Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 23, 1990 TAG: 9006230013
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The glamour event of the Roanoke Valley Horse Show will have a first-time winner when it closes the week of annual Salem Civic Center competition late tonight.
Unless Friday's storm blew in Rodney Jenkins atop a Grand Prix horse - and no red-haired riders of a Pegasus were noticed in the wind-whipped grounds - this will be the first Roanoke Grand Prix without one of the sport's star attractions.
Jenkins won the first four Roanoke Grand Prix. Last year, although he arrived on the grounds less than 24 hours before the big event, he rode four of the seven finalists. However, New Yorker Barney Ward, a former American Football League running back, won on Sedac.
Ward isn't returning, either, choosing to stay in Detroit, where $50,000 Grand Prix events were scheduled on consecutive weekends. That doesn't mean this Grand Prix of Roanoke, with an $18,000 first prize, is void of talent.
"We have some of the top Grand Prix riders in the nation here," said Bill Munford, the show manager. "It's going to be a very competitive Grand Prix, with between 20 and 25 entries.
"The people here loved Rodney. He was a hero here because of what he did. We had the leading male Grand Prix rider in him, and now we have the leading female Grand Prix rider, someone who's never been here before."
Munford was referring to Katie Monahan Prudent of Middleburg, who has been back in competition for about two months after undergoing brain surgery after a spill in a Grand Prix at West Palm Beach, Fla., in March.
Also back from last year is Canadian native Mario Deslauriers, who now owns a farm in Culpeper, and Mark Leone, another of America's top riders. James Young, of Britain, also is on the grounds.
The "Gambler's Choice" was Friday night's jumping event, but it could also be the name of this morning's process among Grand Prix owners and riders.
Riders have until noon today to confirm spots in the Grand Prix, with its $900 entry fee. As of late Friday, only 12 horses were entered. That number could double, as riders see who else is competing, then make a decision or wait until the final hours to check their mounts' chances in the big event.
Jenkins, who owns more than 70 career Grand Prix wins, no longer has a Grand Prix horse. The Montpelier Station resident now is training thoroughbred racehorses and judging horse shows.
The record number of Roanoke Grand Prix entries is 21, in 1988. Munford said he would not be surprised to see more than that scaling the fences and walls of the course designed by Fuzzy Mayo.
The Grand Prix, which is expected to start about 10 p.m., will wrap up the 19th annual show co-sponsored by the Roanoke Valley Horsemen's Association and the Junior League of Roanoke Valley.
Tonight's closing session starts at 6:30, a half-hour earlier than the first five nights, and also includes saddlebred and Arabian championships and stakes. The $3,000 Five-Gaited Championship and $2,000 Three-Gaited Championships are scheduled for saddle horses.
by CNB