ARGENTO IS TERRIFIC IN TREFFEN
Monday 28 July 2014
Argento, the 12 year-old bay stallion owned by Clare Whitaker put in an absolutely stunning performance with John Whitaker to win the €450,000 Grand Prix at the Glock Horse Performance Centre in Treffen, Austria yesterday.
John, who has produced Argento since a youngster, would have been absolutely delighted with his win, especially with it meaning he retained the title having won the same Grand Prix last year. Argento, is a horse that John has tremendous respect and faith in and this belief was so evidently mirrored by the crowds who rose to their feet in the grandstands to applause their victory after the prize giving.
The 1.60m course had seen only six combinations manage to achieve a clear in the first round and qualify for the jump off. With John’s son Robert joining him in the six strong jump off with USA Today, a 13 year-old bay stallion owned jointly by both Clare Whitaker and Mandy Hall it was a great position for GB to be in with two riders coming forward.
Unfortunately for Robert, he incurred 8 penalties in the jump off to finish in 6th place as a result of the other five jumping another clear. It was John, who is renowned for knowing exactly where a fraction of a second can be saved, that managed to put in a time that just couldn’t be beaten whilst still leaving all fences standing. His time of 37.76 seconds saw Daniel Deusser for Germany relegated into 2nd place by a fraction of a second with First Class van Eeckelghem in their time of 38.51 seconds.
For further information from the show and full results please visit www.ghpc.at
Results
1st John Whitaker / Argento (GBR) - 0/0 37.76
2nd Daniel Deusser / First Class van Eeckelghem (GER) – 0/0 38.51
3rd Malin Baryard / H&M Tonesch 1042 (SWE) – 0/0/39.44
4th Katie Dinan / Nougat du Vallet 541 (USA) – 0/0 39.47
5th Meredith Beerbaum / Atlanta 541 (USA) – 0/0 40.21
6th Robert Whitaker / USA Today (GBR) – 0/8 39.75
14kvaj7pl3106.jpg "Jonathan Egmore and Mollie Rose Smith are winners in the Equissage Pulse British Novice Second Rounds.")
1g50u2k8dpost.JPG "Lacey-Mae Russel seizes Victory in the STX-UK Pony British Novice Second Round at Felbridge Showground")
11dtw0hmsttk0.jpg "NAF Five Star Bronze and Silver League Qualifiers get underway at Speetley Equestrian Centre")
