WELLINGTON, Fla.--Darragh Kenny 0f Ireland on Belo Horizonte won the $25,000 Year End National Grand Prix on Sunday, Dec. 6, their second prize money win of the show
Darragh Kenny on Belo Horizonte (Photo by Anne Gittins)The competition at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center drew 50 competitors.
“This is a horse I got from Ashlee Bond at the end of the Winter Equestrian Festival earlier this year,” said Kenny of Belo Horizonte, a 2008 Holsteiner gelding by Baloubet Du Rouetout of Clearway. “It's been a super horse for me, very careful and fast. I really like it and it’s a really good horse. He doesn’t have a massive stride, but he is very quick across the ground, so I just used that to my advantage today.”
Course designer Anthony D’Ambrosio built 16 efforts up to 1.50m in height, and of the 50 entries in the first round, a field of seven, Juan Manuel Gallego of Colombia, Nicholas Dello Joio, Kent Farrington, Kenny, Jessica Springsteen, Margie Engle and Spencer Smith, returned for the jump-off.
OVER THE jump-off course of eight fences, all seven were clean again, so it all came down to time.
The always-speedy Farrington was sitting as the front runner on his own Orafina in a time of 37.79 seconds, but Kenny on Belo Horizonte finished in 37.55 seconds to win over Farrington, second on Orafina ,while Smith on Lord Up was third in 38.64 seconds.
“It’s great that we can keep this show going and that everybody is following the rules,” said Kenny of competing back in Wellington. “This is the best thing for our sport, so it's very important that we all follow the rules and can keep showing. I’m looking forward to the 2021 season.”
Earlier in the week, Kenny was both first and third in the $10,000 1.40m Open Stake.
The class had 37 entries on Friday over D’Ambrosio’s track, 15 of which advanced to the jump-off.
Last to go in the jump-off, Kenny on Belo Horizonte was clean in 32.81 seconds to win over Alberto Michan of Israel on Loribri, and Kenny was also third on Go Easy De Muze.
