TRAVERSE CITY, Mich.--Roberto Teran Tafur of Colombia on Dez'Ooktoff won the $62,500 Traverse City CSI4* Welcome Stake on Thursday, June 25.
Roberto Teran Tafur on Dez Ooktoff (Photo by Natalie Suto)“This horse has been with me for almost seven years,” Teran said. “He took me to Tokyo, the World Equestrian Games in Denmark, second place in the Rolex Grand Prix, but he has never been a fast horse. We have been training on the rollbacks and speed every single week, and it’s paying off. He was really fast today which was why I was so excited.”
With nine riders returning for the jump-off over he course set by Bernardo Costa Cabral’s of Puerto Rico, Teran wasn’t expecting to come out on top given the caliber of competition.
“I told my groom, ‘I’m going to take it easy and focus on the Grand Prix,’” he said. “Then I did fences one, two, and three and everything started showing up. Then I saw the long one for the vertical after the combination. He rolled back fantastic and everything just happened.”
SHANE SWEETNAM of Ireland on Pegina VD Bisschop, with a crafty inside turn , set the time to beat of 38.88, but was then topped by Charlotte Bettendorf of Luxembourg on Kalliope, who took the speed a notch higher, finishing in 38.12.
Second to last to go, Teran and Dez’ Ooktoff finished clean in 37.53 seconds to win.
“I think I galloped to the vertical before the last two; I did a few strides less than everyone else.”said Teran. “The rollback showed up great, and I’m pretty sure I did one or two strides less to the last one than the rest.”
Bettendorf finished second wit Sweetnam third
“I love this show,” Teran said. “I have been coming here for decades now. They improve every single year, from the stabling to the footing to the jumps. It’s just a great energy and I love this place.”.
“I’m very excited,” he said of Saturday’s class. “I’m sure we’re going to have a few clear fast ones before us in the jump-off, but now with this win, I feel like we can be on the podium no problem.”
