WELLINGTON, Fla.--McLain Ward on First Lady won the $62,500 CSI4* WEF Challenge Cup, a qualifier for the $215,000 CSI4* Grand Prix during ‘Saturday Night Lights’, on Thursday, March 14.
McLain Ward on First Lady (Photo by Sportfot)While this was his first international victory at this year's WEF, Ward has had some top placings with Ilex, Callas and Contagious while preparing his horses to peak for the Paris Olympics.
The WEF Cup had an impressive field of 48 competing over course set by Oscar Soberon, 12 of which were clean.
That number dropped to 10 when Margie Engle and Shane Sweetnam elected not to compete.
Ward, going near the end, was clean in 34.95 seconds.
“She has been very solid and felt great the whole circuit,” Ward said of First Lady, an 11-year-old Oldenburg mare. “I had one grand prix that I had a big score in because we didn’t have a lot of experience with the water and I overrode her, but she’s either been clear or on four faults every time out; it has been a bit frustrating with some of the four-fault rounds and it was nice that it came together today for her, her owner and myself."
“SHE'S A VERY careful horse,” he said. “She has taken a while to develop because of that quality, but she’s jumping the bigger size easier and easier now, so I’m really always excited to compete with her.”
While the Olympic medalist has his sights set on Paris 2024, he said that the WEF circuit produces some of the most challenging competition seen throughout the year.
“You do see the more experienced riders start to pinpoint and target their horses towards the end of season,” said Ward. “But I think it’s very hard to win every day here and it is also very easy to get in a four fault run and things not actually going that badly. We say it builds and builds, but really we’re already built by week three. There’s often no difference between a three-star and a five-star when it comes to the level of competition here.”
World number five, Kent Farrington, going fifth on Myla, was clean in 36.67 to place second, and Nicola Philippaerts of Belgium on Derby De Riverland was third, clean in 37.17 seconds.
Laura Kraut had the only other clean round on Baloutinue, going slowly for a schooling round on her Tokyo Olympic mount who is just coming back from a time off, to place fourth.
Scott Stewart of Flemington, N.J., won three championships in hunter sections.
Stewart was champion in the 3’ Green Hunter on Follow This, in the High Performance Hunter with Nottingham, and in the Conformation Hunter on California Love.
“He's won almost every model he's been in, so he definitely has the look and the talent to win the hack as well," said Stewart of California Love, who won every class in his division.
“We bought him when he was a 3-year-old,” said Stewart of the now nine-year-old gelding. “He's also a great jumper, and he's very easy going in with a big stride, and just does it easy, he's the perfect type.”
