Amanda Gomez & Charly-Ann Supreme in the $25,000 Marshall+Sterling Open Classic

By Jumper News USA on March 10, 2026

Thermal, California – March 07, 2026 – Amanda Gomez (USA) and Charly-Ann have proven time and time again to be a tough pair to beat at the 1.35-1.40m height, and that continued to be the case on Friday, March 6, at Desert International Horse Park (DIHP).

A total of 62 horses tried, but none of them would top Charly-Ann as the mare took home the win in the $25,000 Marshall+Sterling 1.40m Open Classic. Gomez was also presented as the winner of the $20,000 Marshall+Sterling 1.40m U25 held concurrently.

The class opened on Friday afternoon, and a total of 10 jump-off qualifiers then returned to take on the short course under the lights of the Grand Prix Stadium on Friday night.

When Gomez returned to the ring as the second-to-last rider to jump, the time to beat had been set at a competitive 38.240 seconds by Zoe Brown (AUS) and Bling VD Duvelshoeve Z. Gomez, however, knew that the course well-suited her 15-year-old Holsteiner mare, and she decided to go for it.

“When I saw the jump off, I thought immediately it was a good jump off for her,” explained Gomez. “All of her tidier turns are typically off the left. So, the one tidier turn we had today was off the left. There was a lot of speed in the jump off…I watched Zoe go, and she was very, very fast. I honestly didn’t know if I could catch her. She did eight [from one to two], and I told Pat [Boyle], ‘I don’t know if I can do eight, but I’m going to try!’”

Gomez did accomplish the eight-stride line, and she flew down to the final two fences to take home the win with a time of 37.546 seconds.

Brown and Bling VD Duvelshoeve Z, owned by Rooster Run Foundation, held on to second place, and Conor Swail (IRL) and Kazelli VDL rounded out the top three with a time of 38.338 seconds.

“It was our first class of this week, and I only jumped her once last week,” said Gomez. “So, she was a bit fresh today. She gave me a couple funny jumps in the warmup, but I know her so well. I just went out, and I trusted her. She did her job like always! I’m really happy with the way that it went, obviously, and I’m just so thankful for her.”