Hugh Graham rides to victory

July 12, 2016 · 0 Comments

Hugh Graham from Schomberg rode Knock Out 3E to victory in Sunday’s $20,000 Grand Prix at Caledon Equestrian Park.
By Bill Rea
He was ahead by less than a second, but that was all that was needed Sunday to earn Schomberg’s Hugh Graham top spot in the $20,000 Grand Prix in the Caledon Premier event at Caledon Equestrian Park.
Graham was aboard Knock Out 3E, a nine-year-old Canadian sport horse.
There were 21 entries in Sunday’s event, and 10 of them turned in clear rounds, putting them all in the jump-off.
Kim Farlinger of Orangeville, who had won the $10,000 Modified Grand Prix the day before on Stanley Stone, seemed to be in good shape in Sunday’s jump-off, competing the shortened course in 40.44 seconds. But Graham and Knock Out went to work and got over all the jumps in just 39.5 seconds, None of the three remaining combinations came close to besting that time.
“He’s due for a win here because he’s been jumping great,” Graham commented about his mount after the ribbons had been presented.
He also wasn’t very surprised that his horse, owned by Kingridge Stables in King City, set down such a pace. “He’s a quick horse,” he said.
“I’m just moving him up,” he added. “He’s always come up to the challenge.”
He also was impressed with the job Farlinger did in the jump-off.
“I followed her pretty much to the letter,” he said.
The course in the first round seemed a little easy, as almost half the field jumped clear. There were also no time faults at all.
“It was a nice course,” Graham commented. “It was very clean.”
He added the jump-off provided some opportunities to get creative.
“A couple of good turns made the difference,’ he said.
Farlinger was hoping for two wins in a row, after the performance Stanley Stone put in Saturday, but it was not to be. “I was hoping he’d have enough today,” she commented.
Her mount is an 11-year-old warmblood and this is the second year she’s been riding him.
He’s owned by Alan Chesler of Orangeville.
“He knows me and I trust him,” she remarked.
Ashlyn Trevalyan of Caledon was another to make it to the jump-off on Qairdam de Belheme, but they knocked a rail down and had to settle for ninth place.
Jay Hayes of Orangeville jumped clear in both rounds on Riva, eventually finishing sixth.
Lanie Thomas of Schomberg was aboard Charlie Brown, but they picked up four jumping faults and didn’t make it to the second round.
Neil Badcock of King City did not have a very good day riding Sforzando. They ran into trouble on one of the early jumps, with the horse actually crashing into it and Badcock falling to the ground.