Wellington, FL – In today’s $25,000 WEF Challenge Cup Round III, a third Canadian rider took home the blue ribbon and top prize money of $7,500. Mario Deslauriers and Naomi set a blistering pace early in the class for the win, joining Ian Millar and Eric Lamaze on the list of Canadian grand prix winners on this year’s circuit.

The Palm Beach Equine Clinic/Adequan Gold Coast Classic, CSI 3* presented by bluhammock music runs through Sunday, February 11, 2007. The course designer for this week is Finland’s Aki Ylaenne, who set a challenging course today with 13 numbered obstacles and 16 jumping efforts. The class was scored as a Time First Round format at a height of 1.50m and had a time allowed of 92 seconds.

The first of only three clear rounds was the second horse in the ring, Hidden Creek’s Wapino with Margie Engle. They stopped the timers at 84.76 seconds, which would hold on throughout 45 more trips for second place.

Deslauriers and  Naomi were the sixth pair to tackle the course, and the tall rider and game 12 year old Belgian mare made every inside turn possible on a fast pace. They came home in an incredibly fast time of 76.28 seconds, a time that could not be matched, with or without faults.

“You never know. I went early, and it turns out I didn’t need to go that fast. There were so many fast horses and fast riders after me,” Deslauriers noted. “Naomi was great today. Actually, I didn’t know today was a time first round. I had her entered, and I was planning to enter her the week of the 22nd, where there is another time first round, to use her again. She’s excellent at these.”

The only other clear round came from Popeye, ridden by Norman Dello Joio and owned by the Popeye Group. They went for the slow, clear round and finished in 90.58 seconds, which would surprisingly hold up for third place. Three additional riders would leave all the jumps up, but time faults relegated them to lower ribbonsincluding Erynn Ballard with Robin van Roosendael who received sixth place with two time faults in 96.53 seconds.

Today’s course posed many questions with difficult turns, stout jumps and a tricky triple combination set by the in-gate. Of the 47 entries, 21 had more than eight faults. Three riders retired and one was eliminated.

“The course was difficult today. It was actually a big 1.50m,” Deslauriers said. “A few turns were different. From two to three, it was awkward to turn inside. To turn to the triple at the in-gate, it’s impressive for a horse to come in on an oxer to two big enough verticals. There you needed a horse that was brave and at the same time adjustable because those two verticals were delicate to jump. When you want to go fast at 1.50m, it gets harder and harder. It could have been easier, but it was a good track.”

With a more experienced horse like Naomi, Deslauriers knew he could make the turns and depend on her to clear the jumps. “As a rider, I like it when [the course is] a bit harder than too soft,” he pointed out. “Naomi is comfortable going at that pace, so it was a good class for me. You try to put the best effort in and see what happens. Today after my round, I thought for sure I would be in the top three. After it went more and more, I knew it was a good trip. When you ride a course like this as time first round and every time you turn the corner and see your distance, you go really fast because there’s not much adjustment to make. It was one of those days that it really worked out well for me.”

Results of $25,000 WEF Challenge Cup III

February 8, 2007

Time Allowed: 92.00

1. NAOMI, MARIO DESLAURIERS, CAN – 0.00/76.28; $7500

2. HIDDEN CREEK’S WAPINO, MARGIE ENGLE – USA – 0.00/84.76; $5500

3. POPEYE, NORMAN DELLO JOIO, USA – 0.00/90.58; $3250

4. VENT DU NORD, KATE LEVY, USA – 1.00/93.60; $2000

5. CEDRIC, LAURA KRAUT, USA – 1.00/93.69; $1500

6. ROBIN VAN ROOSENDAEL, ERYNN BALLARD, CAN – 2.00/96.53; $1250

7. RUSSEL, NICK SKELTON, GBR – 4.00/83.97; $1000

8. HOT WHEELS, DARRAGH KERINS, IRL – 4.00/87.13; $750

9. VAILLANT, JIMMY TORANO, USA – 4.00/88.66; $750

10. PAVAROTTI, TODD MINIKUS, USA – 4.00/90.00; $500

 

 

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