WELLINGTON, Fla.--Baylee McKeever, 19 of Brewster, N.Y., on Formidable won the $50,000 season finale of the Under 25 Grand Prix Series on March 17 at the Winter Equestrian Festival., while Ireland’s Francis Derwin won the series title after consistent results all season on Elien

Baylee McKeever on Forminable (Photo by Sportfot)Only McKeever and Carlee McCutcheon on Coco Mercedes went clean in the first round, and McKeever was clean in a tough time to beat before McCutcheon pulled a rail in the jump-off to place second.

“My horse is always reliable, and we’ve built a really strong partnership over the last two years,” said McKeever of the 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare she rides under the training of Mclain Ward. “She’ll forever be one of my favorites, and she felt on top form today. Thankfully, I have a team behind me that is able to keep her prepared while I’m in school and had her perfect today.”

McKeever is a communications major at Auburn University in Alabama where she also competes on the division 1 equestrian team.

“We have so much trust in each other,” said McKeever of Formidable, a horse found by Ward. “She underwent colic surgery several years ago, and I brought her back from that which built our relationship.”

Ansgar Holtgers Jr. finished third on Good Morning B in the final, and second in the overall standings.

 

DERWIN'S top 10 finish was enough to hold onto his lead in the series standings and take the overall title.

Francis Derwin on Ellen (Photo by Sportfor)A shake-up in the season standing came when Ireland's Tom Wachman’s sixth place finish on Laura on Sunday moved him from fifth onto the podium in third overall.

“It makes it easier to do well when you have an incredible horse." said Derwin. "I started riding Elien when I arrived here from Ireland in November. She was clear in all the grand prix except for an unlucky rail today.”

Derwin came to Wellington last year to ride under Darrragh Kenny and has returned this season for further experience in the American market.

“This is my third year in the Under 25 division and the competition is very good here. This is up there with some of the best wins of my career,” he said.

Natalie Dean on Oasis Van De Bucxtale won the $62,500 1.50m Jumper Classic, bearing a field of 52 that competed over a course set by Oscar Soberon, with 21 clean to go on to the jump-off.

Going late in the jump-off, Dean had a prime position and went into the lead with a time of 39.73 seconds.

“I got her at the beginning of last year and we’ve been building her up,” said Dean, who trains with world no. 2 Ben Maher of Great Britain. “She’s very careful and brave, and for a small horse she has a huge stride which covers a lot of ground. In this jump-off that suited her because there was a lot of galloping and not a lot of turning.”

“To be honest, this kind of jump-off is almost easier because you just have to go as fast as you can,” she said. “I got the luck of the draw to go last, and I did get to see what everyone was doing, but really the only thing to do in a field that big is to go full out.

“I think this series is really great for developing young or less experienced horses,” she said. “Generally in these jump-offs there are quite a few clear, so you can really test them and train them to go fast.”

Belgium’s Nicola Philippaerts was second, clean in 39.98 seconds on Pandora Van De Kruishoeve.

Wachman was third in a time of 40.81 seconds on Lazzaro Delle Schiave.