The competition during the penultimate day of the Del Mar Summer Classic I concluded with an exciting showdown in the $100,000 Great American Insurance Group CSI2* Grand Prix. The event was the finale of international two-star action during the week and welcomed athletes from eight nations, including the United States, Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Brazil, Ireland, Mexico, and Sweden. After a nail-biting jump off, the USA’s Shawn Casady emerged victorious with Morning Star Sporthorses LLC’s Cool Quarz.

A top field of 35 horse-and-rider combinations contested the first round of Marina Azevedo’s (BRA) technical track, but the world-renowned course designer built to challenge the talented combinations, and ultimately only three pairings produced fault-free efforts. Five duos suffered one unfortunate rail down across the starting round that kept them from the short course, while time was also a factor with multiple entries incurring time faults. Casady’s challengers in the jump-off included fellow American Skylar Wireman, as well as Columbia’s Camilo Rueda, but his blazing time of 42.23 seconds effectively closed the door on the competition.

“I thought the course designer did a great job today,” expressed Casady. “It was a challenging course, but not impossible. From the beginning to the end it was very consistent in the questions it was asking. I was a little surprised by the lack of clear rounds.”

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