The Women Dominate The Masters One Longines Speed Challenge

The one thing about competing on horseback is that women are truly equal to the men when it comes to talent. That strength was clearly shown on Friday night in the Masters One Longines Speed Challenge at the Longines Masters of New York. The top three places were dominated by women with Erynn Ballard riding Fantast to the win, followed by Brianne Goutal-Marteau in second on Fineman and Kristen Vanderveen third on Bull Run’s Faustino de Tili.

What made Canadian rider Ballard’s win extra special in this $100,000 class was that despite dropping one rail, she was able to still stop the clock ahead of Goutal-Marteau’s clear round. Her time of 60.62 seconds was mere fractions ahead of Fineman’s speedy 61.86 seconds.

In fact most of the riders competing in this challenging speed class dropped rails, including Olympic gold medalists McLain Ward and Beezie Madden. Riders were penalized two points for each rail down but because Ballard zipped around the course and negotiated every tight turn she could manage, that 2 point penalty still kept her ahead of Goutal-Marteau.

For Vanderveen, the very first rider to negotiate the course, when she entered the ring it was clear she was determined to set the pace and give the riders something to fight for. Her time of 62.04 seconds was less than a second behind Goutal-Marteau.

A nice crowd filled the stands at the Nassau Coliseum in Hempstead and their enthusiasm was well received. The audience cheered on each rider as they attempted to beat the high score, many waving American flags.

The roar was thunderous when Goutal-Marteau took over the lead after she negotiated the first round with no rails down. Yet, next to go was Ballard and when she beat Goutal-Marteau's time, the crowd was on fire, waving flags, stomping and cheering her success.

The three ladies were among the top eight riders to go in a field of 25 and as each new rider took their turn, everyone thought for sure things would change. In fact, the three sat in the top three winners chairs in full view of the audience and as each rider attempted to beat their times, they wondered how long before they would have to turn their chair over to someone else.

Ultimately when things never changed their joy was easily seen during the picture taking presentation and victory gallop.

When Ballard was asked what helped her achieve her victory ride, she gave the credit to her horse. “My horse has so much natural speed. His legs are fast, he’s big-strided, you can turn him back, he’s smart. I think that he won from start to finish; he was just that fast.”

Goutal-Marteau praised both her horse and the crowd. “My horse jumped amazing tonight. The crowd was great. I don’t think I’ve ever jumped with that much atmosphere, with everybody yelling. My horse was with me all the way, so it was great.”

Vanderveen echoed Goutal-Marteau saying, “The crowd was unbelievable. Just having people there that are cheering and screaming for your round and to be in New York, there’s nothing cooler.”

Overall the riders agreed the jumps came up quickly and the turns demanded that the horse and rider needed to have a very clear communication.

There are still two more days to go at this first annual Longines Masters of New York. The first ever Riders Masters Cup is on Saturday, April 28, starting at 8:30 PM. Sunday features the Longines Grand Prix kicking off at 2:45 PM.

Don’t miss the opportunity to see some of the best riders in the world. For more information visit the website at LonginesMasters.com.