McLain Ward (USA) capped off the first week of competition with top honors on Sunday, January 10, in the $75,000 Bainbridge Companies Grand Prix at the 2021 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF). Ward and Catoki topped four speedy entries with the only double clear effort of the day to claim the title.
The feature class marks the conclusion of the WEF Premiere week at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) with competition continuing January 13-17 with the Wellington Regional Medical Center CSI3* show. The first week of international jumper competition will feature the $37,000 Adequan® WEF Challenge Cup Round 1, $25,000 CaptiveOne Advisors 1.50m Jumper Classic, and Saturday night under the lights with the $137,000 Wellington Regional Medical Center Grand Prix CSI3*. Don’t miss a minute of the action and tune in to the free livestream of feature classes.
Ward and the 11-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by Marilla van Beuren, Bob Russell, and Ward challenged a field of 30 entries, putting forth a clear effort over the technical track set by Eric Hasbrouck (USA) to ensure a jump-off. He and Catoki moved swiftly across the shortened course to set the tone for the remaining entries with a fault-free time of 36.846 seconds.