MYAKKA CITY, Fla.--Paul O’Shea of Ireland on Spy won 100,000, 1.45m FEI CSI2* Grand Prix at TerraNova Equestrian Center on Saturday, March 15.
Paul O'Shea on Spy (Photo by Jessica Buehler)In the finale of the venue’s five-week circuit, Canada's Mario Deslauries on Inside of My Heart finished second.
Over the course set by Peter Holmes of Canada, 11 went clean from the 32 on the start list.
O’Shea had not one but two clear in the first round and put the pressure on early with Spy.
“Peter Holmes did a great job today; it was a tough course, but I think for $100,000 it should be,” said O’Shea. “My plan was to go as quickly as I could with Spy. He’s got a big stride and he's very careful so that's a big help on a track like this."
“For a second I don’t think he really saw the last fence,” he said, “he didn’t lock onto it until the last stride, but he gave an extra effort there so it just shows what a good horse he is.”
“I’VE HAD HIM since he was 7-years-old when he was bought by Erica Hatfield,” O’Shea said. “He was green when we got him and we’ve brought him along very slowly, but we’ve always had a lot of belief and faith in him. Andrea Sinner and Trish Hartwell have come on board as well, so they own him together now and were looking forward to the future with him. This is the first show they’ve been able to come to as owners with Erica so I'm very happy; it's a great way to start.”
Deslauriers finished clean but almost two seconds behind O’Shea for second in 44.06 seconds and was the only other clean in the jump-off.
Darragh Kenny of Ireland on Lightning had four faults in 43.41 seconds for third,
On Thursday, Kenny on Lighting had won the $32,000, CSI2* Welcome Prix over a field of 39, clean in the nine horse jump off in 39.63 seconds.
“I bought her when she was a 6-year-old, and she’s 9 years old now, so I’ve produced her for the past three years,” he said. “I really think she's a special horse, and she's turning out to be that. I’m really happy with the way she’s going."
“The first round felt very good; I didn't ride as good as I would've liked, but she jumped excellent,” he said. “I was very happy with how she jumped and she’s moving up to this level really well. Saturday will be a big class for her because she hasn't jumped that many grand prixs before, so we’ll see how it goes.”
Daniel Bluman of Israel on Landon de Nyze finished second, just a hair short of Kenny's time in 40.03 and was also third on Hummer Z in 40.13 seconds.
