Competition returned to the Equestrian Village grounds of the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center last week, with USEF “A” National & Jumper 4* classes taking place Thursday, August 13 through Sunday, August 16. Arguably having the best weekend of all the competitors was Antonio Martinez Jr. of Loxahatchee, FL who claimed victory in the $20,000 Wellington Agricultural Services Grand Prix on Sunday. Martinez piloted Forman De Virton, owned by Tack Up Stable Corp., clear through the first round and returned to complete the jump-off in just 37.763 seconds. Ben Maher of the United Kingdom and Gakhir, owned by Ben Maher and Vivien Thompson, finished in second place with a jump-off time of 39.927 seconds, while Luiz Francisco De Azevedo of Wellington, FL rode Santa Cecilia Stables’ My Way to third in 42.893 seconds.
The class challenged a total of 25 pairs on the Derby Field course designed by Andy Christiansen, with only five combinations returning for the second round. “It was a tough course,” commented Martinez after his win. “It had some good questions in there, but also good competitors. It for sure wasn’t a piece of cake.” Of the five that returned for the jump-off, only the top three were able to go double-clear.
Martinez was especially happy to win aboard Forman De Virton, a nine-year-old Belgium warmblood. “We actually acquired this horse from McLain Ward and Juan Ortiz. He just started doing these bigger national Grand Prixes and a couple FEI classes this year. He’s the sweetest horse ever and I couldn’t ask for a better horse.”