Traverse City, United States – July 09, 2026 – Samantha Schaefer (USA) and Frasier are no strangers to winning in Traverse City. They’ve come to this venue nearly every year together and have taken home many big wins in their five years as a pair. On Friday of week two of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival (GLEF), presented by B&D Builders, they added another major victory to their Traverse City record in the $31,100 Elk Rapids Marina Two-Phase Challenge CSI 3*.
“He comes here and has a whole other gear,” Schaefer said of Frasier, a 16-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Carambole x Padinus). “I like the Two Phase for him because I can keep him packaged up for the first half and then my strategy for today was to be efficient and to take a shot without coming too undone for Sunday. I thought the strides and everything really suited him. I tried to be smooth and efficient and let everything fall where it may.”
The second phase resulted in a time of 30.38 seconds for Schaefer and Frasier, which proved to be the fastest of the double-clear efforts over Mauricio Garcia’s track. Coming up just behind was Abbygale Funk (USA) with In The Stars. David Oberkircher (USA) ended up third with Munin, with only about three-quarters of a second separating the top three.
“This is the highlight of my summer for sure,” Schaefer remarked about bringing home top results from Traverse City. “We bring a lot of horses here as a team, so I’ve saved him leading up for these couple weeks that he’s here. He feels really good and fresh. I didn’t necessarily think I was going to win today but it shook out and the course suited him.”
Frasier certainly isn’t alone in loving the venue and weather in Northern Michigan, but Schaefer believes he really comes into his own as he returns north for the summer season.
“He loves it here,” she went on. “There are times that the competitiveness of Florida can feel like he’s not that into it. Something about the weather and the ring and everything, he just loves it. He’s happy to be here and he’s happy to be jumping.”
With her eyes on Sunday’s $116,500 Southern Arches Grand Prix CSI 3*, Schaefer knows the horse is up for the task, and she’d be delighted to go two for two during week two.
“I hope it’s going to suit him again,” she joked about the Grand Prix course. “He’s a fantastic horse. He’s been a winner for me in all sorts of classes and heights so he’s been my ‘first for everything’ horse. He can do everything.”
Final Results – $31,100 Elk Rapids Marina Two-Phase Challenge CSI 3*
1) Samantha Schaefer (USA) & Frasier – 0 / 0 – 30.38
2) Abbygale Funk (USA) & In The Stars – 0 / 0 – 30.80
3) David Oberkircher (USA) & Munin – 0 / 0 – 31.16
Source: Press Release from Traverse City Horse Shows
Photos: © TCHS / Natalie Suto Photography / Megan Giese Media
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