Erynn Ballard captured her second major win of the week on Saturday, January 9, in the $25,000 CaptiveOne Advisors Classic at the 2021 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF). Ballard and Ilan Ferder’s Harvester were the fastest of seven in the jump-off for victory.
The WEF Premiere week concludes on Sunday, January 10, at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) and is sponsored by The Bainbridge Companies. It features national-level competition for hunters, jumpers, and equitation. International jumper classes will begin at WEF 1 on January 13-17 with a CSI3*. Sunday’s $75,000 Bainbridge Companies Grand Prix will be livestreamed at 2 p.m. EST.
There were 23 entries in the $25,000 CaptiveOne Advisors Classic, and they competed over a course designed by Eric Hasbrouck (USA). Seven clear rounds advanced to the jump-off. Riding out of the fourth spot in the jump-off, Ballard and Harvester were able to speed through the short course to end up double clear in 35.765 seconds for the top place.
Liza Finsness (USA) and her own Shiver, a 16-year-old Hanoverian gelding by Stakkato x Grannus, placed second with a clear round in 36.562 seconds. Rounding out an all-female top three was Amy Millar (CAN) riding Christiano, an 11-year-old German Sport Horse gelding by Canoso x Compliment owned by Future Adventures. They were the final double clear in the class with a time of 37.450 seconds.
Watch the class stream on demand!
In contrast to Ballard’s winning ride on Thursday, Walter White – a horse she had only ridden twice – Ballard has worked with Harvester, a nine-year-old KWPN gelding by Dakar VDL x Labor’s VDL Indorado, for two years and knows him well.
“I have a nice history with him,” she confirmed. “He’s always been one of my favorites.”
With two major wins in a week, Ballard’s confidence is high. She noted, “Things are going my way. I seem to be able to go fast right now, and everything’s falling into place. You definitely have to ride that way when you have the opportunity to.”
In the jump-off, Ballard took advantage of Harvester’s better turning to the left and blazed across a bending line of three fences that went the width of the International Arena.
“He’s got a cool canter. I know I had him where I wanted him, and if I put him in the right spot, he was going to do it,” she said. “The maturity in him from eight to nine [years old] is [that] he’s much more consistent. He was third in the 1.40m, third in the 1.45m. You can just feel that every day you have the same horse, and not so much a young horse where every day it’s a little bit different.”
Ballard will finish her week in Sunday’s $75,000 Bainbridge Grand Prix with one of her top horses, Kamilla D.
Opening up competition on Saturday morning in the International Arena, Kristen Berian of Lighthouse Point, FL, rode Fantast van het Vinckenhof to the win in the $15,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame High Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic, presented by Lugano Diamonds. In the $1,500 Griffis Residential High Junior Jumper class, Zayna Rizvi of Greenwich, CT, and Quivive S Z, owned by Missy Clark and North Run, were victorious. In the final class of the day, Lola Head of Houston, TX, won the $1,500 Karlswood Medium Junior Jumpers with her own Arcange de L’Arc.
Final Results: $25,000 CaptiveOne Advisors Classic
1 HARVESTER: 2012 KWPN gelding by Dakar VDL x Labor’s VDL Indorado
ERYNN BALLARD (CAN), Ilan Ferder: 0/0/35.765
2 SHIVER: 2005 Hanoverian gelding by Stakkato x Grannus
LIZA FINSNESS (USA), Lisa Finsness: 0/0/36.562
3 CHRISTIANO: 2010 German Sport Horse gelding by Canoso x Compliment
AMY MILLAR (CAN), Future Adventures: 0/0/37.450
4 CENTRIKO VOLO: 2012 Oldenburg gelding by Centadel x Chacco-Blue
JORDAN COYLE (IRL), Celtic Park, LLC: 0/4/35.721
5 HOUSTON: 2007 Belgian Warmblood stallion by Heartbreaker x Corofino
SPENCER SMITH (USA), Ashland Farms: 0/4/35.962
6 KASSIODAM: 2012 AES mare by Luidam x Kolibri
MCLAIN WARD (USA), McLain Ward: 0/4/39.734
7 DAVALL VDL: 2008 KWPN gelding by Zavall VDL x Indorado
ASHLEY FLEISCHHACKER (USA), Ashland Show Stables LLC: 0/8/40.067
8 HOLSTEINS MATINA: 2009 DWB mare by Party Dance x Charmeur
SOPHIA STUDD (DEN), Marie Botved Studd: 1/75.052
9 MIKADO VAN D’ABELENDREEF: 2012 BWP gelding by Eldorado VD Zeshoek
FILIP DE WANDEL (BEL), Five Way Farm LLC: 4/73.384
10 HEMERALD-BALIA: 2012 KWPN gelding by Emerald x Indoctro
RAMIRO QUINTANA (ARG), Orpen Horses: 4/73.993
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