Beat Mändli (SUI) may have been fastest aboard Vic de Cerisiers in the nine-horse jump-off that decided the $72,900 CSIO5* Suncast Grand Prix Qualifier, but he attributed his victory to patience.
“We let him grow up really slow. Now, he’s showing [us] it was the right thing to do,” Mändli said.
Mändli achieved his objective of securing a spot in the $213,300 CSIO5* Longines Grand Prix, set for Friday, Feb. 14, at 2:00pm ET. With a comfortable winning margin of nearly two seconds, his final time was 38.56 seconds. Brian Moggre (USA) aboard MTM Vivre le Reve and Mario Deslauriers (CAN) and Uris de la Roque tied for second, both crossing the timers of Alan Wade’s 1.55m track in identical marks of 40.43 seconds.
“It was a really nice track, but it was tricky enough to ride,” Mändli explained. “The triple combination was a bit tricky at the end, but [Vic de Cerisiers] made it quite easy for me today. He felt so good.”
Without reaching a full gallop, natural quickness and efficiency carried the pair to the top of the leaderboard.
“He’s a pretty fast horse anyway,” Mändli said. “He’s fast over the jumps, so I just kept the pace. He was neat in the turns, and I didn’t add any strides, so that was okay.”
Mändli, a two-time Olympian, has worked with the 11-year-old gelding alongside owners Grant Road Partners for nearly four years, and the horse’s development has been gradual. After stepping him up to the five-star level over the summer in second-tier classes, Mändli believes he is now seeing the fruits of his labor in the form of a horse that’s brimming with confidence and quality.
“As tall as he is, he’s a very bloody horse, so that makes it easy in the ring,” he detailed. “You don’t need to encourage him; you basically just need to slow him down. He really has a super attitude, ability to do it, and just everything basically you’d want in a jumper.
“I’m obviously really happy to have him,” he added. “He’s a super nice horse with super quality, and I have really high hopes for him.”
Devin Ryan Starts the Day With a Win in the $10,000 CSIO5* CP Welcome Stake
Devin Ryan (USA) triumphed in the $10,000 CP Welcome Stake, taking home the first American CSIO5* win of Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ Week CSIO5*/CSI2* at Deeridge Farms.
Canadian riders filled out the rest of the podium, with Sam Walker and Coralissa taking second on a close 63.95 seconds, and Erynn Ballard and Fellini S in third (64.46 seconds). Eleventh to go in the class of 43, Ryan maximized Caspar’s Lasino’s expansive stride to stop the clock at an unbeatable 63.06 seconds.
“Darragh Kenny (IRL) and I did the five [from Jumps 4a-b to Jump 5] on the outside line,” says Ryan, adding that even with one less stride, he felt the oxer at Jump 5 was well within his horse’s scope. “I think, just because of his stride, it worked out, [and] for a big horse, he’s sort of efficient in the air.”
Owned by U.S. Olympian Anne Kursinski’s Market Street Inc., the 11-year-old Holsteiner stallion has come into his own in 2020, according to Ryan. “We gave him a nice break in the fall, and when I first brought him to Ocala [this winter], I was like, ‘Wow, this horse has grown up so much.’
“He went out there yesterday [in the CSIO5* Palm Beach Masters Warm-Up] and just cantered right around. I was more nervous, probably, than he was! He felt great, so I thought, today, ‘I’d take a little shot at it,’” added Ryan, who plans to compete Caspar’s Lasino in Saturday afternoon’s 1.50m $36,600 CSIO5* PBM Classic.
“He has the ability to jump big tracks, and he’s a very careful horse. He just needs some mileage.”
Competition at Deeridge Farms continues Friday, Feb. 14, featuring the $213,300 CSIO5* Longines Grand Prix at 2pm ET. The highlight of the week, the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ USA gets underway Sunday, Feb. 16, at 1:30pm ET.
Results: $72,900 Suncast Grand Prix Qualifier CSIO5*
1- Beat Mändli (SUI), Vic des Cerisiers 0/38.56
2- Brian Moggre (USA), MTM Vivre le Reve 0/40.43
2- Mario Deslauriers (CAN), Uris de la Roque 0/40.43
4- Emily Moffitt (GBR), Tipsy du Terral 0/40.64
5- Georgina Bloomberg (USA), Chameur 0/41.56
6- Miguel Angel Torres Hernandez (MEX), Chacendra 0/42.23
7- Amy Graham (AUS), Coleraine des Bergeries 0/42.42
8- Erynn Ballard (CAN), Judge Hof ter Zeedycke 4/38.71
9- Boheme de Fleyres (ISR), Ashlee Bond 6/48.33
10- Lorenzo De Luca (ITA), Dinky Toy vd Kranenburg WD
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