Frankie Chesler-Ortiz second in $25,000 MJS Challenge Cup Grand Prix
With close to 6,000 eager fans waiting for the class to begin, the warm up ring was a sea of activity with champion riders preparing for the $25,000 CSI*** MJS Dealerships WEF Challenge Cup. In this fifth week of showing here at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida, riders from around the world have come to compete for millions in prize money. Among those competing are former Olympic medallists, World Cup Champions and veteran equestrians such as Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil, Francois Mathy of Belgium, Nick Skelton and Robert Smith of England and American riders Laura Kraut, Chris Kappler, Leslie Howard, Anne Kursinski and Margie Engle. Canadian riders have migrated south for the winter in force with riders like Erynn Ballard, Ian Millar, Mac Cone, Margie Gayford, Karen Cudmore, Elliot Stone, Keean White, Frankie Chesler-Ortiz and Eric Lamaze all trying to bring some glory home for Canada.
With ninety-four listed horse and rider combinations chomping at the bit to start, the class got under way around 1:00 pm with the intense Florida sun shinning down from above. The course set in the International ring designed by Leopoldo Palacios-Jugo of Venezuela, tested riders with a technical and demanding class complete with a tight double and triple combination and the ever challenging open water jump. By the end of the first round, eighteen managed to navigate the course clear. Among the eighteen was 25-year-old Frankie Chesler-Ortiz of Orangeville, Ontario aboard her nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare Picolien Zeldenrust. "I really loved today’s first round course as it was demanding yet fun to ride," Chesler commented. "Picolien is a very good girl and I feel that we are connected in a way that helps us plot a successful route from start to finish."
The jump off was at lightning speeds and Chesler-Ortiz took on the challenge entering the ring eighth and posting a clear round with a time of 37.32. Chesler-Ortiz set the bar high and it almost seemed as if she had claimed first prize until fellow Canadian rider Eric Lamaze aboard Narcotique de Muze II entered the ring and posted a clear round with a time of 35.87, a blistering 1.45 seconds faster than Chesler-Ortiz. "Last week I fell off in the jump off because I was going too fast," Chesler chuckled. "So I am glad that I was able to go fast enough this week to have riders chase me right up to the end!"
Earlier in the week, Chesler captured second place aboard her eleven-year-old Dutch Warmblood VDL Nuit de Pomme in the 1.30m Classic against fifty-five other horse and rider combinations. "This is a tough show to compete at," Alan Chesler remarked. "We are glad that Frankie and her mounts are consistently in the top ten, it makes her mother and I very proud." There are another few weeks of showing here in Wellington, Florida before the Chesler-Ortiz family heads back north to compete of the Canadian summer circuit.
