Levy is first … and second
Toolbox
Staff Report - Published: July 4, 2009
EAST DORSET— Kate Levy enjoyed her first visit to the Vermont Summer Festival by winning and placing second in the $10,000 Lilly Pulitzer Open Welcome Stake on Friday.
Levy of Wellington, Fla., was the only rider of the day to advance to the jump-off, qualifying both Gralli and Lirving du Volsin. With her first mount, Gralli, Levy rolled a rail at the second fence in the jump-off to incur four faults. Levy then had only herself to beat, and she did exactly that by guiding Lirving du Volsin to a clear round in a time of 28.71 seconds.
"Since the spring, he has been my most consistent horse," said Levy of the 10-year-old bay selle français gelding, sired by Fergar Mail, that she began riding during the winter circuit in Wellington. "He is really fun. He is so brave, he has such a good mind, and he is easy to go fast on. He is a winner, and tries really hard."
For her win, Levy received $3,000 in prize money as well as a Lilly Pulitzer gift bag valued at $1,000. The prize for second place, which Levy also collected, was $2,200 plus a gift certificate for The Vermont Bird Place. With her third mount, Starlight, Levy took eighth place for an additional $400 in prize money, bringing her total to $5,600 in prize money for a day's work.
Levy's second-place mount, Gralli, is also a horse she began riding this past winter in Florida. Levy described the 10-year-old grey Westphalian mare by saying, "She was in Belgium and wasn't doing that many classes before I started riding her, but every time we have asked her to jump higher, she says, 'OK.' She is like a little warrior; she's a fighter."
When asked if she was amazed to be the only rider to qualify for the jump-off, Levy said, "I was surprised. I thought that even though the field was small, there were a lot of good horses and riders.
"I thought it was a great course, it had everything in it without making it too difficult for the field," continued Levy, who has recently opened her own training stable in North Salem, N.Y., of the course designed by Michel Vaillancourt of Canada. "Michel is a great course designer, and I thought it was difficult enough. There were some technical lines, with two doubles and a triple. The course incorporated a lot of different tests without over-facing anybody. It was a great way to prepare for the Grand Prix on Sunday."
Levy will be riding Lirving du Voisin in Sunday's $30,000 Vermont Summer Special Grand Prix.
When asked about Friday's track, Vaillancourt, an FEI 'I' course designer and Olympic individual silver medalist, said, "For this group, it was a nice preparation. When you come to an event like this, you know the circuit will continue to grow as the weeks go on. It was a nice, easy track and for those that have aspirations, it was part of their education."
Finishing third was Judy Garofalo-Torres of Dover Plains, N.Y. Riding her veteran mount, Oliver, Garofalo-Torres knocked down the final fence to miss qualifying for the jump-off.
Maggie McAlary placed fourth after knocking down the middle element of the triple combination riding Euro Mon Amie, while Jennifer Hannan and the grey gelding, Lamplight, jumped clear but incurred six time faults for exceeding the 78-second time limit.
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