In the third week of the 2021 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF), Eduardo Menezes (BRA) and H5 Elvaro, owned by the H5 Stables, put forth a double-clear effort to the win in the $37,000 CaptiveOne Advisors 1.50m Classic CSI3* on Saturday, January 30, at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC).
Coming up next on the schedule is Sunday afternoon’s $137,000 NetJets Grand Prix CSI3* to wrap up an exciting week of international show jumping. You can catch the action for free on the livestream. Competition at WEF runs through April 4, with feature classes available for viewers to watch both live and on-demand, as coverage continues throughout the winter circuit in Wellington, Florida.
Saturday’s feature class saw 70 horse and rider combinations challenge the 1.50m track set by Peter Grant (CAN) and Joey Rycroft (CAN) which proved to be difficult enough, narrowing the field to just 10 for the jump-off. Menezes and the 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion by Calvaro F.c. x April Love M, were the first to return in the second round, executing the shortened track with precision and stopping the timers at 41.08 seconds.
“When you are in a jump-off like this with riders like this, you have to do your job and hope for the best,” said Menezes. “My horse has a big stride but he’s also a horse that collects really quickly, so I think I had an advantage coming into the last combination because it was a very big canter and then some of the other riders needed to take a little bit of time to slow down coming into the combination. My horse settled in really quick and nicely, so I think that’s where I made up some time.”
Similar to some of the other courses set this week, the jump-off path left riders with a combination of places to open up their gallop and a few opportunities to leave out strides, to optimize their time. Last to go in the second round, Katie Dinan (USA) kicked it into high gear aboard the 16-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Dougie Douglas, owned by Grant Road Partners, LLC, to chase the leading time. The dynamic duo came up just short with a double-clear effort in a time of 41.75 seconds. Shane Sweetnam (IRL) and the nine-year-old gelding Ideal, owned by Sweet Oak Farm and Seabrook, LLC, also put forth a solid attempt, leaving all the jumps up in a time of 42.44 seconds for third place.
The winning horse, H5 Elvaro, was purchased by the H5 stables as an eight-year-old and has been in partnership with Menezes for the past year. While he continues to prove himself as a solid mount, the Brazilian rider notes the stallion’s great mind as one of his most likeable qualities and plans to continue to challenge him with feature classes this season.
“My plan is to keep doing these types of classes,” he said. “I’ll use him in the WEF a few weeks to save my older grand prix horses and week 10 where the grand prix is a CSI3* in the International Arena, I might use him for the grand prix. I think the way we are using the grass [Derby Field] at Equestrian Village is amazing for the horses. It’s difficult for the horses to be jumping in the same venue every week so I’ve been really enjoying WEF so far.”
Earlier in the day, Zoe Conter (BEL) and Univers Du Vinnebus captured the $15,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame High Amateur-Owner 1.45m Jumper Classic, presented by Lugano Diamonds. Eva Fisherman (USA) aboard Rock Street took home top prize in the Griffiths Residential High Junior Jumper 1.40m and Ella Bikoff and Huckleberry won the Medium Amateur-Owner Jumper class to wrap up an action-packed day of competition in the International Arena.
Final Results: CaptiveOne Advisors 1.50m Classic CSI3*
1. H5 ELVARO: 2009 KWPN stallion by Calvaro F.c. x April Love M
EDUARDO MENEZES (BRA), H5 Stables: 0/0/41.08
2. DOUGIE DOUGLAS: 2005 Irish Sport Horse gelding by VDL Douglas x High Roller
KATHERINE DINAN (USA), Grant Road Partners, LLC: 0/0/41.75
3. IDEAL: 2012 SWB gelding by Cardento 933 x Paskitt
SHANE SWEETNAM (IRL), Sweet Oak Farm and Seabrook, LLC: 0/0/42.44
4. FASTHER: 2010 KWPN gelding by Vigo d’Arsouilles x Farmer
LILLIE KEENAN (USA), Chansonette Farm LLC: 0/0/43.84
5. GEORGIE D’AUVRAY EC: 2006 Belgian Warmblood gelding by Vancouver d’Auvray x Nabab de Reve
KARRIE RUFER (USA), Morning Star Sporthorses, LLC: 0/0/47.96
6. BRIGHTON: 2006 KWPN gelding by Contender II x Quick Star
TIFFANY FOSTER (CAN), Artisan Farms LLC: 0/4/40.92
7. OAK GROVE’S LAITH: 2011 Selle Français gelding by London x Sirene De Riverland
ABDEL SAID (EGY), AB Sporthorses: 0/4/41.56
8. BOSTON ASK: 2008 Hanoverian gelding by Berlin x Queen
JORDAN COYLE (IRL), Elan Farm: 0/4/41.58
9. SANGRIS BOY: 2010 SHBGB gelding by Sandro Boy x Gorona
LORCAN GALLAGHER (IRL), Heathman Farm, LLC: 0/4/42.70
10. CATOKI: 2009 Holsteiner gelding by Catoki x Cartello B
MCLAIN WARD (USA), Marilla van Beuren, Bob Russell & McLain Ward: 0/8/41.93
11. VALENTINO D’ELTE: 2009 Selle Francais gelding by Castronom Z*de Hus x Windsor
VANESSA MANNIX (CAN), Vanessa Mannix: 1/82.49
12. GRANDEUR WP: 2011 KWPN gelding by Whistler x Brenieta
BRETTON CHAD (CAN), Stone Ridge Farms, LLC: 1/83.48
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