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Brian Shook Shakes it Up for Win in $25,000 Grand Traverse Bay Grand Prix at Horse Shows by the Bay II

July 29, 2007

Traverse City, MI --- After missing out on victory during four years of competition at Horse Shows by the Bay, Brian Shook got his chance this afternoon and brought home the top check in the $25,000 Grand Traverse Bay Grand Prix.

Partnered with Courage 68, owned by Esperanza, Inc., Shook was one of only two riders to advance to today's jump-off. The pair left all fences standing and finished with a time of 37.087 seconds, which just barely beat Casey Hodge's time of 37.108 seconds on Audio K. Hodges finished in second place.

"I just had him shipped in from a friend of mine, Candice King, a week ago," Shook explained. "She just said, 'Have fun with him,' and that's what I've been doing. He's new to me within the last week, so I've ridden him six times now. He's been in the country for I think about a year and a half, and Candice has shown him for that time and has really done well with him. He was ready to move on, so that's why I got him."

Today's course was designed by Hector Loyola and featured 13 numbered obstacles and a total of 16 jumping efforts set on a winding track that allowed little room for galloping. The time allowed was 84 seconds, and most riders came within one or two seconds of the time in the first round. Nine riders finished with four faults in the first round.

From the start of the class, it looked as though there would be a jump-off among the numerous four-faulters, although several riders came quite close to being fault free. However, Hodges and Audio-K, owned by Wendy Hodges, dashed their hopes as the first pair, riding fourteenth in the order, with a clear round. Emily Williams made it all the way around on her two horses, Kaiser De La Cour and Satelite II, only to have unlucky rubs at the final fence both times.

Shook rode third to last in the class and guaranteed the jump-off. Of the course and it's many intricacies, he explained: "I think because my horse has tremendous scope, the combination is what got a lot of people - the 'B' part of the triple. My horse has so much scope that he really jumped it easily. I really wasn't worried about that. Because of the amount of jump he has, I could worry about just the track and not worry about the jumps," he said.

This summer marks Shook's fourth year as a competitor at Horse Shows by the Bay, and it was high time he earned a cooler for himself. In addition to competing here, Shook and his Hunterpointe Farm and his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Forrest Shook, have actively supported and sponsored the show from the beginning.

"I've been coming to Horse Shows by the Bay since they started, and Dean and Alex are really good friends of mine and my family. I've had some bad luck in the grand prix where I've been third or in the lower ribbons. I've just been trying for four years now and I finally got one!" he explained.

Hodges and Audio-K finished in second place, while Henry Pfeiffer finished in third place with Sargeant, having the fastest four-fault round with a time of 75.526 seconds. Williams and Satelite II took fourth place with their time of 76.143 and four faults, and Scott Lenkart and Impulsive finished fifth on their four-fault time of 77.779 seconds. Williams rounded out the top six with her second mount, Kaiser de la Cour and a time of 78.564 seconds.

Competition will resume in the hunter and jumper rings on Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2007, for Horse Shows by the Bay Series III.

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