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| Nick Skelton and Big Star. By sportfot.com |
Of the 65 starters over Ireland's Alan Wade's course, 11 went clear.
Nick and Big Star, an eight-year-old Dutch stallion by Quick Star x Nimmerdor, cleared the jump-off in 40.99 seconds, beating the USA's McLain Ward and Louisburg Farm's Esplanade 7 into second by more than two seconds. France's Marie Hecart and Babbe Van't Roosakker, owned by Haras de la Roque, were third.
"McLain told me he wasn't very fast, but knowing him I didn't believe him," said Nick. "I've never seen him not go fast. I thought I'd go nice, but every time I turned I had a good distance. Big Star is a fast horse anyway. I think I got it into the double. I had an unbelievable shot to it and I think it got sent from above. It was perfect. I didn't think I was almost three seconds faster."
This was the second big win for Big Star, who also claimed victory the $40,000 Equine Couture/Tuff Rider Grand Prix in week two of the WEF.
Young riders
The $15,000 Artisan Farms Young Riders Grand Prix was the earfeature in the International Arena. The class was the first of four qualifiers, all held at WEF, for the EY Cup Finals, held at the FEI World Cup Finals in Leipzig, Germany, in April.
Through their sponsorship, The Dutta Corporation & International Horse Transport will provide round-trip shipping for the winning horse.
"Guido Klatte and I are delighted to join the Zeigler family in supporting the young rider program, as these riders are our future," said Tim Dutta, speaking on behalf of The Dutta Corporation. "We are excited to be part of the process that gets our best and brightest to Leipzig along with our senior squad. We wish this series much success and hope that the young riders have a great experience in the journey and may the best represent us. Guido and I, along with the rest of The Dutta Corporation team, are looking forward to giving the winning horse wings to the World Cup Final."
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| Christina Kelly and Camirage. By sportfot.com |
Four horse and rider combinations jumped double clear, and Christina Kelly and Diamond Edge Farm's Camirage had the fastest time of 35.43 seconds for the win.
Reed Kessler and Onisha clocked in just 4/10ths of a second shy of that time to finish in second place in 35.83 seconds.
Christina, 17, has had an outstanding time on the WEF circuit so far winning the $10,000 High Junior Jumper Classic four weeks in a row prior to this victory. From Oxford, Britain, Kelly trains with US show jumper Margie Engle and has had her winning mount Camirage, a 10-year-old Holsteiner mare by Charisma, for three years.
"My horses have been really awesome and I have had a lot of luck so far, so hopefully it keeps on going," said Christina. "The courses have been good too.
"It is really exciting that they have started this series because I think they really needed to do something like this for juniors coming up instead of just going straight into the bigger classes."
Speaking about Camirage, Christina said: "She needs a lot of leg; she gets very careful and backed off. The faster you go the more confident she is, but she does lose a little bit of her heart if you don't give her a confident ride."
Although Christina won the class today, she declared her second mount Navarre D'Olueis to count for her points in the series standings and is therefore not actually leading the series. Second place finisher Reed Kessler and her mount Onisha earned top points with their finish today and are currently in the lead for a place in the finals.
For full results, click here
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