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Photo: Beezie Madden and Onlight winning the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival WEF Challenge Round X at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center Thursday. Photo: © 2009 Roxane Theidel
WELLINGTON, Fla., Mar.12 -- Double Olympic gold medalist Beezie Madden won her first Grand Prix of the 2009 FTI Winter Equestrian Festival Thursday, aboard Onlight in Round X of the $30,000 Braman Motorcars WEF Challenge Cup Series.
Madden of
Cazenovia
, N.Y.
and Onlight, owned by Team Onlight, were the only double clear round from the initial 49 entries for the class in the DeNemethy arena. Only four combinations made it to the jump off on the course designed by Guilherme Jorge of Brazil.
The time by Madden and Onlight was 54.36 secs.
Brazil's Rodrigo Pessoa and Let's Fly, owned by the Double H Farm, placed second with four faults and a time of 44.64 secs. with Ireland's Kevin Babington and Caracas 49 in third place with four faults and a time of 49.76 secs. in the jump-off.
"I was very pleased with my horse," Pessoa said of his jump-off ride. "I added a stride to the vertical and it was really tight. Not going last you want to leave as little room possible for those behind you, but today the plan didn't work."
Madden, who was not planning to go fast in the jump-off said, "I was just trying to make it under the time allowed and have a nice round, but it proved to be a difficult jump-off to go clear."
Holding the Challenge in the DeNemethy ring this week raised new questions for the horses and riders.
"The course was nice, it took the horse a lot of adjusting," Pessoa said. "It was quite a different track with all the broken lines today."
"Because of the shape of the ring there were different routes, lots of bending. It was a good course you needed rideability which is good," Madden said. "It helped get ready for Sunday."
This was the first Grand Prix win for the 10-year-old German-bred mare that Madden has ridden for the past four years.
"She's been a little slow getting here," she said. "Hopefully today she turned the corner."
Both Madden and Pessoa have their eyes on the World Cup in Las Vegas April 15-19. Pessoa has qualified with the Double H Farm-owned Rufus, while Madden hopes to qualify the nine-year-old Belgian gelding, Danny Boy, owned by Abigail Wexner.
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Placing
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Prize
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Entry
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Rider
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Owner
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Trainer
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Round 1
Faults | Time
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Jump Off
Faults | Tim
|
|
1
|
$9,000
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197 - ONLIGHT
|
BEEZIE MADDEN
|
TEAM ONLIGHT
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JOHN MADDEN
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0 | 77.23
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0 | 54.36
|
|
2
|
$6,600
|
2127 - LET'S FLY
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RODRIGO PESSOA
|
DOUBLE H FARM
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NELSON PESSOA
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0 | 77.07
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4 | 44.64
|
|
3
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$3,900
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3511 - CARACAS 49
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KEVIN BABINGTON
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BABINGTON JUMPERS
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KEVIN BABINGTON
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0 | 78.11
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4 | 49.76
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4
|
$2,400
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217 - MIDNIGHTLADY
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JAMES BILLINGTON
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DEERIDGE FARM
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JOHN MADDEN
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0 | 76.97
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12 | 45.52
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5
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$1,800
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2616 - LITTLE EMIR
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SHANE SWEETNAM
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SPY
COAST
FARM LLC
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ALLISON SWEETNAM
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4 | 73.93
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|
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6
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$1,500
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3320 - PRESIDENTE
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TODD MINIKUS
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SLEEPY P RANCH LLC
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TODD MINIKUS
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4 | 74.09
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|
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7
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$1,200
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3410 - MADISON
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ALEXA WEEKS
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ALEXA WEEKS
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OLIVIA WEEKS
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4 | 74.17
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|
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8
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$900
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1316 - CREDIT CRUISE
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ALEXA LOWE
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WINDSOR
FARM SALES
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ALEXA LOWE
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4 | 75.98
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|
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9
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$900
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3067 - UBLESCO
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CARA RAETHER
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TRELAWNY FARM LLC
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VIVIANE MUNDEN
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4 | 77.58
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|
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10
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$600
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2796 - HIDDEN CREEK'S CORAYA Z
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MARGIE ENGLE
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HIDDEN CREEK FARM, INC
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CRAIG POLLARD
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4 | 77.6
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|
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11
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$600
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2857 - Q''S CHARM
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RAMIRO QUINTANA
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KATHRYN QUIRK
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TERESA MILLS
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4 | 77.8
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|
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12
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$600
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2967 - LENNOX LEWIS 2
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LESLIE HOWARD
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LESLIE HOWARD
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WT KEES
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4 | 77.84
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|
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13
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$500
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195 - PLAY ON
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BEEZIE MADDEN
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ALLAN
SHORE
, JR
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JOHN MADDEN
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4 | 77.85
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By ROXANE THEIDEL
Ken Braddick - Director of Communications
Equestrian Sport Productions, LLC
14440 Pierson Rd., Wellington, FL 33414
561-214-2672
kbraddick@equestriansport.com
Newsroom Associate
Staff Writer
support@horsesinthesouth.com
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