News

LINDSEY TOMEU AND BONAPART WIN $10,000 NAL ADULT JUMPER FINAL PRESENTED BY SMARTPAK AT THE PENNSYLVANIA NATIONAL HORSE SHOW

By: Violet Forbes on Oct. 21st, 2017

Lindsey Tomeu of Wellington, FL, and Bonapart won the $10,000 NAL Adult Jumper Final Presented by SmartPak at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show, presented by the Lindsay Maxwell Charitable Fund, at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, PA.

Tomeu was one of 14 entries from the starting field of 29 to qualify for the jump-off by riding clean over the first-round course designed by Bernardo Cabral of Portugal. Last to go in the jump-off, the 23-year blazed over the course fault-free in 27.776 seconds to beat the time of 28.761 turned in by Paige Kouimanis on Lexus and claim the NAL Final win for the third time.

“This is his third time in these Finals and the third time he’s won it which is probably why this is one of his favorite shows,” Tomeu said her of her 16-year-old partner with whom she’s been paired since 2014. “Any time I overdo it with him I lose; I’m much better off if I don’t think too much and I just let him go and do his thing.

“I like to go last but usually I try not to watch the class because I get too anxious. Today I did watch a few in the jump-off because we were deciding whether to go inside to jump three or to just gallop around and we decided to gallop around. He’s so fast and so careful that if I just let him do what he needs to do then he usually pulls though.

“The NAL is a great league. I make it a goal to win the league every year,” she added when reminded that she has also won the year-long season standings three times. “I don’t chase points but winning the NAL is definitely a goal.”

Finishing third behind Tomeu and Kouimanis was Kimberly Beattie on Charmander with a clean jump-off ride in 28.985 seconds.

The NAL hosts National Finals annually at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show in Harrisburg and West Coast Finals at the Las Vegas National Horse Show in Las Vegas. Both Finals include the following five divisions – Children’s Hunter, Adult Hunter, Children’s Jumper Presented by EquiFit, Adult Jumper Presented by SmartPak, and Low Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper.

The NAL qualifying period runs September 1 through August 31. NAL competitions are open to all who wish to compete, however points are only awarded to current members. For more information regarding the North American League, please call (717) 867-5643, email to NAL@Ryegate.com or visit www.ryegate.com.