Margie Engle and Hidden Creek’s Campella Seize Top Honors in $25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic

by Jenny Ross

Engle Finishes Third with Hidden Creek’s Tosca

Lexington, KY – July 30, 2009 – Margie Engle added another victory to her extensive list of grand prix wins tonight at the Kentucky Summer Classic. Engle and her mount Hidden Creek’s Campella were a force to be reckoned with in the $25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic, surpassing 42 other entries for the win. Engle and Campella were one of nine horse and rider combinations to qualify for the jump-off. The course was designed by Michel Vaillancourt and scored under a Table II.2(A) format.

Tonight’s class was the fourth of seven grand prix events in the Hagyard Challenge Series, a summer-long string of grand prix competitions held at the Kentucky Horse Park. The leading rider of the entire Hagyard Challenge Series will win a $50,000 Leading Rider Bonus at the conclusion of the final grand prix, held in September at the Kentucky National Indoor Horse Show. The Hagyard Challenge Series is sponsored by Hagyard Equine Medical Institute.

In tonight’s class, Chris Kappler and VDL Oranta were the first pair to take on the short course. They lowered the height of the vertical at fence 12 and came home with four faults in 41.193 seconds. Mike McCormick and MTM Remington had an unlucky rail at the first oxer, crossing the finish line in 41.686 seconds. Remington is owned by MTM Farm in Flower Mound, TX. Margie Engle and Tosca 290 had a beautiful ride, leaving all of the fences intact for the first double clear finish of the night. Tosca, owned by Hidden Creek Farm of Oak Creek, WI, galloped home in 41.682 seconds. Engle resides in Wellington, FL.

Ricardo Villa and his horse VDL Bubalu never touched a rail; however, they were penalized with one time fault for exceeding the 44 second time allowed. They stopped the clock in 44.223 seconds, which would hold up for fourth place. Tracey Fenney of Flower Mound, TX, and MTM Centano had a fast time of 38.929 seconds, but unfortunately they received four faults for pulling a rail at fence 11A.

Nick Dello Joio of Wellington, FL, and Wembley Farm’s Draco revisited the arena next. The pair tightened up the turns and moved quickly across the ground, coming home with a fast clear round in 39.999 seconds. Dello Joio and Draco skyrocketed to the top of the leader board, momentarily ranking in first place. Their lead quickly changed hands as Engle piloted her second mount, Hidden Creek’s Campella, to a speedy, fault free finish. Campella soared home in 38.782 seconds, edging Dello Joio’s Draco into second place. Hidden Creek’s Campella is also owned by Hidden Creek Farm.

Daniel Bluman of Weston, FL, accrued eight faults aboard Fatalis Fatum with a fast time of 38.991 seconds, and Robin Sweely captured four faults in 43.872 seconds on Acorn Hill Farm’s Corolato. Acorn Hill Farm is located in Madison, VA.

Engle’s incredible ride aboard Hidden Creek’s Campella secured her the victory, and her second grand prix mount had a solid third place finish.

“I thought the course was nice,” revealed Engle after her victory gallop. “It’s funny, the gray mare (Campella) hasn’t done many jump-offs. She was doing 1.30m and Young Horse classes. I just started doing the grand prix classes with her in Saugerties in June. I’m really happy with her. She’s a big horse. She’s over 17 hands, but she’s rides very nice and is really scopey.”

Engle continued, “She turns really well, so she was very quick from one to two in the jump-off. I really took a shot across to the oxer and left long because I know she’s plenty scopey. Then she turned really well after that. A lot of horses would have gotten strong, but she was very good there. She was quick for me everywhere and then, to the last jump, I took a real shot. She galloped to the vertical and then spun right around and really came up to the last jump nicely too. It’s probably the fastest I’ve gone with her so far. She actually felt better to me in the jump-off than in the first round.”

“Tosca was great,” she said of her third place mount. “I went early in the jump-off, and there were already a couple of good horses with rails down. I was a little worried about getting the inside turn after the oxer, so I was a little tentative. I could’ve taken more of a shot to the oxer, but I wanted to make sure I got the inside turn,” she disclosed. “But, she was quick for me everywhere else. I picked it up at the end.”

She described her rides on Tosca. “She felt great in both rounds. She’s a pleasure to ride. She’s very easy and always tries her heart out. She’s careful, has a great technique and is just a real steady eddy. She’s only nine and just started doing the grand prixs this year. I think she’s won six of them so far,” she smiled. “Last year she won the 7 & 8 Year Old Championships here, and then I moved her up to the grand prix level this year. She won a couple in Florida and a couple WEF classes. She’s just been really consistent, so I’m really happy with her. We’ve had her since she was young, and we’ve brought her along.”

Engle was complimentary of the Kentucky Horse Shows. “I like coming here because it’s one of the nicest facilities in our country. The stabling is fantastic with the permanent stalls, and I think the footing is as good as any place in the world. I love being able to go out in the fields and ride up and down the hills. We don’t get to do that much in Florida,” she laughed. “I think it’s just a great facility.”

The Kentucky Summer Classic will continue tomorrow at the Kentucky Horse Park and conclude on Sunday, August 2. Tomorrow’s show jumping schedule includes the 1.45m and 1.40m Open Jumpers. The next grand prix event in the Hagyard Challenge Series is the $25,000 Hagyard Welcome Stake, which will be held at the Bluegrass Festival Horse Show on August 13.

For more information the Kentucky Summer Classic, please go to www.kentuckyhorseshows.com.

To learn more about Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, go to www.hagyard.com.

RESULTS OF $25,000 HAGYARD LEXINGTON CLASSIC AT KENTUCKY SUMMER CLASSIC

1 274 HIDDEN CREEK’S CAMPELLA MARGIE ENGLE, 0, 38.732 2 635 DRACO NICHOLAS DELLO JOIO, 0, 39.999 3 273 TOSCA 290 MARGIE ENGLE, 0, 41.682 4 515 VDL BUBALU RICARDO VILLA, 1, 44.223 5 705 MTM CENTANO TRACY FENNEY, 4, 38.929 6 583 VDL ORANTA CHRIS KAPPLER, 4, 41.193 7 704 MTM REMINGTON MIKE MCCORMICK, 4, 41.686 8 995 COROLATO ROBIN SWEELY, 4, 43.872 9 514 FATALIS FATUM DANIEL BLUMAN, 8, 38.991 10 28 LAGRAN PABLO BARRIOS, 4, 80.950 11 637 LADY IN BLUE FRANCIS TRESS ROIG, 4, 83.627 12 463 CASPER RODRIGO LAMBRE, 4, 84.336

Photo Caption: Margie Engle and Hidden Creek’s Campella jump for the win in the $25,000 Hagyard Lexington Classic at the Kentucky Summer Classic. Photo C 2009 Kenneth Kraus/PhelpsSports.com. Photograph may be used only in relation to this PMG press release.