SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — Back in the saddle after being sidelined with a winter leg injury at HITS Thermal, Susie Hutchison was on fire a the Blenheim June Classic II, winning two major events in a single day.

You could call June 14 “Susie Sunday” after the Temecula-based star rode to wins in both the afternoon $30,000 June Classic Grand Prix and the $7,500 CashCall Mortgage Futurity earlier in the day. She rode St. Bride Farm’s Ziedento to the grand prix win over Francie Steinwedell-Carvin aboard Lapsus du Lavoir, and she took 8-year-old SIG Firecracker to the futurity title.

From the hilltop VIP tent to the grassy knoll, there was a sizable crowd soaking up the Southern California sun while watching show jumping at the Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park at San Juan Capistrano. Mexican course designer Javier Fernandez designed the track, with standout challenges in the first round, including a short turn to the Michael & Kenzie vertical line in five strides to the open water jump and an oxer-vertical-oxer triple combination going away from the in-gate towards the end.

The class was run under Table II, Sec 2(d), with the top six from the first round coming back for the jump-off, carrying their first-round scores. Four of the six returning entries were clear, while the remaining two returned as the fastest four-fault scores. Order of return for all six entries was determined by time and faults in round one.

Going first in the jump-off, Steinwedell-Carvin and Lapsus du Lavoir, owned by Prentiss Partners, carried over her four-fault score from the first round. She rode a clean, quick round and stopped the clock in a fast 40.27 seconds.

Josephina Nor Lantzman and Chello Z had a rail and then a sliding skid off a short turn to a wide white oxer, resulting in an involuntary dismount and elimination, but no injuries.

The first two clean rounds to return, both owned by Georgy Maskrey-Segesman, were Tasha Visokay on Caspa 7 and Kilian McGrath aboard BB Casablanca. With two rails in the jump-off, Visocay finished with an eight-fault score in 44.47 and McGrath had a single rail, in 44.92.

Enter Hutchison on her veteran partner, Ziedento. In a thrilling jump-off ride, the pair bounced the top rail on the Michael & Kenzie fence, but it remained in the cups. The duo stopped the clock clean in 41.39 seconds, taking over the lead. Illustrating the exciting aspect of this format, Steinwedell-Carvin had a faster jump-off time, but carried over her one rail from round one for an overall four-fault score.

Hutchison, a beloved local favorite, acknowledged the challenges that the class had presented, but that she managed to use to her advantage.

“It was pretty difficult not to have the water all week and then having it go away from the gate in a five-stride line,” she said. “But for me, the course rode nicely.

“In the jump-off, Ziedento slipped turning back to the green vertical, and he almost had it down,” she added. “But luck was on our side today. I kind of felt from the crowd that it was still up, and I didn’t want to look back. I just kept on going!”

The grand prix was “icing on the cake” for Hutchison after clinching a win earlier in the $7,500 CashCall Mortgage Futurity. As the last qualifying class in the Futurity series before the $15,000 Final at the Showpark Summer Festival, the up-and-coming young horses jumped a 1.40-1.45m course, having worked their way up in height through the series.

Five entries returned for the jump-off, but Hutchison and SIG Firecracker were the standout winners, smoking the competition by stopping the clock in 39.18 — nearly four seconds faster than the rest of the class. Hutchison has high hopes for the young horse, whom she looks to campaign soon in the grand prixes.

“He’s just eight this year, and I think he’s special,” she said. “He’s little, but he doesn’t know it. He has a huge stride and a big heart, and every time we’ve made a step up, he just rises to the occasion. This is a nice class for the young horses to step up in, and I’m really looking forward to his future.”

$30,000 Blenheim June Classic Grand Prix
June 14, 2015 * Rancho Mission Vista Riding Park, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
Place – Number – Horse – Rider – Owner – Faults/Time
1. 304 – Ziedento – Susan Hutchison – St. Bride’s Farm – 0/0/41.397
2. 164 – Lapsus du Lavoir – Francie Steinwedell-Carvin – Prentiss Partners – 4/0/40.277
3. 224 – Bybalia SMH – Jeffrey Fields – Stal Minion – 0/4/44.404
4. 589 – BB Casablanca – Kilian McGrath – Georgy Maskrey-Segesman – 0/4/44.926
5. 278 – Caspa 7 – Tasha Visokay – Georgy Maskrey-Segesman – 0/8/44.478
6. 606 – Chello Z – Josephina Nor Lantzman – Josephina Nor Stables, LLC – 4/elim
7. 340 – Clintord – Michelle Parker – Cross Creek Farms, Inc. – 4/80.017
8. 924 – Semira de Saulieu – Lane Clarke – Brookelane Farms – 4/80.225
9. 412 – Lazur – Robert Blanchette – Robert Blanchette – 4/84.979
10. 482 – NJK No Regret – Nicole Haunert – IBC NJK Show Jumpers – 8/88.167
11. 585 – Desdemona – Nathalie Manning – Idyllic Imports – 16/82.717