Mary Lisa Leffler and Gentleman Jack Garner First Grand Prix Victory in $25,000 Rockbridge Grand Prix at Lexington Premiere
Lexington, Va. – April 26, 2025 – Speed and accuracy took center stage Saturday evening during the $25,000 Rockbridge Grand Prix, the main event of the Lexington Spring Premiere and part of the 2025 Festival of Champions, presented by Attwood Equestrian, at the Virginia Horse Center. The competitive field of athletes was narrowed down to three combinations for the jump-off, where only the fastest had shot at the podium. Mary Lisa Leffeler galloped home with the winning prize with Gentleman Jack, claiming their first grand prix victory together. They edged out pathfinders Ragan Roberts and Queen Bee Z, who placed second, while Grace Long and Kiena rounded out the top three.
“It feels really good to have our first grand prix win,” expressed Leffler after the victory gallop. “Every time he goes he tries to win, and he’s usually first or second. He wants to go. He likes you to support his face a little bit, but he knows his job.”
The Ken Krome-designed course tested riders from start to finish with an oxer-vertical double combination, a liverpool vertical, and a vertical-oxer-vertical triple combination. Three riders were able to complete the first round without error, and the tiebreaker asked new questions, beginning with a rollback to a new vertical before turning by the gate and jumping the first half of the triple combination and finishing with a bending line away from the gate.
Roberts was the first to return with his own Queen Bee Z, picking up a quick gallop to the first oxer and making a tidy turn back to the new vertical. He left each rail intact as he stopped the clock in 39.310 seconds to set the time to beat. Leffler and her own Gentleman Jack were next, and she was confident she could stay inside of Queen Bee Z’s track. With a good gallop to the final oxer she dashed through the timers in 36.508 seconds to go to the top of the leaderboard. Long was the final rider to return with Sanmar Farm’s Kiena, but a rail at third obstacle would incur four faults and rank third, as Leffler returned to lead the lap of honor.
“In the first round, Jack shifted hard to the last oxer, so went outside because I knew I could get a good gallop and just find it to last,” explained Leffler regarding her plan for the jump-off. “Ragan just seemed a little slow, and I thought I would just make a good turn. I knew mine is pretty quick and fast.”
Leffler began riding Gentleman Jack, an 11-year-old KWPN gelding by Carrera, last year for Eves Barton in Florida. “I was doing the 1.15m, 1.20m, but I kept saying, ‘I think this horse has a lot more scope.’ I did some 1.30m classes, and I bought him because I really think he has it. I did the 1.30m all last year, and in Florida I did the 1.35m and 1.40m, just kind of aiming for this for the spring.”
The Festival of Champions is always one of the first stops on the way home for Rolling Acres, and Leffler is looking forward to one more week of competition this spring at the Virginia Horse Center with her two winning mounts. She concluded, “This is one of my favorite shows, so it’s nice. It’s my first horse show back after Florida and I haven’t seen all my Virginia people, so it feels more like home.”
The Lexington Spring Premiere will continue through Sunday at the Virginia Horse Center. Next week, riders will return for the Lexington Spring Encore, the second event in the 2025 Festival of Champions, presented by Attwood Equestrian. For more information please visit vahorsecenter.org.