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Rodrigo Pessoa and Let's Fly are Steady Through Three Rounds for $450,000 Grand Prix of Charlotte Victory

Release: April 16 2009

Author: severs

By Jennifer Wood

After three rounds of competition on Sunday, April 12, Olympic Gold medalist Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil claimed the top prize in the $450,000 Grand Prix of Charlotte with Let's Fly. McLain Ward (USA) and Rothchild finished second, while Karen Cudmore (CAN) and Southern Pride were third. The grand prix was the highlight event of the 2009 Charlotte Jumper Classic, CSI***** at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, NC.

There were 23 starters in the opening field, and they competed over the two rounds designed by Olympic course designer Steve Stephens of Palmetto, FL. The top 10 were to return for the second round, including tied scores. In the first round, there were eight clear rounds, one rider with one time fault, and six four-faulters. All 15 would return for the second round.

First to return for the second round was Charlie Jayne on Athena, who had four faults in the first round. The little mare had trouble over the harder second-round course and finished with eight faults for a total of 12 and 12th place. Marley Goodman and Athos had the same result, but their first-round time was faster and they finished in 11th place.

Todd Minikus and Alaska were the first to negotiate the second-round course without fault. They finished with four total faults for seventh place. Pablo Barrios (VEN) and LaGran had two refusals at the final combination and finished tied for 13th place. Henri Kovacs (HUN) and Sassicaia II had four faults in the first round and eight faults in the second round for 10th place.

The second clear trip came from 19-year-old Brianne Goutal on Ralvesther. The talented young rider finished a solid fourth place as the fastest four-faulter. Lauren Hough and Naomi 152, who had just one time fault in the first round, added eight more to their total in the second round for ninth place. North Carolinian Jeanne Hobbs and Night and Day 8, who were clear in the first round, also had eight faults and placed eighth. Cara Raether ran into trouble at jump #4 in the second round when Ublesco jumped hard and high over the oxer. Raether tumbled off, but both walked out of the ring unhurt. They finished tied for 13th place.

Next in was Pessoa and Let's Fly, a 10-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by Double H Farm. They came in fault-free from the first round, and with ease they cleared the scopey second-round course. They would wait for five more competitors to see if they would go in a jump-off.

Beezie Madden and Crème Brule had an unfortunate rail in the triple combination, which gave them four total faults and sixth place in the class.

Southern Pride, an 11-year-old Holsteiner stallion owned by Blair Cudmore and ridden by Karen Cudmore, made the day exciting when they notched a second clear round to guarantee a jump-off.

Debbie Stephens and Chapeau Z retired after a rail and a refusal, and their score put them tied for 13th place.

A third pair made their way to the jump-off after a second clear round. It was double-Gold medalist McLain Ward on the eight-year-old Rothchild, owned by Sagamore Farms, who would round out the jump-off field.

Last in the second round was Ljubov Kochetova of Russia on Aslan. They pulled a rail for four faults and finished in fifth place.

The jump-off was set, and the three riders would return to see who would take home the top prize in the richest grand prix in the United States. First in was Pessoa, who would have to set a quick precedent with Ward and Cudmore following. They did just that, crossing the finish line in 41.93 seconds, but it came at the expense of a rail at the final jump, a tall vertical.

"For me going first, I would have liked to put in a clear round to put on some pressure, but I thought that my horse jumped well throughout the jump-off," Pessoa commented. "Just the last fence he didn't really pick up on, but the time was really short. I was really pleased wit

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