BURBANK — The audience at the Memorial Day Classic was treated to a thrilling seven-horse jump off in the $10,000 Memorial Day Grand Prix, the concluding event of the Memorial Day Classic May 26-30 at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center.

Justin Resnik and Quantum Leap (Ama Marketing & Management, Inc., owner) were first to contest Jack Robson’s course in the first round and they set the standard for the 18-horse field to match, and they handily posted a clear round. Jenni Martin McAllister piloted all three of her horses to clear rounds, and her pupil, junior rider Brittany Albrecq, made her grand prix debut and piloted Union Jack to a clear round. Young professional Tommi Clark, aboard her own Raska, and Ron Keller on his Abukir 14 rounded out the seven clear rounds.

Flying Horse photo

Justin Resnick and Quantum Leap after their $10,000 Memorial Day Classic Grand Prix win.

Then, it was a race for the top prize. Once again Justin led the field with a fast pace of 33.715. McAllister took a shot with Majuscule (Christina Caruso, owner), and despite an inside dodge between two jumps on the way to the triple bar combination, she was a second behind.

“I just wasn’t that fast to the last two,” McAllister said. “But my horse jumped great.”

Albrecq was on pace to win, but she got long and flat to the final vertical and caught the rail. She had the time, but four faults relegated her to fourth.

McAllister returned aboard her own horse, Sammy, and finished just .3 seconds behind Resnik.

“It was Sammy’s first grand prix, and I wasn’t planning to go that fast.” McAllister said. “But the competitive edge in me took over.”

The 9-year-old mare handled the quick pace and turns with aplomb. Keller pulled two rails and Clark got so excited that she galloped right past one of the jump-off jumps.

Resnik, who wore the world’s first 3-D camera used in show jumping courtesy of Show Jumping Unplugged, was thrilled to not only bring dimension to his ride, but to do it in winning style.

“I went in to win,” he said. “I thought I had the chance with each of my horses. It was my home turf so that makes it better, and it was a good place and class to give me a good shot at winning.”

Justin also rode Lycos (Ama Marketing & Management, Inc., owner) to an eighth-place finish. As for his winning mount, a 10-year-old Holsteiner by Quantum, he added, “he’s been great, and we’ve won a lot. He’s a fighter and very competitive.”

The power of show jumpers were a perfect match for the luxury sports cars O’Gara Coach Company presented over the weekend, offering the show’s attendees the opportunity to test drive Astin Martins, Rolls-Royces, and more, right on the show grounds. The cars exemplify not only the speed and power of the jumpers, but also the grace of hunters and the style of equitation riders.

More online: http://bit.ly/106B_MemDay