Ray Texel Races To The Win For A Victory On Salvatore In The $8,000 Sentient Jet 1.45m Jumpers At The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival

Equestrian Sport Productions, LLC

Ray Texel up on his mount Salvatore, owned by Pine Hollow Stables, captured the victory in today’s $8,000 Sentient Jet 1.45m Jumper timed first round.  Second place honors were awarded to Quentin Judge on Kannan’s Girl Z, owned by Double H Farm. Shane Sweetnam and Belle Bleu Z owned by Jerry & Maria Sweetnam & Spy Coast Farm finished up in the third spot.

The ninth week of the FTI WEF is sponsored by CN and runs through Sunday, March 14. The 2010 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival has 12 weeks of competition that conclude on April 4, 2010, and they will be awarding almost $6 million in prize money through the circuit.

Leopoldo Palacios of Venezuela designed the course in the International Arena for a field of 24 starters. The timed first round had 11 numbered obstacles and the time allowed was 74 seconds. The course included roll back turns, opportunities to leave out strides, and a careful plank to an in-and-out.

There were 10 clear rounds, and the first competitor to set the pace in a fast time was Tiffany Foster’s own mount Carlos De Noel. The pair had a faultless score and sped through the timers in 65.333 seconds. This round would be good enough to finish in the fifth place position.

The eventual winner was the next competitor to produce a flawless round. Ray Texel aboard Salvatore, an entry owned by Pine Hollow Stables, was the early leader of the class. The pair blazed through the course in a time of 60.380 seconds. This was five seconds faster than the current leading time. Despite going so early in the class, the time produced by Texel and his mount Salvatore would prevail and receive the top honors in today’s class.

Shane Sweetnam on his horse Belle Bleu S, owned by Jerry & Maria Sweetnam & Spy Coast farm were the next competitors to come close to catching the leading time, but the pair fell a little short after stopping the clock in 63.981 seconds. Sweetnam would finish in the third spot with his mount.

Peter Charles aboard Murka’s Nevada VI, owned by Olga White, was the next challenger to make a great effort in today’s speed round. After having a faultless round, the pair passed through the timers in 64.769 seconds. This round would be good enough to receive fourth place honors.

Quentin Judge and his horse Kannan’s Girl Z, owned by Double H Farm, were the last of the challengers. They made a valiant effort at trying to obtain the top spot, but went through the timers in 63.461 seconds. This effort would finish in the second place position.

Texel spoke of the course saying, "It was a very nice and appropriate course for the first day of the show." He added, "The course had long and open flowing lines, nice combinations, and turning tests."

Eddie Horowitz is part owner of the Pine Hollow Stables in Parkland, Florida with Howard and Gwen Dvorkin. The business is five months old and specializes in sale horses and a riding school. The partners of Pine Hollow Stables just hired Ray Texel as their main rider about ten days ago. The Dvorkins’ young daughter, Carly, has won consistently in the Cross Rails division at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival.

Horowitz spoke very highly of the triple approved stallion Salvatore, "He went beautifully." He continued, "Ray (Texel) just took over the ride on the horse last week and this was only his second class on the horse." Texel added, "The horse is really a joy to ride and he has such a wonderful attitude."

As for upcoming plans with his new mount, Texel said, "We take it day by day and we see how we feel about the week. But the horse is a very scopey and capable horse, so I am sure we will be moving ourselves along promptly."

In the $6,000 Spy Coast 1.40m Time First Round class, Rodrigo Pessoa piloted Double H Farm’s Cantate Z to the win over 52 other entries in the class. They were the fastest clear round in 52.837 seconds. Beezie Madden and Neapolitan Holdings Co.’s Prima were second in 53.015 seconds, while Kate Levy rode Starlight to third in 53.021 seconds.

For full results and more information, please visit www.shownet.biz or www.equestriansport.com.

Final Results: $8,000 Sentient Jet 1.45m Jumpers

1. SALVATORE, RAY TEXEL, PINE HOLLOW STABLES: 0/60.380
2. KANNAN’S GIRL Z, QUENTIN JUDGE, DOUBLE H FARM: 0/63.461
3. BELLE BLEU S, SHANE SWEETNAM, JERRY & MARIA SWEETNAM & SPY COAST FARM: 0/63.981
4. MURKA’S NEVADA VI, PETER CHARLES, OLGA WHITE: 0/64.769
5. CARLOS DE NOEL, TIFFANY FOSTER, TIFFANY FOSTER: 0/65.333
6. SCARFACE, NORMAN DELLO JOIO, TONY WEIGHT: 0/67.948
7. OLIVER, JUDY GAROFALO TORRES, HIGHER GROUND FARM INC.: 0/68.786
8. ALASKA, TODD MINIKUS, CALLIE SEAMAN: 0/69.081
9. VALENTINO, RAMIRO QUINTANA, JAZZ MACE: 0/69.200
10. TARCO, RAMIRO QUINTANA, JAZZ MACE: 0/73.064
11. LADY LIKE, RICHARD SPOONER, C&S PARTNERSHIP: 4/60.098
12. PAN TAU 55, JACLYN DUFF, JACLYN DUFF: 4/65.499

Final Results: $6,000 Spy Coast 1.40m Time First Round

1. CANTATE Z, RODRIGO PESSOA, DOUBLE H FARM: 0/52.837
2. PRIMA, BEEZIE MADDEN, NEAPOLITAN HOLDING CO.: 0/53.015
3. STARLIGHT, KATE LEVY, KATE LEVY: 0/53.021
4. INVITATIONAL, LINDA SHERIDAN, LINDA SHERIDAN: 0/53.710
5. SUMMER STORM, AMY MOMROW, SHAINE BROOKS: 0/54.963
6. CAZINO, ALEXA PESSOA, PESSOA STABLES LLC: 0/55.587
7. MONJEAN DU VALLET, EDOUARD DE ROTHSCHILD, EDOUARD DE ROTHSCHILD: 0/56.768
8. UDETTE, BENJAMIN MEREDITH, RAYLYN FARMS INC: 0/57.343
9. CATRIN LA CANTERA, JOHN PEREZ, DANIEL RIHAN: 0/58.498
10. CASA BLANCA LA SILLA, LISA JACQUIN, FLINTWOODE FARMS LLC: 0/59.009
11. LEGENDE DE B’NEVILLE, YANN CANDELE, RON & CARLA NOLAN: 0/60.658
12. LEONIDAS, SARAH JOHNSTONE, TRISH CRANG: 0/61.399

Photo © 2010 Randi Muster/Mustphoto, Inc.