Photo: Sarah Owen and Shakira do Jacare ©Flashpoint Photography. Photo may be used free of charge only in relation to this press release.
JANUARY 28, 2008 – Sergio Campos of Florida’s Longwood Equestrian Center is pleased to announce today that his long-time Grand Prix partner, Shakira do Jacare, has a proud new owner, Sarah Owen of Hendersonville, N.C. The 15-year-old rider will launch her junior career in 2008 and point her new mount toward Grand Prix competition.
“I am absolutely dumbfounded right now,” said Owen, ringside at HITS in Ocala, FL where she and her new mare are making their debut. “I can’t believe that she’s really mine.” Owen’s horse, She Can Dance (a.k.a. Sammy), was part of a trade agreement with Longwood in securing Shakira, but other terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“They were really a perfect match,” says Campos. “Shakira and She Can Dance are very similar — both are pretty ‘hot’, and Sarah was clearly very good at handling that kind of horse — they don’t intimidate her.”
Owen’s mother, Christine, confirms: “The horses are the same and Sergio really saw that,” she notes. “So, when we were in Atlanta in the fall I said: ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if Sarah got on Shakira?’ That was Thursday; by Friday morning she was showing her in the Level 3s and did great.”
Shakira do Jacare, an 11-year-old Sport Horse mare (MM Primo x Gran Harmonia), was bred by Campos at his family’s ranch in Campo Grande, Brazil. She is the offspring of his champion stallion Primo, who died tragically in a barn accident in 1997. A handy mare, known for her speed and turn-of-foot, Shakira helped Campos lead the victory gallop in four Grand Prixs in 2007 as well as numerous mini prixs and Welcome Stakes throughout the Southeast.
Naturally, for Campos, the decision to sell was an emotional one. “She has been wonderful horse, and she definitely won a lot for me,” said the 31-year-old rider. “But the time was right. At this point in my career I’m a little more focused on finding a prospect for the World Cup/Nations Cup/Olympic level. Shakira is a super grand prix horse, and a great speed horse,” he continues “but for the international level — I knew she couldn’t take me there. She’s a bit nervous. I have asked her to jump international courses for me, and she’s done it, but I never felt it was fair to her to do such a hard job all the time.”
Campos
recently acquired 10 horses from Ron and Cheryl Krise’s Split Creek Farm, including the international contenders Sun God and Curioso Z. He will also be competing this spring on his nine-year-old Zangersheide gelding Cognac do Jacare.
Marking their arrival on the circuit with style, Owen and Shakira won their first class together: the Modified Junior/Amateur Jumper LV4, on Jan. 24 in Ocala. “They went 1st and held the lead the whole way,” reports Christine. Owen will now be coached by Campos while traveling and continue to work with long-time trainer Betsy Pack while at home in North Carolina. Their goal is to show Shakira at the Grand Prix level this summer.
Campos'
Longwood
Equestrian
Center, located outside of Orlando, has more than 50 horses in training, including 20 horses in the United States and 30 more in a breeding program in the athlete’s native Brazil. He will be showing his young jumpers as well as his exciting new Grand Prix contenders at HITS Ocala through mid March before moving to the Winter Equestrian Festival in Tampa, FL.
Flashpoint Media Services
, based in Harrodsburg, KY, is a comprehensive public relations firm specializing in the equestrian sports. For additional information contact Cynthia Grisolia, 347-423-7322, cindy@flashpointmediaservices.com or Robbi Meisel, 859-734-3713, robbi@flashpointmediaservices.com.
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