WELLINGTON, Fla.--Daniel Deusser of Germany on Killer Queen VDM won the $214,000 Grand Prix CSI4* on the grass Derby Field at WEF on Sunday, Feb. 7.
The course set by Anderson Lima of Brazil had 16 jumping efforts with 12 riders from eight countries returning for the jump-off of seven fences including a flat-out gallop to the final oxer.
Deusser was clean in 39.98 seconds to be the only rider to crack the 40-second mark.
“I’m very happy with Killer Queen today,” said Deusser. “She arrived two weeks ago. I took her to other places to work with her on the grass, and she took it very well this weekend. At the end she is just an unbelievable horse. She has all of the things that a good show jumper needs; she’s very scopey, she’s careful, she has a huge stride, and she can be fast easily.”
Ashlee Bond, riding for Israel, on Donatello 141, was clean in 40.41 seconds, riding Donatello in an FEI event for the first time since winning the CSI5* grand prix during WEF 9 at the 2020 WEF.
“My plan was just to run, kick as hard as I could, and turn as fast as I could,” Bond said. “My horse is little. He’s like 15.3h and doesn’t have a very big stride, but he is game, so I just took a chance and would have been happy wherever I ended up because he’s such a good boy.”
“I THINK that Andersen Is a genius course designer,” Bond said. “Every horse that I watched this week, including my own, just got better as they went on. The courses are smart, they ask tough questions of the horses, but they’re not unfair. There are faults all over the course, and I really enjoy riding his tracks. It was a blast to be able to go up against riders like Daniel and McLain. There was so much talent out there.”
Ward on Contagious finished in 40.66 seconds to place third.
“I was thrilled with Contagious,” said the two-time Olympic team gold medalist. “We gave him a bit of a rest in the fall. We’ve been building him back up, and we’re thrilled with him. I thought he jumped really spectacular. I was a little chicken to the last fence in the jump-off, and I took away his wind a little bit. This year WEF is so competitive, and we’re seeing a level higher of competition than ever because we’re lucky enough to still be able to compete, so everyone has come to Florida. It’s exciting.”
This week was riders second opportunity to jump on the grass Derby Field, and there will be two more weeks of competition on the turf during WEF, which runs until April 4.
“I think it’s great,” said Ward. “The footing is pretty spectacular, it’s a beautiful setting, and it’s nice to have a variety of places to jump to keep the horses interested, engaged, and fresh. I thought Anderson did a great job today. The time allowed was probably a little bit friendly in the end and maybe opened the door for a few more into the jump-off.”
Deusser, the third-ranked rider in the world, is competing at WEF for the first time in four years.
“I have to admit that I missed it a little bit,” said Deusser. “Everything around this facility is fantastic. There are fantastic rings here and the circumstances around the world are difficult right now, so we are very happy to be here and that we can compete here.”
“I will continue with Killer Queen in the CSI5*, and after that she will have a couple weeks off and then I will work with some of my other horses during that time,” he said.
JESSICA SPRINGSTEEN on Volage Du Val Henry, clean in 40.97, won the $37,000 1.50m Classic CSI4* on Saturday on the grass Derby Field over 14 in the jump-off from a starting field of 63.
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Canada’s Mario Deslauriers on Bardolina 2 was clean in 41.78 seconds to place second with Lucas Porter on C Hunter clean in 41.94 seconds third.
As the jump-off began, the skies opened with a downpour of rain, but the footing held up nicely, making for a very exciting finish.
“I thought they were going to postpone the class,” said Springsteen. “I was waiting for them to say that we were going to have to go back to the barn, but we got lucky and I’m glad we got to finish this one. My horse loves the grass so I’m going to keep her on here for the rest of the season. I feel like she really shines out here on the derby field. I thought the course was difficult enough today, so I was thrilled with her.”