WELLINGTON, Fla.--Venezuelan Olympian Luis Francisco Larrazabal on Condara won the $62,500 CSI3* Qualifier on Thursday, April 17 after winning the opening three-star event on Wednesday riding Belle de Muze during Wellington International’s Spring Series.
Luis Larrazabal on Condara (Photo by Sportfot)In the second round of the class held in a Winning Round format, Larrazabal went late in the order of the top 12 from the opening round.
He was clean in 40.08, nearly a full second over runner-up and fellow Paris Olympian Shane Sweetnam of Ireland, who was clean in 41.16 seconds.
The highest ranked female rider in the world, #18 Laura Kraut on 9-year-old Emeraldo 4, another up-and-coming mount, was third.
“When I have horses like these, I know they're fast and they have the experience to go for the class,” said Larrazabal of his back-to-back international wins, and a national 1.40m victory earlier in the day on Thursday. “I always try to go for the win, but also focus on my plan instead of looking to the other riders.
“I WAS a little surprised today because I touched A of the double coming in and I thought I had it down,” said Larrazabal. “I turned to look, and I thought I lost a little time there. I was disappointed that I lost my focus, but I kept the pace and I'm very happy it worked out.”
In addition to the 2024 Olympic Games, Condara was Larazzabal mount in the 2023 Pan-American Games in Chile.
“I know her inside out," he said. "The course was tough enough today, but when you have a horse of this caliber and with the experience that we have, you can be confident at the 1.50m level. She loves the field; she's good in every ring, the bigger, the more spooky, I think it's better because she loves to jump and there's nothing that can knock her out of her connection and focus.”
