Canadian Mac Cone Rides Cybella to Opening Day Win at 2005 Winter Equestrian Festival in Tampa

The first week of the 2005 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF), at the Bob Thomas Equestrian Center in Tampa opened under stormy skies as a very large and slow moving weather front passed through the area in the early morning hours. This week’s show, the Tampa Bay Classic, is the eighth of nine weeks offered at WEF, the nation’s largest and longest running equestrian showcase. The storm, which brought with it heavy rains, high winds and lightning, forced many of the outdoor hunter classes to be rescheduled in the indoor arena. The jumpers, however, competing under the covered arena, got underway at 8:30am as scheduled.

The Course Designer for this week’s Grand Prix ring action is Michel Vailancourt. The opening day’s featured event was the $7,500 1.45m Jumpers, scored under Table II, Sec 2 (b), Time First Jump-Off.

Of the thirty-three starters that went to the post, seventeen produced first round clear efforts and advanced to the jump-off. Of the seventeen, eight were double clear.  Two riders were clean with time faults. Eight riders had one rail while six had eight or more.

Canadian Mac Cone, aboard Southern Ways’ Cybella, emerged victorious on Wednesday with a very fast jump-off ride of 30.714 seconds. That hasty time was 1.358 seconds faster than that of second place finisher Kimberly Frey. Aboard Couletto K. James for the Overlook Farm, Frey crossed the finish line in 32.072 seconds.

Third place finisher, Clare Bronfman, on Slate River Farm’s Equinox, was only .041 seconds behind Frey. Bronfman finished in 32.488 seconds. Fourth place honors went to Promise Me and Ian Millar of Canada. Owned by Baker’s Dozen, Promised Me tripped the timers in 32.611 seconds.  Fifth place went to Corafina 4 and Aimee Aron, riding for the Kinloch Enterprises. Aron broke the beams in 33.790 seconds. Rounding out the top six was Mac Cone’s second ride on Melinda, also owned by Southern Ways.  Melinda’s time was 34.219 seconds.

Cone didn’t let out his breath until the final horse crossed the finish line. “I’m never confident till the last one goes,” laughed Cone.  “Ian (Millar) gave me a good run and then when Clare (Bronfman) went last, I thought she was going to be the one to catch me, but, we were lucky and held on.”

Cone placed both of his top horses in the top six today. “I’ve had Cybella for a couple of years. She was quite good early in the season last year. She won both grand prix classes at Jacksonville two weeks in a row,” said Cone.  “I’ve used her as a second horse behind my grand prix horse, Melinda, so the plan is to do her in the 1.45m and 1.50m classes here, get her prepared, and then move her up to the grand prix classes when we get home,” Cone detailed. “I was thrilled that she could take home a victory here.”

Cone likes the courses designed by Michel Vailancourt. “Michele has always been a great course designer and that was a great course for the first class. A good course to get started on,” Cone said. “It wasn’t easy, by any stretch of the imagination, but it called on enough effort when we haven’t shown for a week.” 

It’s been a good eight week’s so far for Cone.  “It’s been a real good circuit for me. I’ve got a good group of horses here that have done real well,” Cone said.  “I’m thrilled with my number one horse, Melinda. She’s eleven now and has made the big step up to the real deal. She had sort of a learning year last year, but this year I asked her to step up and she’s done real well.”

The icing on the cake would be a starting spot in this year’s grand finale, the $200,000 Budweiser American Invitational. The top riders, based on prize money won, qualify. “I’m in, but I’m a little too close to the bottom of that money list for my liking,” admitted Cone. “So, I’ve got to have a real good week this week to make the show at the stadium.”

The thirty-third annual Budweiser American Invitational, a free event for those who qualify, is the nation’s most prestigious show jumping event. The event is limited to only thirty top riders.

Invitations are extended to the defending Budweiser American Invitational Champion, the five members of the 2004 Silver Medal Olympic Show Jumping Team and to the riders in the top four spots on the American Grand Prix Association (AGA) Rider of the Year Standings as of March 27, 2005. Two additional invitations will be issued by the organizing committee. 

The remaining eighteen spots are determined by money won in the WEF Challenge Cup classes and the Sunday Grand Prix events during the 2005 Winter Equestrian Festival.

The $25,000 WEF Challenge Cup CSI, tomorrow, and the $75,000 Grand Prix of Tampa, presented by Kilkenny/ICH on Sunday, are the final two money qualifiers for the $200,000 Budweiser American Invitational.

In addition, the Grand Prix of Tampa and the $30,000 Ariat WEF Challenge Cup Series Final, CSI-W on Wednesday, March 30, are the final two East Coast World Cup qualifying events.

The Budweiser World Cup will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada beginning on April 20, 2005. This will mark the sixth FEI World Cup Jumping Final to be held in the United States, following Finals in Baltimore in 1980, Tampa in 1989, Del Mar, CA in 1992 and the two in Las Vegas in 2000 and 2003.

Only the seven top riders, plus one “Wild Card” rider on the East Coast World Cup list will make it to Las Vegas and the final two qualifying events are contested in Tampa.

Official Results - #1002 - $7500 1.45m Table II Sec 2 (b) – March 23, 2005– Covered Arena

1 – Cybella, Mac Cone – 0-0/30.714
2 – Couletto K. James, Kim Frey – 0-0/32.072
3 – Equinox, Clare Bronfman -0-0/32.488
4 – Promise Me, Ian Millar – 0-0/32.611
5 – Corafina 4, Aimee Aron – 0-0/33.790
6 – Melinda, Mac Cone – 0-0/34.219
7 – Opus Sept, Schuyler Riley – 0-0/34.528
8 – Cincinnati Kid, Schuyler Riley – 0-0/37.136
9 – Funny de Liere, Kate Levy – 0-4/33.191
10 –Gibson, Jimmy Torano – 0-5/44.846
11 – Katerina, Clare Bronfman -0-8/32.382
12 – Arriscraft Cassius, Keann White -0-8/33.390