Canada’s Jim Ifko and Eventyre Farms’ Un Diamant Des Forets were victorious in the $50,000 Wellington Equestrian Realty Grand Prix CSI 2* , after they crossed through the jump-off timers in a quick 32.73 seconds. The class, originally welcoming 45 horse-and-rider combinations into the International Arena at PBIEC, saw 12 pairs return to contest the jump-off.
It was the second two-star win of the season for Ifko and the 2008 Selle Francais stallion (Diamant De Semilly x Grace Des Forets), and after placing tenth in Thursday’s qualifier, Ifko went in with a plan that suited his fast-footed mount. “My strategy going in there was to just jump a clear round,” he explained. “Fortunately, I do have a naturally fast horse, so as much as that time allowed was quite tight, I knew that if I just stuck to the plan we would make it well within the time. The only problem is leaving the jumps up. It was a difficult, technical course, and on top of that with the tight time, I think it was a challenging class with all of that considered.”
Click here to watch their winning jump-off round!