For Immediate Release

Mill Spring, NC – June 29, 2017 – Santiago Lambre (MEX) and Ibabco rose to the top of a massive class to take top honors in the $35,000 1.45m Suncast® Commercial Welcome Stake CSI 2* at Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC). The pair finished the jump-off track in 37.194 seconds ahead of Abigail McArdle (USA) and Chuck Berry 8, who finished just behind the winning duo with a time of 37.223 seconds. Andrew Ramsay (USA) and Cocq A Doodle rounded out the top three, stopping the timers in 37.753 seconds.

The class saw 82 entries contest the first round track set by Ken Krome (USA), with 29 pairs advancing to the jump-off round. Only 12 combinations secured a double clear effort on the afternoon. Lambre and Ibabco went 22nd in the original order and held their lead through the remainder of the jump-off round.

“I thought it was a difficult course. There were a lot of clears for the first day of the week, but that’s okay,” said Lambre. “From the second vertical to fence fourteen in the jump-off was where I felt like I made up the time. Also, to the last fence I left out a stride. We were at a full gallop and he was great.”

Ibabco, a 2008 Belgian Warmblood gelding (Nabab de Reve x Darco) owned by Lambre, has started to shine in international competition with Lambre over the past year. The duo connected last spring after Lambre purchased the gelding and the duo have finished with top placings since their partnership began.

“I bought him at the end of last year and when I was in Wellington this season, I was jumping a few classes with him at the 1.45m and 1.50m height. The idea is that this is a horse for the future and to maybe jump the FEI World Equestrian Games™ here next year,” explained Lambre. “I also think maybe at the end of the second part of this year, I’d like to jump some of the CSI 5* shows with him to see where he is before heading into the winter season.

The duo will forgo the $86,000 Adequan® Grand Prix CSI 2* on Saturday night, instead to contest the $35,000 1.45m Tryon Challenge CSI 2* class on Sunday. Lambre explained, “He’ll jump again on Sunday. The other horse that I rode in the class today, I didn’t want to go to the jump-off today, but he’ll try to go into the big class on Saturday.”

Speaking of the talents of Ibabco, Lambre touched on the athleticism and carefulness of the gelding, which are qualities he believes will make him a star in the coming months.

He added, “He’s very brave horse and he has super technique with his front end. He’s very fast in front and quite athletic. He’s just careful and very nice all around.”

Todd Minikus (USA) and Incitatus, a 2009 Oldenburg Springpferd gelding (Stakkatol x Con Air) owned by Alice Lawaetz, captured the win in the $6,000 1.40m Nutrena® Power & Speed Opener to kick-off FEI competition at Tryon Summer V. The pair took the class with a jump-off time of 31.45 seconds, ahead of Abigail McArdle (USA) and Chuck Berry 8, who stopped the timers in 31.964 seconds. Andrew Ramsay (USA) and Cocq A Doodle collected third place with a jump-off time of 32.13 seconds.

“It seemed like a nice opening class for the FEI horses. It left some room to make horses confident and get them going on the course. This is one horse I haven’t shown much before. He was the first horse in the class and did very nicely. Most of these horses are either young or inexperienced, so it was a good way to start the week for them,” commented Minikus.

Incitatus is a young horse who Minikus is priming for a move up the levels and noted his excitement with the pair’s performance to start the week. He explained, “He’s eight and has just started to move up in the ranks here this summer. That’s my first win with him, so I’m excited that he’s starting to catch onto my system.”

As for the pair’s goals, Minikus is planning on taking it slow through the summer months to help Incitatus find confidence in the larger FEI classes before a jump to some of the more competitive classes later on in the year and looking toward the beginning of 2018.

“I think he’s going to have a big future. We’ll just see how much he can learn this summer and hopefully do the bigger classes this winter,” he concluded.

Click here to view full results for the $35,000 1.45m Suncast® Commercial Welcome Stake CSI 2*.

Click here to view full results for the $6,000 1.40m Nutrena® Power & Speed Opener CSI 2*.

To learn more about Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC), please visit www.tryon.com.

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