Todd Minikus brought it home for the holidays, wrapping up Equestrian Sport Productions’ Holiday II series by besting a class of 44 entries to win the $25,000 ProElite Grand Prix on Carlo owned by Erin Haas of North Face Farm.
Minikus has been riding Haas’s horse for a few months now and is still getting to know the talented bay gelding. “It was a more challenging course than I had thought it would be. There was some definite technicality to it and Carlo responded well. And for the jump off, he was pretty damn fast,” commented Minikus about his winning ride on Carlo.
Exceptional, jointly owned by Minikus and Brem’s Sport Horses, once again proved his mettle with Minikus in the saddle, by nabbing two first-place wins in the Green Hunter 3’3” x 3’6” division. The six-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding had an exceptional summer and fall show season, scoring championship after championship titles, as well winning the $15,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby at Tryon and the $5,000 Hunter Derby at Equifest. “Exceptional is turning into a winning machine,” Minikus said. “We expect big things from him during the circuit.”
Minikus was also thrilled with another one of his new mounts, Tasamanie VH Lindehof Z, aka Tasy. The promising flashy bay mare won a reserve out of 50 horses in the 1.2m Open Jumper class. “We just started showing her. I am really excited about her. She came over from Europe a few months ago,” he said. “I think she has a really bright future.”
In addition to his top placings on his regular mounts, Minikus made some lucky owners very happy for the holidays by scoring wins on several catch rides. He nailed a first-place win on Anytime PicoBello Z in the 1.2 Open Jumper class and another win on Color Up on the Performance Hunter 3’3”
Minikus and a stable full of his top mounts are scheduled to compete at the 2018 Winter Equestrian Festival, which opened this week. To keep up with the FEI Nations Cup veteran and U.S. Pan American Games team bronze medalist, follow him on Facebook and Instagram @Todd_Minikus, or visit www.toddminikusshowjumping.com.
