Record crowd, big prizes for Grand Prix cap off week two

A record crowd was in attendance yesterday at Horse Shows by the Bay, witnessing the Grand Traverse Bay Grand Prix. More than 1,000 people strong showed up, 270 of whom were part of Glenn C. Hirt's and Wells Fargo Advisors' private client reception.

Hirt's guests and the entire crowd witnessed superb competition, as Addison Phillips and Teirra dominated the jumper competition Sunday, culminating a superb week two at the show. Coming off of a win in Friday's $10,000 Welcome Prix, the pair jumped to victory in the $30,000 Grand Traverse Bay Grand Prix held in the Grand Prix Ring at Flintfields Horse Park.

Twenty-five entries competed in today's class, and course designer Guilherme Jorge of San Paulo, Brazil, set another great track to challenge the competitors. The course consisted of 13 obstacles and 16 jumping efforts set at 1.50m in height.

At the conclusion of the first round, nine entries had jumped clear to earn the opportunity to compete in the jump-off. Addison Phillips and Teirra were first to go in the class, and their clear round brought them back to jump first over the shortened course. The pair put down a fast, smooth round in a time of 33.939 seconds, and beat all competitors.

Phillips hails from New York, NY and trains with Andre Dignelli at Heritage Farm in Katonah, NY. She has owned nine-year-old Teirra for a year and a half. "She was awesome today; she is such a cool horse," Phillips smiled."

The large crowd also helped make the win even sweeter. "There was a great crowd today," Phillips noted. "It is so fun when you get a big crowd. You don't get to see that at a lot of horse shows, so this is great and it definitely made the class feel a lot more fun."

Glenn C. Hirt of Wells Fargo Advisors hosted an on-site reception.

Highlights for the upcoming week three of the show include:

Friday: Open Jumper Speed, 3pm
Junior/Amateur Jumper Speed, 4pm
Saturday: HJAM Equitation Medal Finals, 1pm
CANTER Horse Rescue Silent Auction, 1-7pm
Cherry Capital Classic Grand Prix, 5pm
Sunday: High Junior/Amateur Jumper Prix, 10am
Low Junior/Amateur Jumper Classic, 12noon
Children’s/Adult Jumper Prix, 2pm

For more information, visit www.horseshowsbythebay.com

Who let the dogs out??

As you can tell from the photo above, he AC PAW pet parade and dog look-alike contest held this past weekend were rip-roaring successes.

More than 25 dogs brought their owners to compete, with the winner, "Skunk Boys," taking the big prize. Dozens of others just came out to watch the spectacle.

Prizes were donated by Posh Pet Boutique, D.O.G Bakery and Gourmet K9. The event, which also included a dog agility demonstration, was sponsored by Northern Michigan Veterinary Hospital, located in Acme.