WELLINGTON, Fla.--Israel’s Ashlee Bond on Donatello 141 won the $78,000 CSI5* WEF Challenge Cup Round 7 in the International Arena on Thursday Feb. 23 during the Winter Equestrian Festival’s (WEF) Week 7.
Ashlee Bond on Donatel141 (Photo by Sportfot)Fifty competitors tackled the Steve Stephens track with 14 advancing to the jump-off.
Small in stature and stride, Donatello 141 was clean in 32.62 seconds.
Jessica Mendoza on Play was second in 33.39 seconds and Belgium’s Jos Verlooy on Igor finished third in 33.89 seconds.
“He always gives me one hundred and ten percent,” said Bond of her 2020 Olympic games mount. “I brought him out after some time off a couple weeks ago and he felt a little bit rusty, but I think we knocked the rust off today. I said coming out of the ring, ‘he’s back in form,’ so it was just reassuring for him to go out there and do so well. He was actually running today. Normally I’m kicking him, but today he was pulling me, so I just kept pushing.”
“It’s almost not fair because he’s so agile,” said Bond. “I did seven strides from one to two where people were doing eight or nine, and he probably has the smallest stride out of the field.”
BOND NOW calls Wellington home after making a move from California last year.
“It’s taken a bit for this to feel like home because I’ve been coming back and forth since 2010 and it always felt like WEF had this grandiose feeling attached to it,” she said. “Now it feels like I’m in my backyard, and maybe that also gives me an advantage; my horses are comfortable here and they love it and thrive in this environment. It’s home now.”
Earlier in the day on Thursday, Chloe Reid on Chelsea 179 won the CSI2* 1.45m as two-star competition runs alongside five-star events this week.
Two-time Olympic team gold medalist Mclain Ward began WEF 7 with a win in the $39,000 CSI5* 1.45m on Catoki on Wednesday.
Ward beat 55 competitors on Catoki, with the fastest time of the day, finishing in 24.18 seconds over the speed portion of the course.
Tanner Korotkin on Quinn 33was second in (24.23 and Emilie Conter of Belgium on Clochard was third in 24.55.
Ward and Catoki picked up the first grand prix win of the WEF 2023 season in the $75,000 Grand Prix and are showing no signs of slowing down.
“Obviously, this is Catoki’s role in life. He’s had a nice little rest since early in the circuit, so he was fresh, but it was set up well for him,” said Ward. “One of the things I have to manage with him is that I don’t go too fast, so when it’s the short speed phase, that helps a little bit. I like to go early, I ride my round and hopefully put a little pressure on, but Tanner almost got me. The young ones are always nipping at my heels, but we held up.”
“He’s basically a pony, and everything happens so fast, but he has the heart of a lion and he’s jumped some massive classes," said Ward. "He’s very brave and matches that with speed and quality which makes for a great partner.”
