Conor Swail and Simba de la Roque Dashed to Victory in Dash for Cash Open Jumper Class at Pennsylvania National Horse Show
by Classic Communications | Oct 14, 2015, 10:40 AM
"The course was nicely built and there were a couple of places where you could just nip inside fences to take a shorter route," said Swail of the Michel Vaillancourt designed course. "Simba is very good at doing that so I just used his good quality to make a few nice tight turns that was able to get me the win today."
Less than three seconds separated the top six in the field of 15 competitors with eight in all going clear. Callan Solem of Chester Springs, PA was the third fastest finishing in 58.456 seconds on VDL Torlando, owned by the Torlando Group; Michael Hughes of Goshen, NY and Christina Fried's Luxina, were fourth in 59.225; Kama Godek of Fairfax Station, VA rode Air Force One to fifth in 59.280 seconds and Sydney Shulman Greenwich, CT riding Toscane de L'Isle, owned by Jill Shulman, were sixth going in 59.795 seconds.
Many of the competitors in the opening jumper class plan on participating in the marquee event, the $85,000 Prix de Penn National on Saturday, including Swail.
"I think today was a nice starting class for the horses to get a look around in the ring," said Swail. "The horse that won today is going to do the big classes and this was his sort of runaround, so it was nice to win. I am hoping to have a good week. I have three very nice horses here and they have been on great form so I hope the form continues."
Known locally for its contributions to the community and globally for excellence in competition, PNHS attracts top Hunters and Jumpers, sport horse enthusiasts and spectators who find the show exciting, educational and inspiring. Visitors enjoy the intimacy of one competition ring, a full concourse of shops and a variety of special events.
Proceeds from the show benefit the Harrisburg Kiwanis Youth Foundation dedicated to youth programs and The Pennsylvania National Horse Show Foundation supporting equine programs. PNHS is proud of its contributions, proud to be consistently recognized by the Show Hunter Hall of Fame and the North American Riders Group, proud of its heritage and looking forward to a bright future.