Saturday evening at the Kentucky Spring Horse Show saw the return of the $134,000 Kentucky Spring Grand Prix CSI3* in the Rolex Stadium. After 93 entries tried their hand in the grand prix qualifier Thursday night, 49 horse-and-rider combinations returned to the ring in top form, attempting to walk away with the lion’s share of the prize money. Following a competitive seven-horse jump-off, it was Darragh Kenny (IRL) and Jack Snyder’s Babalou 41 who came back with a vengeance to earn a repeat victory after earning a top spot in the grand prix during the 2018 Kentucky Spring Horse Show.

Anderson Lima’s (BRA) 16-effort course proved tricky for most athletes. Diego Vivero (ECU) and Haras Mystic Rose’s Zambia Mystic Rose were the first in the order of go, and produced the first clear of the night. The next clear round wouldn’t be seen until 24 trips later, when Scott Keach (AUS) and Fedor tackled the technical course in expert fashion. Lima’s course featured a number of tricky elements, including a vertical-oxer-vertical triple combination directly to another oxer. While the time-allowed set at 79 seconds did not pose an issue for most, athletes fell victim to jumping faults in various locations throughout the course with 13 combinations incurring 12 faults or more.

The jump-off saw a total of seven horse-and-rider combinations, with the first double clean and clear ride set by Keach with a time of 49.67 seconds. Keach set the pace, but each rider to come would challenge his time by putting in a faster round. Crowd favorite Margie Engle (USA) and Gladewinds Partners LLC’s Royce followed with a faster time of 48.90 seconds, thanks to her longtime partner’s naturally long stride that carried her across the lengthy jump-off course.

Advertisement