Traverse City, Michigan, USA – July 09, 2022 – Continuing her winning streak, McKayla Langmeier (USA) of East Grandby, Connecticut, captured another big win Saturday in the $25,000 Traverse City National Grand Prix, this time aboard Chadina. Opening the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival (GLEF), presented by CaptiveOne, with two wins, the young rider is quickly accumulating points toward the CaptiveOne Leading Open Jumper Rider Bonus to be awarded at the end of the season. 

Despite just three entries jumping clear over Catsy Cruz’s (MEX) first-round track and advancing to the jump-off, the pace was quick and competition kept getting more intense as the riders came forward.

Mimi Gochman (USA), winner of Friday’s $37,000 Innovo Welcome Stake CSI 3*, jumped off first with Andretti BH, but pulled the first rail to finish on 4 penalty-points and a final time of 41.515 seconds.

Cathleen Driscoll (USA), second in the Welcome, produced the first double-clear aboard Magnolia, in a very quick time of 39.428 seconds. 

Topping Driscoll was going to take nerve, but Langmeier stepped up to the plate and shaved off two seconds, navigating the 9-year-old Oldenburg mare (Conthargos x Narew) to a clear-round time of 37.447 seconds for the win. Driscoll claimed second place while Gochman took third.

“She’s a really fiery mare being chestnut, so she has a lot of attitude and personality which makes her a lot of fun,” McKayla Langmeier (USA) said of Chadina, owned by Rafferty Farm, LLC. “I got her from Plain Bay Sales, from Katie, Henri, and Adam Prudent about a year and a half ago.”

Since their start together, Langmeier has strategically developed Chadina to ultimately bring her up to the higher levels. “We’ve gone very slowly,” she continued. “We’ve put her in bigger classes and stepped down, then repeated up until now to give her confidence and develop her at this height. This is definitely a highlight of mine on her. She’s just starting to be really competitive at this height. Hopefully we can do some two- and three-stars.”

The first-round course was challenging, producing only three clears. Langmeier commented on her plan for the first round, “I [identified] the spots where I had to take more time and think through what I needed to get done. The skinny and the plank were both very careful jumps that you had to respect.”

Saturday marks two wins in one week for Langmeier, and both were aboard fiery mares. “As a typical chestnut mare, she’s opinionated but also very sweet,” she said of Chadina, echoing a bit of sentiment she felt for Bahira S, who won the CSI 3* Speed on Thursday. “I have all mares and one gelding. It’s not so much [that I prefer them,] I just seem to have acquired a lot of mares.”

Langmeier will return to the Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel Grand Prix Ring Sunday for the $138,600 Meijer Grand Prix CSI 3* for a chance at top prize money and more valuable points toward the CaptiveOne Advisors Open Jumper Rider Bonus.

Final Results: $25,000 Traverse City National Grand Prix

1) Mckayla Langmeier (USA) & Chadina / Rafferty Farm LLC – 0 / 0 – 37.447

2) Cathleen Driscoll (USA) & Magnolia / Plain Bay Sales – 0 / 0 – 39.428

3) Mimi Gochman (USA) & Andretti BH / Gochman Sport Horses – 0 / 4 – 41.515

4) Jamie Sailor (USA) & Escapado S / Mountain View West Farm LLC – 2 – 78.485

5) Amanda Derbyshire (GBR) & Wonder If / Gochman Sport Horses – 4 – 72.071

6) Amanda Derbyshire (GBR) & Pewit Dezoito / Ehs, LLC – 4 – 74.724

7) Cormac Hanley (IRL) & Honneur T&L Z / Glynn Way Sporthorses – 4 – 75.126

8) Cathleen Driscoll (USA) & Dame De Pique / Plain Bay Farm – 5 – 77.962

9) Taylor Madden (USA) & Fata Morgana Di Villagana / Taylor Madden – 7 – 79.641

10) Sofia Cady (USA) & Deleyn / Sofia Cady – 8 – 73.099

11) Cathleen Driscoll (USA) & High Nitro / Margaret Frank – 8 – 74.018

12) Charlie Jayne (USA) & Stakan 4 / Ammann Equestrian LLC – 8 – 74.109

Source: Press Release from Traverse City Horse Shows

Photos: © Andrew Ryback Photography

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Link