The hillside overlooking the beautiful Grand Prix Ring at Flintfields Horse Park was packed with spectators on Sunday afternoon as Traverse City saw some of the country's top horses and riders compete in a $30,000 Show Jumping Grand Prix. After two exciting rounds of competition, Kim Farlinger of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, earned top prize with her athletic dark bay gelding Cordoba. The class featured a track set by renowned course designer Pierre Jolicoeur, and featured 17 horse-and-rider combinations. Eight of the original entries were able to complete Jolicoeur's first-round course without fault to advance to the jump-off round, and just four were then able to clear the final round. Those four riders sped through the winding course as fast as their horses could take them in an attempt to stop the clock in the fastest time.

The first entry to jump double clear was Scott Lenkart and his mount Impulsive, owned by MacMillan Sport Horse. The pair stopped the clock in 38.352 seconds, which eventually earned them the third-place honors. Kim Farlinger returned next with Cordoba and raced through the course without fault in a time of 36.320 seconds to take over the lead. Robin Walker and Ilian-De-Taute had a clear jump-off round as well and their time of 42.651 seconds finished in fourth place. Lenkart returned last with his second mount Un Prince, who was also clear in the first round. The pair jumped the course with ease, sliding into the second-place position with a time of 37.895 seconds.

Earlier in the day the Children's and Adult Jumpers completed their first week of competition in the Grand Prix Ring. The $2,500 Modified Child/Adult Jumper Classic was held first, sponsored by Bay Harbor Equestrian Club of Bay Harbor, MI, with a win going to Emily Short and Remora with the only double-clear rounds. The $2,500 NAL/WIHS Adult Jumper Classic was held next, sponsored by Magnum Hospitality with a victory for Alex Cooper and Expresso. The morning concluded with a win for Meredith Darst and Hidden Creek's Kendall in the $2,500 NAL/WIHS Children's Jumper Classic, which was generously sponsored by Northern Pines Farm and Leelanau School of Maple City, MI.

Sunday's competition concluded the first week of the 2010 Horse Shows by the Bay Equestrian Festival's hunter/jumper classes. The series will continued on Wednesday, July 21, with a full schedule of competition at the beautiful Flintfields Horse Park. The show will conclude with its third week of competition on August 1. For more information, please visit www.horseshowsbythebay.com.

Jumper Highlights
Held at Flintfields Horse Park, the jumpers began their competition in the Grand Prix Ring and saw wins from many familiar faces as well as some newcomers. David Beisel won the blue ribbon in the 1.35m Jumpers, while a rider new to the show this year, Kim Farlinger, earned first place in the 1.30m Jumpers.

The weeeks classes were set by renowned course designer Pierre Jolicoeur. Jolicoeur set a challenging track in the spacious Grand Prix Ring and tested the abilities of both horse and rider on the first day of competition. The $1,000 1.30m Jumpers were first to compete thanks to the generous sponsorship of Blue Gate Farm and Denise Wilson, of Oconomowoc, WI. Thirteen exhibitors maneuvered the first-round course and just two were able to jump double clear to finish at the top of the pack. Richard Moloney piloted Olympic Lad to a double clear in 42.345 seconds to take the lead late in the class, but Farlinger and Acardia 3 immediately followed with a faster jump-off round in 38.576 seconds to move into first. Lisa Jacquin and Udora jumped double clear, but had an unfortunate time fault in the jump-off to finish in third place.

Class winner Farlinger was very pleased with her win and enjoyed her first day competing at Horse Shows by the Bay. Farlinger is from Canada, and runs a business in Ottawa called Farlinger Stables, where she mainly focuses on jumpers. The rider is in Michigan with two grand prix horses of her own as well as several students that will show in various divisions throughout the month.

Up next in the Grand Prix Ring, Horse Shows by the Bay veteran Beisel took home a blue ribbon in the 1.35m Jumpers riding Berkley. Beisel has been Horse Shows by the Bay's Ovation Leading Open Jumper Rider several times over and started this year's show off on a positive note.

Berkley is a nine-year-old Oldenburg gelding that Beisel first started in the jumpers a few months before Horse Shows by the Bay in 2009. Beisel will compete in Traverse City through the next three weeks and hopes to show Berkley in the Welcome Prix on Friday and possibly the Grand Prix on Sunday if the horse continues to jump well.

Week one competition continued in the Grand Prix Ring at the beautiful Flintfields Horse Park on Thursday. The Five-Year-Old, Six-Year-Old, and Seven & Eight-Year-Old Young Jumpers completed their second day of competition Thursday afternoon and were presented with top honors. The divisions were generously sponsored by Captivate Farms, LLC, of Schoolcraft, MI.

Pierre Jolicoeur set the day's courses in the Grand Prix Ring with a track of 12 obstacles held in a Table II 2B format. The Five-Year-Old Young Jumpers were first to compete with three entries making it to the jump-off to attempt the shortened course in a 38-second time allowed. Beisel and Ammeretto, owned by Equine Holdings, LLC, were first to compete and put in double-clear rounds with the fastest time of 31.146 seconds to win the class. Katherine Heywood and Leonard's Lyric jumped next, but had eight faults in the jump-off round to eventually finish in third place. Competing last in the class, Frankie Chesler-Ortiz and Stevie Wonder were able to jump clear over the short course, and their time of 34.870 seconds finished in second.

Up Next, the Six-Year-Old Young Jumpers had their qualifier over the same course, this time with a win for Frankie Chesler-Ortiz aboard Sher-Al Farm's Masquerade. The pair had the only double clear in the class to earn the first place honors. Laura Pfeiffer rode Imprimis to the second-place ribbon after dropping one rail in the jump-off to finish with four faults.

Chesler-Ortiz is from Orangeville, Ontario, Canada and runs Sher-Al Farm with her husband. They show in Palm Beach during the winter, but usually spend the summers in Canada. The horses and riders of Sher-Al Farm will be in Traverse City for the first two weeks of the show and are already enjoying themselves. Chesler-Ortiz also trains and has several students that have been doing very well at Horse Shows by the Bay. Along with training her students, Chesler-Ortiz has several young horses to compete and plans on showing in the Welcome Prix and possibly the Grand Prix this weekend.

Completing the afternoon for the Young Jumpers, the seven- and eight-year-olds competed and awarded top honors to Richard Moloney riding Spy Coast Farm's Wiloma III. The pair galloped down to the last fence and blazed through the timers in 29.233 seconds to earn first place over Jacquin and Chapel Z's double clear in 29.971 seconds. Beisel and Gregory attempted to top the time, but had a rail in the jump-off to finish in third place.

Class winner Wiloma III is a seven-year-old Dutch-bred mare that was imported by Spy Coast Farm as a six-year-old last year. Wiloma III showed in Palm Beach at the Winter Equestrian Festival this winter and also has a win at Country Heir to her name. Moloney has been riding for Spy Coast Farm for a little over a year now and rode in Traverse City last year as well.

Flintfields Horse Park saw some exciting competition in the Grand Prix Ring on Friday afternoon as Beisel and Moet Walk earned the victory in the Horse Shows by the Bay I $10,000 Welcome Prix for the second year in a row. Generously sponsored by Devers of Lexington, KY, the Welcome Prix saw a field of 20 competitors show over Pierre Jolicoeur's intricate course. Seven entries jumped clear over the first-round course to return for the jump-off, and it was Beisel who made the most difficult inside turn to shave seconds off of his time and earn top prize.

Brian Shook and Courage 68 were the first to attempt the shortened course and finished in a fast time of 36.843 seconds, which eventually earned the pair second place. Ilian De Taute and Robin Walker were next to return, but finished with four jumping and one time fault to earn seventh-place honors. Jacquin and Casa Blanca La Silla followed and went double clear in a time of 43.581 seconds to eventually finish in sixth place. Beisel entered the ring next with Moet Walk, and the pair attempted a tricky inside turn that gave them the edge they needed to finish in 35.849 seconds for the win.

Three horse-and-rider combinations remained to compete in the jump-off, but none were able to top Beisel's time. Juan Ortiz and Conquistador jumped double clear in 40.926 seconds to finish in fifth place. Erin Haas and Casino Van De Helle jumped double clear in 39.447 seconds to earn the third-place prize, and Denise Wilson and Namos completed the class, jumping double clear in 39.825 seconds to finish in fourth.

Class winner Beisel was very happy with his consistent performance with Moet Walk and praised the horse's growth in the past year. Moet Walk is a 10-year-old Selle Francais Thoroughbred gelding by a stallion named Obscure II. He is owned by Harlow Investment Enterprises, LLC.

Beisel plans on doing the Grand Prix on Sunday and will keep doing the Welcome Prix classes through the next two weeks of competition. He will then take a couple of weeks off before heading east to show in Culpepper and Saugerties, NY, at the HITS horse shows.

Jumper action continued in the Grand Prix Ring on Saturday afternoon as the Low and High Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper divisions completed their first week of competition at Horse Shows by the Bay Series I. The $5,000 Low Junior/Amateur Owner Jumper Classic began the afternoon's competition with a win for Erin Haas and All of a Sudden. The $10,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame (SJHOF) High Junior/Amateur Owner Jumper Prix followed with a victory for Laura Pfeiffer and Anberlin.

The $10,000 SJHOF Junior/Amateur Owner Jumper Prix was held thanks to the generous sponsorship of GGT Footing and Footing First with a class of talented entries. Six made it to the jump-off at the end of the first round, and it was the last to go that won top prize. Col De Roussett and Miranda Travers-Cavill went first in the jump-off and jumped clear in 36.356 seconds to eventually earn second-place honors. Denise Wilson and Corsavita finished in third with four faults in 35.971 seconds. Pfeiffer and Anblerin were the final pair to return and jumped clear in the fastest time of 34.856 seconds for the win.

Prior to the Highs, the $5,000 Low Junior/AO Jumper Classic was held, sponsored by North Face Equine Services of Ann Arbor, MI. Seven of the original entries made it to the jump-off for the class, and it was Erin Haas and her 18-year-old gelding All of a Sudden who jumped double clear and stopped the clock in 33.350 seconds for the win. Pfeiffer and Imprimis were the only other double clear and finished second in 34.898 seconds. Emily Kinch and Acardia 3 finished in third with four faults in 33.533 seconds.

Hunter Highlights
Horse Shows by the Bay in Traverse City, MI, had a very busy day in the hunter ring on Thursday. There were two grand championships awarded. The first was for the Grand Conformation Hunter Championship sponsored by Equestrian Endeavors. This award went to Timber Ridge and Kelley Farmer. The second was the Grand Working Hunter Championship sponsored by Equestrian Endeavors and was given to Last Call and Cookie Beck.

Last Call is a nine-year-old dark bay gelding who has been training under Beck for a year and a half. The pair took championship honors in the First Year Green Working Hunters sponsored by the Dandino Family of Monclova, OH. Last Call had two firsts and two seconds over fences and took the blue in the under saddle class as well.

Reserve Champion was once again awarded to Cookie Beck but this time for her ride on Hidden Creek's Lennon. The seven-year-old chestnut gelding did well over fences and took home second-place honors in the hack.

Following Beck's sweep of the First Year division came the Second Year Green Working Hunters, sponsored by Emily Wygod and Tranquility Lakes Farm of New York, NY. The champion was Sunshine and Kelley Farmer and the reserve champion was NLF Shakespear's Rhythm and Peter Pletcher.

The Green Conformation division was sponsored by Top Call, LLC, and Greg and Jessica Crolick of Auburn Hills, MI. Championship honors went to Playmaker and Tammy Provost. The reserve champion was News To Me and Meg Howard-Fuleky.

In the Regular Conformation division, Timber Ridge and Kelley Farmer captured top honors. With flawless jumping rounds, the pair went on to become overall Grand Conformation Hunter Champion. Cisco and Meagan Murray were reserve.

The last of the sponsored hunter divisions was the Regular Working Hunters sponsored by CHFarm, LLC, of Wellington, FL. The championship ribbon was awarded to Topsider and Caroline Weeden. Reserve champion was Valiant and Tammy Provost.

At the end of the day, it was a smiling Beck who took home the most blue ribbons from Horse Shows by the Bay.

It was a beautiful evening on Friday for the $15,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby at Horse Shows by the Bay, sponsored by the Gochman Family of New York, NY. Farmer took home top honors aboard Bases Loaded and captured second place with Taken, both of which are owned by Nancy Amling.

Bases Loaded is an eight-year-old bay gelding and is a Second Year horse. Amling shows him in the amateurs and Farmer rides him in the hunter derbies. This was Bases Loaded's first derby win, and he will be going to the hunter derby finals.

The USHJA International Hunter Derby took place in the grand prix ring. A course of natural-looking obstacles, including barrels, brush, and a bank, tested all 36 horse-and-rider combination's ability to communicate with one another and do so gracefully.

Taking home third-place honors was Peter Pletcher and NLF Shakespear's Rhythm. Fourth place was awarded to Tammy Provost and Valiant. Fifth place went back to Farmer for her ride on Timber Ridge. Farmer had four of the top 12 horses.

Horse Shows by the Bay made sure the evening was enjoyable for everyone. There was a catered exhibitor's party, the weather was perfect, and the view remarkable.

The sun shone down on Flintfields Horse Park on Saturday as the Amateur/Owner Hunter divisions wrapped up. Grand Champion honors went to Cologne and Don Graves. The pair were champion of the Older Amateur/Owner division and ended up with the most points overall.

On Friday, they were second and first over fences. Saturday, they were third and second over fences and third in the hack.

Cologne is a 13-year-old bay gelding who has been showing with Graves for nine years. They show all year long in the hunter divisions and both horse-and-rider enjoy competing at Horse Shows by the Bay.

Taking home Reserve Champion honors in the Older Amateur/Owners was Northern Crown and Beth Bidgood. They won the first jumping class on Friday and were fifth in the second class. Saturday, they were second and fourth, and won the under saddle.

In the Younger Amateur/Owners, the championship tricolor was awarded to Sunshine and Sheila Motley. The pair has only been showing together since the beginning of May. Two blues over fences on Friday, along with a second and fourth on Saturday, secured Motley the division win.

Reserve Champion in the Younger Amateur/Owner hunter division was Enjoy, owned and shown by Ashley Romano. They were third over fences on Friday and won both jumping rounds on Saturday. The pair also picked up a fifth place ribbon in the hack.

Horse Shows by the Bay I wrapped up its hunter competition Sunday. The second half of the Junior Hunter Division took place with the Grand Junior Hunter Championship being awarded to Red Panda and Hayley Barnhill.

The pair was champion of the Small Junior Hunters 16-17 and had enough points to take home the Grand Division Championship as well. Barnhill and Red Panda won all four jumping classes and were second in the under saddle.

Barnhill took home the reserve champion tricolor also for her ride aboard Epic. Epic was second and third over fences Saturday and second in both jumping classes Sunday. The duo also picked up a fourth-place ribbon in the under saddle.

In the Small Junior Hunters 15 and Under, the champion and reserve champion tricolors were awarded to Caitlin Ziegler and her horses Safari and Winterplace. Safari was first, third, and first over fences. Winterplace was fourth, first, third, and third over fences. In the hack, Safari was second and Winterplace was fourth.

The champion of the Large Junior Hunters 16-17 was Rio's Splash and Taylor Ann Adams. They were first and fourth over fences Saturday and first and third Sunday. They also won the under saddle.

The reserve champion of the Large Junior Hunters 16-17 was Elliot and Laura Pfeiffer. They were second, sixth, third, and first over fences and third in the hack.

Championship honors in the Large Junior Hunters 15 and Under were awarded to Stars Go Blue and Kelly Arani. The pair earned two blues Saturday for their rounds over fences. They were second in both jumping rounds on Sunday as well as second in the hack.

The reserve champion of the Large Junior Hunters 15 and Under was Ashton and Meredith Darst. They were third, second, first, and first over fences and fourth under saddle.

The Grand Champion Pony Hunter was Meredith Darst and Wynnbrook's Sandcastle. The Grand Champion Green Pony Hunter was Mackenzie Graves and Sylvandi Kool Kat.

That concludes the hunter competition at Horse Shows by the Bay I. For more information, please visit www.horseshowsbythebay.com.