News

Goldman on a roll with back-to-back Grand Prix wins

Feb 5, 2013

The HITS Ocala grand prix ring has seen many new faces over the last several years with the heightened excitement of qualifying for the Zoetis $1 Million Grand Prix, formerly the Pfizer Million. However, few have had the impact that Lisa Goldman has. The young professional from Hawthorn Woods, Illinois captured her fifth grand prix ribbon in two weeks, was first and second in last Thursday's $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis, and avenged her second-place finish during Week II with the blue ribbon in yesterday's $50,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis, aboard Mary Goldman's Centurion B.

Goldman and Centurion B have created a unique bond that many never find and it seems to be working to their advantage. "I've had him since he was two years old," she proudly recalled. "He's an American bred Belgium Warmblood and I jumped his first jump ever with him."

Twenty-seven horse and rider combinations started the class and the contenders soon rose to the top as a five trip jump-off emerged after the first round.

The starting list for the jump-off wrote an exciting story of its own. The crowd favorite Tracy Fenney of Flower Mound, Texas - a familiar face at the top of high-performance competition at HITS Ocala returned with both MTM Timon and MTM Centano, both owned by MTM Farm. Junior Michael Hughes of Allendale, New Jersey, who made his $1 million debut last September at HITS Championship Weekend also piloted two mounts to the jump-off with Luxina and Mac Arthur (s. Concorde), both owned by Christina Fried. And then there was Goldman, who made the journey to HITS Ocala for the first time this year and quickly threw her cards on the table.

Fenney and MTM Timon returned first and were en route to being double-clear before a plank from the last fence came down. They ended with a time of 45.88 seconds. Hughes was up next aboard Luxina and emulated Fenney's trip nearly to the exact second. Again, a clear effort until the last fence reared its ugly head and delivered four faults. Hughes finished in 46.44 seconds to sit second.

Fenney returned next aboard MTM Centano and she was sure to approach the last line conservatively. They finished clear in 48.89 seconds to set The Great American Time to Beat and take over the lead. Goldman was next to show and she delivered, galloping from one end of the ring to the other, leaving every rail up. As the last fence approached, Goldman conquered the biggest obstacle of the day, leaving the plank up with a time of 46.23 seconds.

The win was not intact just yet, however, as Michael Hughes and Mac Arthur had the coveted last-to-go spot. Hughes and Mac Arthur had no trouble galloping fast and gave Goldman a run for the money, approaching the last line slightly faster, but clipped the top plank for four faults. The duo finished two seconds faster, in 44.41, but the jumping faults earned them the third place ribbon for the day.

Fenney ended up second with MTM Centano and fourth with MTM Timon. Hughes was fifth with Luxina.

1 Centurion B Mary Goldman Lisa Goldman 0 - 0 46.23
2 MTM Centano MTM Farm Tracy Fenney 0 - 0 48.89
3 Mac Arthur Christina Fried Michael Hughes 0 - 4 44.41
4 MTM Timon MTM Farm Tracy Fenney 0 - 4 45.88
5 Luxina Christina Fried Michael Hughes 0 - 4 46.44
6 Derly Chin De Muze Ashland Farms Sharn Wordley 4
7 Titus 2:11 Derek Petersen Jared Petersen 4
8 CoCo Anne Quanbeck Scott Keach 4
9 Patent Pending Kendra Bullington Harold Chopping 4
10 Quick Blue Z Filip Amram Sharn Wordley 4

Source: Press release from HITS, Inc.