Colleen Acosta and Lancome Lead $25,000 Elgin Academy Grand Prix at Lamplight Spring Spectacular III
Wayne, Ill. – June 23, 2023 – Show jumping returned to HITS Chicago during the $25,000 Elgin Academy Grand Prix on Friday afternoon. Riding to the top of the podium during the third week of the Lamplight Spring Spectacular was Colleen Acosta with her own mount, Lancome, being one of three producing a double clear round across the field. Shannon Sullivan and Downtown’s Main Event sped to second as the fastest combination, while Amanda Flint and Irvington VDL rounded out the top three.
Colleen Acosta and Lancome
“Lancome is now 11. I've had her for about two years and won multiple Grand Prix events on her,” explained Acosta after her win. “She's got a lot of heart and a lot of scope. I did the World Cup class on her, so she's jumped big tracks. Like all of us in the sport though, we have little ups and downs, but now I think we're on our way back up!”
Amanda Flint and Irvington VDL
Amanda Flint and her own mount Irvington VDL were the day’s pathfinders, clearing the jump-off in a conservative 37.746 seconds, which would hold up for third place. Shannon Sullivan and Downtown’s Main Event were next, and set a quick pace to beat with a fault-free round in 32.799 seconds. Their spot atop the leaderboard was quickly taken over by Acosta and Lanome though, who dashed through the times in a 31.651 seconds with all the rails intact to eventually lead the victory gallop in the Douglas Elliman Grand Prix Stadium.
Shannon Sullivan and Downtown’s Main Event
“Lancome is a very good mare and I've had her for a while, but we kind of went into a little bit of a lull, so I just really wanted her to jump around nicely,” explained Acosta. “In the second round, I let her open back up, be quick and efficient, and she jumped beautifully for me.”
Acosta was thrilled with the competition and concluded, “We love it here! Everything’s beautiful and everybody's nice. Great classes, awesome rings. We love riding in the Grand Prix ring, this is our first time here and we can’t wait to come back!”
Colleen Acosta and Lancome
The Lamplight Spring Spectacular III will continue throughout the weekend at Lamplight Equestrian Center as part of the HITS Chicago Series. On Sunday, the Douglas Elliman Grand Prix Stadium will host the week’s highlight event, the $50,000 HITS Grand Prix. Junior and amateur athletes will showcase their skills on Sunday during their respective jumper classics to close out the final week of the horse show.