Wellington, Florida, USA – April 02, 2022 – The pinnacle event of the 2022 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) came to an exciting conclusion on Saturday, April 2, in the $500,000 Rolex Grand Prix CSI 5*. Olympian Chloe Reid (USA) and Souper Shuttle ascended to the second spot on the podium after an exciting five-horse jump-off.
Course designer Guilherme Jorge (BRA) set a large and technical course befitting a five-star event for the 40 entries that qualified for the class. With a line-up of who’s who in show jumping, five horse-and-rider combinations were able to find the key to a clear round and return for the jump-off.
As a late addition to the starting order due to a scratch in the original order, Spencer Smith (USA) and Quibelle, a 13-year-old Hanoverian mare (FRH Quaid x Stakkato owned by Gotham Enterprizes, LLC, were first into the ring for both the opening round and the jump-off. Over the shortened course, they had an unfortunate rail for four faults in 45.68 seconds, which would leave them in fifth place at the end of the class.
Chloe Reid (USA) was next to contest with Live Oak Plantation LLC’s Souper Shuttle. She and the 11-year-old Hanoverian mare (Stakkato x La Zarras 2), which she has ridden for three years, put in an efficient clear round in a time of 47.63 seconds to take the lead, but with two more double clear rides after her, she would land in the third-place position on the podium.
“I felt fortunate that we got to jump this class last year,” said Reid, who is 25 years old. “I think that helped because I walked the course and felt confident today, whereas last year I was definitely nervous for the track. She’s everything I love in a horse. She has a lot of blood, a lot of character, she’s super smart, and she really tried everything for me today.”
While Souper Shuttle does not have the largest stride, Reid felt that the course worked for her mare.
“I really like to add with her, too much I think sometimes, but I walked it and instantly knew a couple of the questions that riders were talking about weren’t going to be a problem for me,” she noted. “There were a couple places I knew that she had a fast moving pace where I could do the adds and have time without having to rush.”
Final Results – $500,000 Rolex Grand Prix CSI 5*
1) Ashlee Bond (ISR) & Karoline of Ballmore – 0 / 0 – 44.09
2) Daniel Bluman (ISR) & Ladriano Z – 0 / 0 – 44.29
3) Chloe Reid (USA) & Souper Shuttle – 0 / 0 – 44.20
Source: Press Release Jennifer Wood & Sabrina Schmidt / Jennifer Wood Media, Inc. for ESP – Equestrian Sports Productions / WEF – Winter Equestrian Festival
Photos: © Sportfot
Categories: CSI 5*
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