The atmosphere was electric in the WEC Grand Arena as fans filled the stands and an international field of competitive athletes representing ten countries gathered to contest the $75,000 Florida Coast Equipment Grand Prix. Two-time Olympic Games course designer Leopoldo Palacios (VEN) set the intricate tracks that featured an imposing triple bar in a triple combination that challenged many riders throughout the class. Although eight horse-and-rider combinations managed clean first rounds and four jumped double clear, it was Olympian Santiago Lambre (BRA) and his own Chacco Blue II that emerged victorious.
Lambre and Chacco Blue II entered down the ramp of the WEC Grand Arena toward the end of the order navigating a seamless first round, jumping each fence with ease in 81.962 seconds.
“[Chacco Blue II] is an incredible horse. He is actually blind in one eye. He wouldn’t know it because he has been blind in that eye since he was two,” said Lambre. “He just left quarantine. He was in quarantine for 40 days, where I rode him and jumped him. I just showed him in three classes, then we came to do the Grand Prix and won!”