In past years, Daniel Bedoya has sat in the bleachers during the Pin Oak Charity Horse Show and said to himself, "Next year I'm going to have one [in the class]."
This year, not only did he have a grand prix horse, but he also had the winning one. Bedoya, of Magnolia, Texas, guided Quattro to the best performance in the $25,000 Superior Energy Grand Prix. The evening event was the featured jumper class on March 26 during Week II of the 70th Pin Oak Charity Horse Show, presented by Irish Day Farm.
Bedoya, of Bedoya Training Stables, was thrilled with his 9-year-old Dutch Warmblood (by Quasimodo Z) who is just starting to come into his own. The pair posted the fastest jump-off time of 47.16 seconds in a competitive 10-horse tiebreaker, which featured some veteran competitors, including Tracy Fenney's MTM Timon.
"The jump-off worked perfectly. He did everything I wanted him to do," said Bedoya, who went sixth in the order. "I was a little scared on a few of the turns because he's such a big horse."
DS Holdings LLC's S&L Shoe Guru placed a close second with Whitney Owens (48.00 seconds), and Tiny Tim and Brian Locke claimed third in 48.63 seconds for owner Douglass Murray Ackermann.
Although a right-hand rollback in the jump-off to the Jonathan Blake vertical resulted in faults for several riders, that wasn't the place that caused Bedoya concern.
"I wasn't so worried about that one because it was a right turn," he said. "I was worried about the left turn to the Valobra fence because it was a skinny fence, and sometimes I can’t turn him left. And when I turn, he sometimes drags me past the distance, and being a skinny it comes down so easily."
In the end, Bedoya's jump-off ride left all the rails in the cups, and none of the followers could catch his time.
"I loved it! I was so happy because he’s turning now and going fast!” he said with a smile.
Bedoya said the first-round course designed by Bob Ellis was really challenging. He was surprised there were 10 clears in the 27-horse field and was happy to be among them, because the course featured several tough left-hand turns. Bedoya credited three weeks on the Winter Equestrian Festival circuit this winter for helping them fine-tune their performance.
"I got some tips down in Florida from people who jump big jumps all of the time, and I think it made a big difference for the horse and for me," he said. "Palm Beach was really hard for him. But I think it was a really good experience because he came back and was much better. Since then, he won today and won a Welcome and was second and third a couple of times."
Bedoya purchased Quattro as a 5-year-old and has brought him up the levels to the grand prix classes.
"He’s been awesome. It was kind of slow at the beginning because he’s so big," said Bedoya."He’s almost 18 hands. But last year as an 8-year-old he started to do really well. I think he did 20 grand prix classes and placed in 18 of them. He’s been really consistent.
"This is probably the best horse I’m ever going to own," he added, "because I was lucky enough to find him when he was young and didn’t know anything. I was looking for a horse for a client, and at the end she didn’t like him. I tried him and fell in love with the horse. He’s not my type of horse because he’s so big, but I love him. I think he can be a 1.60m horse."
Although Bedoya believes Quattro has the talent to be an international show jumper, that's not his favorite trait in the bay gelding.
"The best thing about him is that he can do this, and I can put my 4-year-old daughter Natalia on him," said Bedoya "Today I was hacking him, and I put a saddle pad in front of me, and we went cantering around the ring. Natalia says, 'Canter Quattro.' And he does."
Bedoya also credited his wife Lindsay for her assistance as trainer and groundperson, making today's win a true family affair.
"This is the first time I've had a real grand prix horse. I’ve done classes like this before," he said. "Sometimes I'd get lucky and get around, and sometimes I didn’t. This is the first time I've had a horse like this, so it’s especially fun to win here at Pin Oak."
