Wellington, Florida, USA – February 26, 2022 – Bliss Heers (USA) and Antidote de Mars were consistent again in another major five-star level competition last Saturday. The dynamic duo earned a third-place finish in the in €406,000 Lugano Diamonds Grand Prix CSI 5* last Saturday night during the seventh week of the 2022 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC).

Bliss Heers praised the course designers, saying, “It’s always tough building here because of the level of competitors and horse power. You want something difficult enough, but not something that will scare the horses because you want to keep them confident that the Saturday night class is going to be a good class. They did a great job, and it was fair.”

As the lone American in the jump-off field, Bliss Heers jumped to a podium finish after she and Antidote de Mars, owned by Bridgeside Farms LLC, were clear in 45.17 seconds.

“To be honest, I took the track I wanted to take,” said Heers. “Knowing that my horse is naturally very, very fast, I could’ve taken a bit more risk than I did and trusted his foot speed a bit more. I think I definitely lost some time just by being more cautious, but then again you can take a risk and knock one down. I did my plan, and I’m very happy with the results.”

Heers has enjoyed success with Antidote de Mars for three years and represented the United States in two Nations Cups in 2021.

“For me, he is the best horse in the world,” she said of the 12-year-old Selle Français stallion (Diamant De Semilly x Jarnac). He does everything for me and has the biggest heart; he has every quality you would want in a show jumper, and as a personality he is the kindest soul. I trust him with everything. It is really fun to have a horse that I think almost thinks the same as me sometimes. Where I make mistakes, he is very keen on picking me up and helping me out. We are a good team that way; I support him, and he helps me out.”

Final Results – €406,000 Lugano Diamonds Grand Prix CSI 5*

1) Bertram Allen (IRL) & Pacino Amiro – 0 / 0 – 44.14

2) Paul O’Shea (IRL) & Chancelloress – 0 / 0 – 44.49

3) Bliss Heers (USA) & Antidote de Mars – 0 / 0 – 45.17

Source: Press Release (edited) by Jennifer Wood and Sabrina Schmidt / Jennifer Wood Media, Inc. for ESP – Equestrian Sports Productions / WEF – Winter Equestrian Festival

Photos: © Sportfot

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