WELLINGTON, Fla.--Daniel Bluman of Israel on Ladriano Z won the $425,000 5* Grand Prix at WEF on Saturday evening, March11, while McLain Ward on HH Azur beat a field of top international stars to win the 1 million Euro second leg of the Rolex Grand Slam in the Natherlands on March 12.
The full story on Ward's win will be posted tomorrow.
Bluman had won the same Grand Prix, also on Ladriano Z, in 2019 and lead the victory gallop once again during ‘Saturday Night Lights’ in front of a packed house at Wellington International.
Bluman was last to make the jump-off after Egypt’s Nayel Nassar, Ireland’s Shane Sweetnam and Karl Cook had also qualified over Alan Wade's course..
“I watched Shane’s round and his horse and mine are both big and scopey, so I tried to do the same as him and edge him in a couple places,” said Bluman of his ride in the jump-off.
“He’s a really big horse so he’s naturally not the fastest one moving his feet, but you do cover a lot of ground, especially in a jump off like this where it had big galloping,” said Bluman.
BLUMAN finished six tenths of a second ahead in 43.24 , while Sweetnam on James Kann Cruz was second with another strong showing in five-star competition at WEF.
After finishing third in the Grand Prix two weeks earlier, Sweetnam compared the courses built by Wade.
“It was very difficult in a different way; not dimensionally but especially the last line for a bigger strided horse was very difficult," said Sweetnam. "He made a point to put the last jump in the corner where it’s normally not, and the horses thought they were a done. This was top sport with four great horses and riders in the second round, and no poles.”
“This time of the year you have some of the greatest riders in the world here for the season so it's very intense," said Bluman. "You have to really plan, and I think part of the reason you see this podium here is because we know how to make a plan. These are big jumps, very technical, high competition and you have to treat it that way. If you know how to manage the season it’s a great tool for you, your clients, owners and your family.”
While it was a good field of top riders, the best riders in the world were in the Netherlands for the Rolex Grand Slam that Ward won over the numbers one, two and three riders on the world ranking list, a list on which Ward stands fourth.
Also clear in the jump-off, Cook finished third on Kalinka Van’t Zorgvliet, and Nassar was fourth on Igor van de Wittemoere.
“This jump-off really rewarded how fast you could cover ground more so than turning,” said Cook. “There were three turns, so it was basically about ground coverage and on a horse like her she flies with a bit more turn, whereas these guys’ horses are just faster across the ground. So, the goal was just to cover the ground as fast as I could but after watching I knew I had to go fast. After fence two, I knew I probably wasn’t going to make it."
“This class was really important for us because I haven’t shown her since December and chose to give her a few months off so she could rest and save her legs for later,” said Cook. “It's always a bit of a risk to hold your cards closer to the end because it puts all the pressure on those couple times you decide to show. So, I knew I put a lot of pressure on myself and the last two ‘Saturday Night Lights’ I fell off and stopped out so, we’re doing alright.”
“We live to have moments like this where you're competing against people you really admire and horses you really like," said Bluman. "It was just the right group in the jump-off and I was really motivated to win it and when I crossed the timers I had a feeling I had.”
Bluman and Ladriano Z will next compete at FEI World Cup Finals in Omaha, Nebraska.
VICTORIA COLVIN on El Primero won the USHJA International Hunter Derby earlier in the day.
Colvin on El Primero scored a staggering 96 over the handy course for a total score of 185.25 after a first round score of 89.25 for the win.
Second place went to Greg Crolick on Chappy, who scored a 91 and 93 for a 184 final score, and third went to Jennifer Hannan on Mindful with 183 after tallying a pair of 91.5s.
“The course was very flowing and beautiful,” said Colvin, 26. “Primo started out great. He jumped the first high option wonderfully, as well the first half of the course. He felt fantastic in the handy portion and was very tidy.”
“I have been riding ‘Primo’ for almost five years now, so we obviously know each other quite well,"said Colvin. "He’s the absolute best horse, never spooks and you know he’ll just go right into the arena, march around and try very hard to win. He always tries so hard and gives it his all. He is a great derby and one of the most fun horses to ride.