WELLINGTON, Fla.--Ashlee Bond, riding for Israel on Donatello 141, won the $137,000 WEF Challenge Cup Round 11 on the grass field on Thursday, March 25, at the Winter Equestrian Festival
Ashlee Bond on Donatello (Photo by Sportfot)A total of 56 competed over a 1.55m course set by 2016 Olympic Games designer Guilherme Jorge of Brazil with 22 qualifying for the jump-off,of which 14 returned.
As the class was a qualifier for the Grand Prix, not allwanted to jup a second time.
Second last to go in the jump-off, Bond was the quickest of the day, clean in 40.29 seconds.
“I felt he was jumping a little bit too high in the first round, which is a good feeling, but I wanted him to level down a little bit for the jump-off,” explained Bond of her decision to return for the jump-off. “My plan was just to gallop and take as much risk as I wanted but I didn’t want to put everything out there. I felt like I just rode my own track. I didn’t think about who was leading or what I had to do to win. It was just for him, what is the best preparation for Saturday’s grand prix, and I felt that the round that I gave him got him in the right space in terms of how high he was jumping over the fence, how well he was getting across, and being careful off the front rails. It felt really, really good.”
IRELAND'S Cian O’Connor on Kilkenny was second in 41.12 seconds, and fellow Irishman Darragh Kenny on Vinci De Beaufour was third in 41.40 seconds.
“I love the field,” said Bond. “He’s always done really well on grass. He’s really good on big, open fields, so I was thrilled because he has jumped so well here, and it changes it up. Every time it’s going to be over at WEF, it’s going to be a night classes, and he’s great at those too, but it’s nice to be out here and during the day in a big grass field for a $500,000 class, so I’m excited.”
“My dad Steve is the only one that sits on him the day before a class,” she said. “He flats him the day before and then we give the horse a light lunge, just a 15- to 20-minute trot lunge, and then we go and try to win the class.”
THE ELEVENTH week had opened with Harrie Smolders of the Netherlands on Une De L’Othain winning the $37,000 1.45 Jumpers CSI5* on Wednesday, March 24, also on the grass Derby Field, clean in .
Harrie Smolders on Une De LOthain (Photo by Sportfot)“This week the plan was to only do this class with her because she usually does the bigger classes,” said Smolders. “With that plan in mind, I thought, “Why don’t we give it a go today?” She’s probably not a typical speed horse, but she went very smooth every turn and saw every distance fairly early so everything worked out according to plan. She’s good on all kinds of surfaces. She’s very scopey, very careful, and today I think it was my turn to win.”
Mexicans were second and third, with Eugenio Garza Perez finishing second on Caracas in 29.75 seconds, and Patricio Pasquel third on Yoga Santa Rosa,also clean in 30.18 seconds.
Smolders, ranked 20th in the world, has been splitting his time between Europe and WEF throughout the winter but circled WEF 11 as an important week to attend.
“You can see that all the big guns are coming out; everybody has brought their best horses for the final weeks,” he said. “It’s going to be very tough competition. Today’s win is in the pocket, and anything else that comes this week is a bonus for me. It gives you extra motivation because you want to compete against the best in the world, and you want to prove that you belong here. I have a few new horses coming up but nevertheless, I’m going to try my best and give it a good shot.”
“I think for the horses it’s super to have different kinds of footing and different venues,” said Smolders. “It keeps them fresh mentally, and this is a fantastic field. It doesn’t get better anywhere else in the world.”
To open the day, O’Connor had won the $1,000 1.40m Jumpers CSI5* on Dourados, clean effort in 32.96 seconds.
EQUESTRIAN Sport Productions management has announcedthat the protocols currently in place regarding Equine Herpesvirus (EHV) will be modified as of Monday, March 29, 2021.
This measure will include activities at both the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center and Equestrian Village, the homes of the Winter Equestrian Festival and the Global Dressage Festival, respectively.
This decision was made after conferring with state and local veterinarians, as well as the US Equestrian Veterinary Department, who all agreed that the restrictions were no longer needed due to the containment of the recent outbreak in Ocala.
As of this upcoming Monday, horses that are located outside of Wellington, FL, or any that have traveled recently will be allowed on-site for competition.
