WELLINGTON, Fla.--Lisa Deslauriers rode Hester to add another FEI win to her resume with the victory in the $73,000 Sweet Oak Farm 1.50m Qualifier CSI4* at the ESP Holiday II CSI4* on Friday, Dec. 11 at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center.
Show jumpers came out in high numbers for the prize money classes, with a field of 66 in the Qualifier.
Deslauriers' win was a welcome addition to her growing list of international successes after topping the $214,000 Holiday & Horses Grand Prix CSI4* on Nov. 29.
“It feels great to be back!” said Deslauriers on competing at the Center. “Obviously, it’s an interesting time for everyone. I had a little bit of a break at school. I was at school the past two months and came down two weeks ago, so I’m still trying to get back into the swing of things. Because of the strong people behind me that kept my horses going, it made this transition back into the grind of showing so much easier. It feels good. We’re lucky to be able to show and to get back into what we love doing while so many people are unable to do so. It’s definitely a fortunate situation we’re in.”
COURSE DESIGNER Héctor Loyola of Paraguay had a track of 14 efforts in the first round of the Qualifier for the 66 competitors, 16 of which, from the United States, Ireland, Israel, Great Britain, Switzerland, and the Dominican Republic, advanced to the jump-off.
As the second to go over the short course, Laura Kraut on Goldwin was clean in 45.72 seconds.
Her lead held for six trips until Daniel Bluman of Isreal on Alamo was clean in 44.24.
Alamo was the 2019 FEI Jumping World Cup Finals champion who was previously campaigned by Steve Guerdat of Switzerland before Bluman took over the ride in the summer of 2020.
Just a few trips later, Deslauriers finished in 43.94 seconds for the win while Bluman was second and Kraut third.
“On the turn back to the second to the last jump I took a big risk, but it was going to go one of two ways, and my horse was really right there with me,” said Deslauriers of her winning jump-off. “He saw it too, so luckily it went our way today. I’m really thrilled with my horse, and I have such a great team of people behind me that makes today and last week’s CSI4* win possible.”
“After this Sunday, my horses will have at least a month off to recoup a little bit and rest up,” said Deslauriers. “I think we’ll have a lot of top people here, as there are only so many options available at the high-level right now in the world. I think it’ll be a long season to come, and it’ll be a good break for everyone to try and stick to what’s been working and stay focused on our goals.”
The $10,000 Bainbridge 1.40m Open Stake was the final class of the day on Friday and hosted a large entry of 67 competitors.
Just like the earlier FEI class, 16 advanced to the jump-off, with six of them going double-clear.
As the fastest by more than two full seconds, Shane Sweetnam of Ireland on Byzance Mail won in a time of 43.16 seconds with Molly Ashe Cawley on Berdien second place in 45.57 seconds, and Erynn Ballard of Canada added another country into the mix to place third-on Kamilla D in 48.16 seconds.