WELLINGTON, Fla.--Luis Larrazabal of Venezuela on Belle de Muze won the $32,000, CSI5* 1.45m Power and Speed on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at the Winter Equestrian Festival.

Luis Larrazabal on Belle de Muze(Photo by Sportfot)But more importantly, McLain Ward returned to competition after sitting out for four weeks after being injured in a fall on the grass field, and, on his first day back in competition, he finished second on First Lady, just edged out by Larrazabal who had the advantage of going last in the class.

Larrazabal had ended Week 6 with a win and opened Week 7 with a win over Anthony D’Ambrosio’s two-phase course.

“It gives me a lot of confidence for what is coming,” he said about his wins over the past week, which started in the CSI3* 1.50m Classic last Saturday. “It’s a big week for me. I’m jumping Condara in the five-star grand prix, and it's nice to start on the right foot.”

“This mare has incredible talent,” he said of the 15-year-old mare that he has ridden for two years. “She’s so fast in the ring. This was a nice class for her because 1.45m is very easy for her. I didn’t watch anybody because when I see people go fast I want to go even faster. But with this mare, if you’re pedal to the metal, you’re going to go faster than that. I do my best with her and try to stay out of her way. We got lucky again.”

Larrazabal finished clean in 29.97 to beat Ward, who finished in 30.39, just three-tenths of a second back, and Richard Vogel of Germany on Viva Las Vegas W was third in 30.41.

 

“IT'S VERY gratifying because we work a lot for the winter season,” Larrazabal said of winning. “The best riders and horses come here to compete. It’s three months of very intense competition. Being here with my horse in top form, competing week in week out, it feels good. The system is working, the horses are happy. If they're happy the rest is easy.”

Larrazabal currently leads the 1.50m standings heading into WEF 7.

“Right now I have five horses for the 1.50, so I’m very lucky,” he said. “It’s all thanks to my clients and team and everybody who trusts me. It’s not easy, we’ve been really working the past three or four years to really build this. Now having the horses to enjoy and have fun after all the hard work, it’s a very good feeling.”

Earlier in the day, Canadian Olympian and Amy Millar on Christiano won the CSI2* 1.40m.