Last Updated on March 19, 2024 by adminahb
Rising talent soaked up the spotlight on the Sunday afternoon, the final day of Horseware Ireland sponsored Week 10 at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Wellington, FL. The BrainJuice Under 25 Grand Prix Series concluded competition in the International Arena with the highly anticipated $50,000 BrainJuice Under 25 Grand Prix Series Final after four weeks of U25 competition.
Nineteen-year-old Baylee McKeever (USA) and her own Formidable topped the field in the season finale, while Ireland’s Francis Derwin rode away with the series title after consistent results all season on Elien.
Only two fault-free efforts in the first round set the stage for a head-to-head duel between McKeever and Carlee McCutcheon (USA) riding Coco Mercedes. McKeever laid down a tough time to beat before McCutcheon pulled a rail in final draw to settle for second.
Derwin’s top-ten finish was enough to hold onto his lead in the series standings and take the overall title. A shake-up in the season standing came when Tom Wachman’s (IRL) sixth-place results in the irons of Obora’s Laura on Sunday moved him from fifth onto the podium in third overall.
Of the season he’s had, Derwin said, “It makes it easier to do well when you have an incredible horse. I started riding Elien when I arrived here [from Ireland] in November. She was clear in all the grand prix except for an unlucky rail today.”
Elien is a 15-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare (Carambole x Mermus R) owned by Darragh Kenny’s Oakland Ventures. Derwin came to Wellington last year to ride under Kenny and has returned this season for further experience in the American market.
Natalie Dean Nabs $62,500 Hermés 1.50m Jumper Classic with Oasis Van De Bucxtale
A large field of 52 horse-and-rider combinations contested Oscar Soberon’s (USA) final international track of WEF 10, but Natalie Dean (USA) bested the rest. An international field of riders brought their A-games in the $62,500 Hermés 1.50m Jumper Classic as 21 pairs advanced to the short course. The lead changed hands as the riders put the pedal to the metal and the time to beat got tighter. Late in the starting order, Dean had a prime position and soared into the lead with a time of 39.73 seconds.
The U.S. national anthem rang out as Dean led off the well-rounded victory gallop with Marigold Sporthorses, LLC’s ten-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare Oasis Van De Bucxtale (Quinn vd Heffinck x Skippy II). She has been forming a partnership with the mare for the better part of the year, but the victory is the first big win for them as a team.
“I got her at the beginning of last year and we’ve been building her up,” explained Dean, who trains with world no. 2 Ben Maher (GBR). “She’s very careful and brave, and for a small horse she has a huge stride which covers a lot of ground. In this jump-off that suited her because there was a lot of galloping and not a lot of turning.”
For Dean, who landed the pinnacle position in the large field of jump-off contenders, the winning secret was leaving it all on the field.
“To be honest, this kind of jump-off is almost easier because you just have to go as fast as you can,” she said. “I got the luck of the draw to go last and I did get to see what everyone was doing, but really the only thing to do in a field that big is to go full out.”
Ryan Kenny and True Cassini Take Top Call in Horseware Ireland Adult Amateur Hunter
The amateur hunters wrapped up their tenth week of the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) on Sunday with the Horseware Ireland Adult Amateur Hunter 18-35 division. Out of a competitive field, it was Ryan Kenny of Alpharetta, GA and True Cassini, owned by Kelly Sims, who remained consistent and victorious. The pair claimed the top tri-color with two scores of 87, an 87.5, and a win in the under saddle.
The 11-year-old gelding, True Cassini, has taken his success across multiple hunter divisions throughout the 2024 season. Kenny’s trainer, Michael Britt-Leon, took top-three placings with Cassini during World Championship Hunter Rider (WCHR) week in the 3’6” Green Hunter division, while the gelding’s owner, Kelly Sims, has consistently placed in the ribbons all season, including a few wins in the 50+ section of the Adult Amateur Hunters.
“True Cassini, a.k.a. ‘Bubbles’, is owned by a good friend of mine, Kelly Sims. I’ve had the pleasure of riding him at the indoor circuits as well as these past two weeks in Wellington. He’s one of my favorite horses to ride,” said Kenny. “We have been fortunate to have a lot of success together in the limited time I’ve gotten to show him. It’s a real honor to ride any of Kelly’s horses.”
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