UPPER MARLBORO, Md.--U.S. Olympic team gold medalist McLain Ward on First Lady won the $63,000 FEI Welcome Stake, and Daniel Bluman of Israel on Gemma won the $63,000 Stars & Stripes Speed Stake, the second class of the evening on Thursday, Oct, 23.
McLain Ward on First Lady (Photo by Shawn McMillen)Course designer Nick Granat set the course for the night’s opening class, the Welcome Stake, and 28 competed in the opening round.
Eight were clean and continued to the jump-off, while one, Lillie Keenan, chose not to return.
Ward and First Lady set a fast time of 33.15 seconds for the win, with Mimi Gochman second in 33.55 seconds, and world number two rider Ben Maher of Great Britain on Faltic HB third in 34.66 seconds.
“I thought it was challenging enough,” said Ward of the course. “Nick is a great course builder, but he builds very delicate. I thought he had the right number clear. It was a fair, welcoming test.
“In the jump-off, I know she’s quick,” he said. “I thought if I could get the first two jumps done — where sometimes she can jump a little high — I had a very good chance.”
First Lady was back in her first five-star competition since March.
She sustained an injury in May that took her out of competition until she returned to the FEI ring two weeks ago in two-star competition.
“WE GAVE HER a nice two-month rest, then legged her back up slowly, and brought her back up to the level,” said Ward. “First Lady's always been brilliant inside, but even with a few unknowns after a long layoff, I think she's picking up even further along. Maybe she was due a little rest, and now she feels fresh and really enjoying her job.”
Daniel Bluman on Gemma (Photo by Shawn McMillen)Katie Dinan on Out Of The Blue was fourth in 35.43, and Conor Swail of Ireland on Casturano was fifth in 35.53, followed by Brian Moggre on MTM Vivre le Reve sixth with four faults and Tiffany Foster of Canada on Electrique seventh with eight faults.
By leaving out strides and make very short turns, Daniel Bluman on Gemma W won the $63,000 Stars & Stripes Speed Stake.
The faults-converted format class added three faults for every rail down, but by being clean and fast Bluman won with a time of 54.98 seconds, nearly two second faster than second placed Kaitlin Campbell on Cosm Hesed, clean in 56.79 seconds.
Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil on Corrie 9 placed third in 57.11 seconds.
While Gemma W was one of Bluman’s main grand prix horses for years, she has taken a bit of a step down in 2025.
She has competed in some five star qualifying classes, but mostly more 1.50m to1.55m events in lower rated shows.
It’s where Bluman feels she fits best, and her record shows it; Gemma finished in the top five in 12 of 19 classes in 2025.
“It's very important to listen to your horses, and Gemma is a fantastic horse,” said Bluman. “She's given me everything since the first day that we started to work together, and I didn't want her to start feeling that she wasn't competitive anymore."
“There came a point — actually, last year here in the five-star grand prix — where she jumped great and clear, but I felt she was trying hard," said Bluman. "I decided, okay, this is a phenomenal horse and I'm going to put her in classes where she has a huge chance of being successful. I don't want her to end up making a big effort where she gets discouraged. I think that horses need to be placed in the classes where they can be competitive and where they can have a long and healthy career.”
“I love this show,” he said of Washington. “I've been very successful at this show and would love to win this grand prix someday.”
