Pablo Barrios wins Wellington Surpass two-star Grand Prix

Pablo Barrios and G&G Quick Star II.
By sportfot.com

Venezuela's Pablo Barrios and G&C Farm's G&C Quick Star II took the top prize in yesterday's (30 January 2011) $40,000 Surpass two-star Grand Prix CSI 2* at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival.

Germany's Olaf Petersen built the course for the 41 starters and 12 of them made the jump-off with clear first rounds.

The first combination to return for the jump-off was the USA' s Quentin Judge and HH Calvano, owned by Double H Farm. They had four faults in 42.22 seconds to finish in sixth place. Fellow Americans Brianne Goutal and Onira, owned by Remarkable Farms LP, were just slightly slower in 42.26 seconds, also with four faults, and picked up the seventh place ribbon. Canada's Eric Lamaze and Artisan Farms LLC's Sidoline van de Centaur had eight faults in 44.88 seconds for 11th place.

Pablo and G&C Quick Star II were next in the ring and set the time to beat with a clear round in 39.87 seconds. The mare, who jumps in a Hackamore, was fast and efficient through the turns for the win.


"I was early in the jump-off and there were no clears," said Pablo. "So I tried to set a fast time, put a little pressure on, and see what happened with the rest of class. My mare is very fast. I did the strides everywhere so I did not take any risk and it went well.

"I knew McLain would be fast, but my horse is very fast and even when she doesn't go fast, she still does well."

McLain Ward, of the USA), and Rothchild, owned by Sagamore Farm, were the next to go clear and they were just off the pace in 40.18 seconds to finish second.

"He feels great. He jumped really well last week, and he was beautiful tonight," said McLain of his horse. "He had a very nice long rest after indoors, which was well needed.

"I was maybe a little conservative. Maybe I could have done one less in the line to the double; the seven might have been there. If I left it out, I could have had it down. If I had to do it again, I'd probably do the same. Pablo did well, and he has a very fast horse. He was hard to beat."

The USA's Schuyler Riley and Lapacco, owned by South Beach Stables, took third with a clear in 43.79 seconds.

"My horse hasn't been doing Grands Prix (for a while," Schuyler explained. "He had an injury and then a trailer accident, so he was just coming back this fall. For me going in, he is a fast horse across the ground. He can be a little slow in the turns. I was not sure if he was really ready to beat Pablo and McLain today."

"Lapacco is really good at night. He's a super brave horse with a lot of scope and rideability. He actually improves at night and he likes the lights and the crowds; it makes him tune into me more."

Pablo Barrios and G&C Quick Star with
ringmaster Cliff Haines, Gustavo Mirabal
of G&C Farm, and Donna DuRant
of Surpass. By sportfot.com

Pablo competed with G&C Quick Star II in the previous week's 1.40ms and won a jump-off class. For this class, he felt that the course suited his mare.

"I really liked the course for her when I walked it," he said. "At this height she feels very comfortable. She can jump bigger, but at this height she answers every question. She is one of my best horses."

Pablo plans to compete with G&C Quick Star II in the $150,000 FEI World Cup Grand Prix at Wellington in two weeks. He won the class last year with G&C LaGran.

For full results, click here