Lexington, KY – August 15, 2024 – Show jumping returned to the Rolex Stadium on Thursday evening during the Bluegrass Classic at the Kentucky Horse Park. Leading horse and rider combinations gathered to take aim at the top spot in the $25,000 Bluegrass Classic. At the end of the night, Alex Granato bested a four-horse jump-off with his veteran partner Carlchen W to gallop home with the winning honors. Garrett Warner was hot on Granato’s heels with Nambino VD Guldennagel Z for second place, while Connor O’Regan and Carmen De Bonnieres took home the third place prize.
Granato and Carlchen W have been partners for over a decade with several major victories around the world, but the 16-year-old gelding is recovering from an injury and this marked his first bigger class back, making the win extra special.
“He had an injury about a year and a half ago, so we’ve really been on the mending road with him,” noted Granato. “This is the first week that he’s really felt himself and the win is very special, but just having him feel that good felt amazing tonight.”
Alex Granato and Carlchen W
Course designers Ken Krome and Meghan Rawlins asked questions throughout the 12-obstacle track, which included an oxer-vertical double combination, a vertical-vertical double combination, and a vertical-doxer double combination, a liverpool and a final oxer just passed the gate. Four combinations had all the answers in the first round and advanced to the jump-off, where they had to begin oxer a wide oxer towards the liverpool and make a sharp rollback to a bending line that included the double of verticals. They then jumped a new oxer before making another tight rollback to the final delicate line towards the gate.
Garrett Warner and Nambino VD Guldennagel Z
As the pathfinders during the first round, Warner was first to return for the tiebreaker with Nambino VD Guldennagel Z. He put a target on his back as he produced a second clear round and stopped the clock at 39.820 seconds. Granato and Carlchen W are no strangers to the winner’s circle though and they were able to chase down the time while still leaving every fence intact. They dashed across the finish line just fractions ahead, finishing in 39.460 seconds. O’Regan was the last to return with Carmen De Bonnieres, and while they were able to cross the finish line without error, their time of 40.180 seconds would slide into third, and Granato returned to lead the lap of honor.
Conor O’Regan and Carmen De Bonnieres
“My plan was just to be smooth with him,” explained Granato after his win. “He’s jumped a few small classes starting in June and this was his first real test. This is his first class back over 1.35m and I didn’t want to rush him. I knew it wasn’t a big number in the jump off, so I was hoping his natural speed would at least get us a close podium spot. He was super, everything came up nice. Luckily he’s fast and we ended up winning!”
Granato is based in Kentucky in the summers and is happy to be back at the Kentucky Horse Park for the Bluegrass Classic. “I know this week really is the feature for Green Incentive Finals and Derby Finals, but they still have two good money classes here nationally for the jumpers,” he concluded. “The other horses I’m doing are young and up and coming. Saturday night I’m going to focus on the young ones, so it’s nice to have an atmosphere where they can get some experience.”
The next highlight event in the Rolex Stadium will be Saturday night’s $40,000 Bluegrass Festival Grand Prix, sponsored by Audi of Lexington. Hunter highlights include the 2024 Platinum Performance/USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championship, which will conclude on Friday with the final championship round of the 3’/3’3” Championship. The week continues with the 2024 Platinum Performance/USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship, which will also get underway on Friday in the Rolex Stadium.For more information about Kentucky Horse Shows LLC please visit www.kentuckyhorseshows.com