaving the jumps up was going to be more important than going really fast. I knew that I had to be careful so that he felt comfortable too. He really jumped great to help me out in the end and it all worked.”

Wagner has been competing at the Lamplight Equestrian Center with Showplace Productions since she was eight years old and enjoys returning to the familiar show grounds each year. “It is kind of like my home territory, it is where I feel most comfortable showing,” she noted. “The people are always friendly and my barn always has a good time. Everyone there helps each other and works together and it is more of a team effort than anything else, which is really nice.”

Wagner showed in Wellington, FL, this winter and also did shows in Kentucky and Trader’s Point, but plans on staying close to home this summer. She will compete at Ledges and Lamplight throughout the summer before leaving to attend her first year of college at The University of Whitewater-Wisconsin in the fall.

Wagner added a special note of appreciation, stating, “I just want to say Happy Father’s Day to my dad, and thank you for all of the hard work and dedication that he has put into Ronoldo too.”

Prior to Wagner’s victory, the $5,000 Low Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Gambler’s Choice was held in the Grand Prix Ring with a big win for Abigail McArdle and Sacha 12. McArdle steered her ten-year-old German-bred mare to a very impressive high score of 2,000 points for the top prize. The pair finished their course with 1,750 points, cleared the joker fence for 250 bonus points with room to spare, and won the class of 36 competitors. Madeline Thatcher and Victor were very close to the mark with 1,980 points to finish in second place. Mandy Killam and her two mounts Galyleo and Vegas baby tied for points with Jonathan Cohen and his horse Hands Down. In the case of a tie, the rider’s times are used to determine their standing, so Killam finished in third place with Galyleo with 1,870 points in 69.179 seconds, while Vegas Baby and Killam earned 1,870 in 69.868 seconds to earn the fourth place prize. Jonathan Cohen and Hands Down finished in fifth with their score of 1,870 in 69.913 seconds.

Class winner Abigail McArlde, of Barrington, IL, had a great time riding her mare Sacha 12 to the high score. McArdle rides with trainer Katie Kappler and imported Sacha 12 from Europe at the end of last summer. “She is absolutely the most fantastic horse. She has the best jump, a big open stride, she is great at turning and she was really a joy to ride in this class today,” McArdle smiled.

“I think the key to doing a gambler’s choice like this is really having a great course, because too many people were all about speed and their horses were getting flat and having rails or stopping,” McArdle continued. “I really think that my trainer and I got together a great course. We started out with a little serpentine and then we doubled back on a couple of fences that got us a lot of points. We did a line that ended up being a three stride that a lot of people had tried earlier in the class and had stops at.”

McArdle also shows Sacha 12 in the High Junior Jumpers, so she was not concerned about the height of the joker fence. “I ended up doing the low gambler’s choice because I thought that if it was $5,000 for both the highs and the lows I might as well do the lows,” she laughed. “The joker was set at 4’6” and she cleared it easily. They were pretty generous too, they had some ground lines on it and I do not think too many people actually had it down.”

McArdle has been showing at Lamplight since she was riding ponies as a child, and appreciates having great shows so close to her hometown in Chicago. “We are very familiar with these shows and we like it here,” she stated. “They have great prize money, they always do a good job and Pat (Boyle) just puts on a wonderful show here. There are lots of points involved and it is laid back and fun. It is nice to come home from Florida and Devon and be able to show close to home.”

Following the conclusion of the Showplace Spring Spectacular Horse Show Series on June 25, McArdle plans to compete at Ledges through the summer and will then go to the North American Junior/Young Rider Championships and Kentucky Summer Horse Shows in Lexington. Other plans include Trader’s Point and the Hampton Classic before preparing for Indoors in the fall.

The Showplace Spring Spectacular II will continue tomorrow at the Lamplight Equestrian Center with more electrifying jumper action in the Grand Prix Ring. The day will feature a $30,000 Showplace Productions Grand Prix, sponsored by Tapestry Farms. Other classes will include a $2,500 Modified Child/Adult Classic, a $2,500 Low Adult Classic, and a $2,500 Low Children’s Classic, sponsored by Mill Run Farms. For more information on Showplace Productions and the 2010 Showplace Spring Spectacular Horse Show, please visit www.showplaceproductions.com.

Photo Credit: Samantha Wagner and Ronoldo won the $5,000 High Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Gambler’s Choice at the Showplace Spring Spectacular II. Abigail McArdle and Sacha 12 won the $5,000 Low Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Gambler’s Choice at the Showplace Spring Spectacular II. Photos © 2010 Lauren Fisher/PMG. These photos may be used free of charge only in relation to this press release.

RESULTS

$5,000 High Jr/AO Gambler's Choice - #competed: 17

1 168 Ronoldo Samantha Wagner Samantha Wagner 1830

2 301 Poco 3 Wilhelm and Patty Genn Ryan Genn 1790

3 338 Gabriella Z Lazy Creek Ranch Holdings LLC Erin Nelson 1600

4 759 Ceno 3 Three Sister Farm Kassi Smith 1550

5 542 Viper P Greer Hindle Greer Hindle 1530

6 235 J.F. Erica Garcia Erica Garcia 1470

7 695 Argentina Hays Investment Corp. Hunter Holloway 1410

8 423 Armstrong Allison Ross Lillie Ross 1340

9 398 Rupert Skye Maclean Skye Maclean 1320

10 206 Casino Woodrun Laura Linback 1220

$5,000 Low Jr/AO Gambler's Choice - #competed: 34

1 533 Sacha 12 Old Barrington LLC Abigail McArdle 2000

2 200 Victor Pony Lane Farm Madeline Thatcher 1980

3 596 Galyleo Mandy Killam Mandy Killam 1870 – 69.179

4 597 Vegas Baby Mandy Killam Mandy Killam 1870 – 69.868

5 180 Hands Down Jonathan Cohen Jonathan Cohen 1870 – 69.913

6 485 Senturo Nicole Wagner Nicole Wager 1830 – 61.467

7 195 Pablis Pony Lane Farm Madeline Thatcher 1830 – 67.721

8 163 Contino 46 North Face Farm Erin Haas 1820

9 284 Caladesi Anna Murphy Anna Murphy 1790

10 399 Purdey Skye Maclean Skye Maclean 1750

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