Bonapart and Lindsey Tomeu Win the $10,000 NAL Adult Amateur Jumper Final – Al Cook — www.alcookphoto.com

Tomeu and her 14-year-old, Belgian Warmblood claimed the win for the second straight year over a field of 30 finalists who earned their places in the Final as the top finishers in the year-long NAL standings.

“He is a very special horse and I owe every win, I owe everything to him,” the 21-year-old rider said. “I’ve never had a horse like him. He’s definitely my horse of a lifetime.”

Nine of the 30 starters reached the jump-off with clean first rounds and the first to return for the tiebreaker was Logan Marksbury of Lexington, KY, and Evano S. Marksbury set the mark to beat, riding her 11-year-old, Belgian Warmblood to a clean ride and a time of 37.527 seconds.

None of the next seven entries could match Marksbury’s score with the only other clean ride coming from Christina Couper of Charleston, SC and her 7-year-old, Hanoverian mare, Cora. However, their time of 38.922 seconds was not quite fast enough, giving them an eventual third-place finish.

The last to try to catch Marksbury and Evano S were Tomeu and Bonapart, who topped the NAL regular-season standings with a whopping 8,809 points. They blazed over the course seemingly without effort and finished clean in 34.957 seconds to clinch the win for the second straight year.

“I was really nervous today and put an awful lot of pressure on myself but it was actually an improvement from last year’s jump-off where I almost killed him and he continued to keep going,” Tomeu said of her partner of one-and-a-half years. “I have no other words to describe other than to say that he is amazing!”

The NAL offers a great opportunity for competitors across the country to compete in five divisions: Adult Hunter; Children’s Hunter; Adult Jumper Presented by SmartPak; Children’s Jumper Presented by EquiFit; and Low Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Presented by UltrOZ. The qualifying season for the NAL runs from September 1 through August 31. Anyone can compete in NAL qualifying classes, but only current members are awarded points. Joining the NAL is the best way for riders to get the points necessary to make it to the Finals. Annual memberships are only $40 per rider.

The NAL hosts National Finals at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show and West Coast Finals at the Las Vegas National Horse Show. Further information on the NAL is available by calling 717-867-5643, emailing NAL@Ryegate.com or visiting www.ryegate.com. Follow the NAL on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NALFinals