Joie Gatlin Gets the Gold in $25,000 1.45m Silver Tour Markel Insurance Grand Prix
Joie Gatlin and High Five win the $25,000 Silver Tour 1.45m Grand Prix, presented by Markel Insurance, during the Blenheim Racing Festival.
San Juan Capistrano, CA – August 1, 2021 – Joie Gatlin earned plenty of high fives on Saturday, July 31, after topping the $25,000 1.45m Silver Tour Markel Insurance Grand Prix with her mount High Five.
As one of the featured events of the Blenheim Racing Festival at Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park in San Juan Capistrano, CA, Saturday afternoon’s class attracted a large number of spectators to the Olympic Sand Arena. There, attendees enjoyed an exhibitors’ social featuring local food and beverage trucks in addition to the top equestrian sport on display.
Local vendor Tap Truck OC serving refreshments while exhibitors and spectators enjoyed playing carnival games
In front of the crowd, 12 horse-and-rider combinations contested the course designed by Olaf Petersen before four of them ultimately advanced to the jump-off.
Hanna Mauritzson and Parkmore Lux were the first to return for the short course, and they set the standard at a clear 36.401 seconds. As the third to return, Gatlin and High Five shaved tenths of a second off of Mauritzson’s time to clinch the win in 35.931 seconds. Rounding out the top three with four faults in a time of 35.409 seconds was the final pair to return, Bruno Diniz Dias Neves and Adele XIII. Fourth place went to Daniel Zilla and Chromatic who finished on eight faults in 35.883 seconds.
Joie Gatlin and High Five
“I’m really pleased with him!” said Gatlin of High Five, a nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by JGMA Meadows. “We picked him up from Stal Hendrix in the summer of 2018 in Europe. So we’ve been bringing him along now for the last few years. He really didn’t know anything when we first got him. Jump-offs were very foreign to him. The prize giving ceremonies were very foreign to him, but he’s starting to understand that those are very important! He’s developed very nicely. He’s a very brave, very intelligent horse. He just keeps doing more and more.”
For the win, Gatlin was presented with a Shady Lady neck scarf and a $50 gift certificate to SmartPak, as well as 13 points toward the Markel Insurance 1.40m-1.45m Jumper Series standings. Saturday’s class marked the 10th of 15 classes in the series, which culminates in a $30,000+ finale at the Las Vegas National Horse Show in November.
Click below to watch the interview with champion Joie Gatlin and her winning ride!
Thus far, more than 60 riders have accumulated points toward the series standings, with the top 25 ultimately earning their spot in the final event. Leading the way in the standings with 58 points is Jason McArdle, while Nicole Haunert sits in second place with 46 points. Gatlin’s win on Saturday moved her up the leaderboard into sixth place on 40 points. (The full series standings are available to view here.)
“We’ll probably take a little break, and then we’ll be back in August to try to take a little more prize money home!” said Gatlin. “I love showing here in the Olympic Sand Arena. It has a great feel. Today we had Olympic flags flying; we had Olympic music going, and we had a little Olympic feel to it. We had a nice crowd and a very supportive local crowd, which was really, really nice.”
Second place finisher Hanna Mauritzson and Parkmore Lux
Also earning Silver Tour wins throughout the week were Alexandra Biederman and Chazino in Wednesday’s $2,500 1.40m Silver Tour and Jason McArdle and Elicole in Thursday’s $7,500 1.40m Silver Tour.
The Silver Tour continues next week with the Blenheim August Festival, and Blenheim EquiSports is the #PlaceToJump all season long. Learn more and
view the free livestream of all rings by visiting ThePlaceToJump.com.
Joie Gatlin and High Five are all smiles leading the victory gallop
The Markel Insurance Jumper Series will continue to serve as a stepping stone for both young riders and young Grand Prix horses along their pathway to success in 2021, with the finals at the Las Vegas National Horse Show, November 16-21, 2021.
Blenheim EquiSports is extremely grateful to Markel Insurance and Lisa Seger Insurance for their continued support and partnership which allows us to take this program from concept to reality.
We encourage you to contact a horse insurance specialist today.
Josh Mullins
Lisa Seger Insurance agent
[email protected]
949-212-2970
Blenheim EquiSports, an equestrian event management company based in San Juan Capistrano, CA, produces horse shows in San Juan Capistrano, CA and Las Vegas, NV. These competitions include USEF “Premier” rated hunter-jumper shows; a Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ North American League Qualifier; the Markel Insurance 1.45m Jumper Series & Final, Interactive Mortgage “Ticket to Ride” High Performance Jumper Series & Adult Jumper Series; USHJA International, National, & Pony Hunter Derbies & Finals; the Whitethorne Equitation Challenge, Medal Finals, and so much more.