Jessica Phoenix Places 1st and 3rd in Ocala International CCI4*-S

The Canadian piloted Aeronautics and Wabbit over Jay Hambly's course; the large Canadian contingent had some excellent top-5 finishes.

A woman jumping over a cross-country fence on a bay horse.

Jessica Phoenix and Aeronautics went from fourth place overnight to take the win, (Xpress Foto Media)

By: Horse Sport staff | April 21, 2025

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you're listening to an article from horse sport.com. jessica phoenix places 1st and 3rd in ocala international cci4*-s by: horse sport staff |. it was a beautiful breezy and sunny ocala day at florida horse park for the cross country phase of the fei divisions at ocala international. jay hambly’s courses left plenty for riders to do and caused a few shake-ups to the overnight leaderboards. the cci4*-s completed both dressage and show jumping yesterday, wrapping up their division today with cross country, where jessica phoenix made the biggest climbs up the rankings aboard her two thoroughbred geldings. the 12-year-old aeronautics (two step salsa xx x satin and silver xx, by silver ghost xx) rose from fourth place overnight to take the win, adding 11.8 time penalties to finish on a score of 52.3. her veteran cci5* campaigner and crowd favourite, 15-year-old wabbit (line of departure xx x no kissing xx, by great gladiator xx), also rose from fifth place to finish third, adding 11.2 time penalties to complete on a 53.6. hambly said that his courses were “tightly wheeled” and making time would be difficult without efficient turns, bold lines, and speed in between the fences. this proved to be true, with no horses finishing double clear over today’s course. overnight leader sharon white, who was undecided yesterday as to whether she would try to make the time, added 18 time penalties to the score of cci4* debutante jaguars duende (jaguar mail x latina, by lancaster) to finish second on 52.6, just 0.3 penalties behind phoenix and aeronautics. advertisement scroll to continue with content always a speedy rider, phoenix (who rode a total of six horses over the weekend) was especially pleased to be aboard her particular horses for today’s challenge. “i was incredibly proud of aeronautics and wabbit today. it is such a joy to gallop full thoroughbreds cross country. they were both so quick to pick up the combinations and processed each question really well! i really thought jay designed this course well. it’s always difficult to create all of the necessary questions with a flat property but the horses really felt like they enjoyed it and learned a lot from start to finish. i also felt they did a phenomenal job with preparing the footing!”. this was the sixth cci4* start for aeronautics and his first fei win. “aeronautics is owned by sara irving and bob holman of grandview farms in ontario canada. they have both ridden to the highest levels of this sport and it’s so fun to ride this special boy for them.”. lisa marie fergusson and trinity thankq 2nd in cci3*-l. there’s nothing like the pressure of show jumping in reverse order of placing when you’re leading an ultra-competitive cci3*-l division, but rebecca brown welcomed the challenge today at ocala international. a dressage score of 29.3 put brown and her irish sporthorse gelding fernhill quite frankly (obos quality 004 x rusheen lux, by lux z) into second place after dressage, with a speedy double clear over jay hambly’s challenging cross country track yesterday securing their spot at the top of the leaderboard heading into the final day of competition. brown admitted that historically show jumping is the horse’s weakest phase, but after yesterday’s cross country said, “i absolutely love show jumping for the win so i’m cautiously optimistic!”. that optimism proved to be well-placed, and a smooth clear round over chris barnard’s show jumping track earned them the win. brown has spent the past several years taking things slow with fernhill quite frankly and continuing to chip away at his show jumping, something that clearly paid off for the pair this weekend. “frank has always wanted to jump clear but he’s a massive horse at 17.3h, so it was a bit of a process to help him to understand how to use his body correctly. he would also get frustrated and stressed when he would make a mistake. about 3 years ago, i started to ride with karen o’connor and her dedication to frank is what really turned a corner for us. frank was just so much raw talent and scope and i’m not a tall person – it was hard to contain. i remember during a particularly difficult lesson karen paused and said to me, ‘we are two smart women, we are going to figure this out.’— and we did. there’s always more work to be done but we took it slowly, focused on the basics, and always listened to frank in the process because he wanted it just as much as we did. we just had to give him the time.”. a clear round for canadian rider lisa marie fergusson and her own irish sporthorse gelding trinity thankq (beach ball x ballyderowen clover) moved them from equal fourth place to finish in second place on a score of 34.5. rounding out the podium for the cci3*-l was buck davidson aboard sandra powers’ thoroughbred gelding true belief (gone astray xx x double major xx, by bertrando xx), who added nothing to his dressage score of 34.9 to move from eleventh to third. jessica phoenix was also 4th in this division riding cosmo gs, and 5th in the cci1*-l-a with avon gs. other top-5 finishes among the impressive canadian contingent at this event included chelsea lowe and fernhill malito park, 5th in the intermediate rider; kendal lehari with mitchell and colleen loach riding chiaro z excalibur, 3rd and 5th, respectively, in the open intermediate; kyle carter and reddy for raine, 5th in the open prelim; melissa boutin/penny gs (3rd) and megane sauve/secretly (5th) in the op-1; kyle carter, who won the 7yo op riding fr’s citadel; declan bast and je m’appelle balou (1st) and madeleine scott with fe speakeasy (3rd) in the prelim horse; and others in some of the lower-level divisions. full results here. ~with files from florida horse park.

It was a beautiful breezy and sunny Ocala day at Florida Horse Park for the cross country phase of the FEI divisions at Ocala International. Jay Hambly’s courses left plenty for riders to do and caused a few shake-ups to the overnight leaderboards.

The CCI4*-S completed both dressage and show jumping yesterday, wrapping up their division today with cross country, where Jessica Phoenix made the biggest climbs up the rankings aboard her two Thoroughbred geldings. The 12-year-old Aeronautics (Two Step Salsa xx x Satin and Silver xx, by Silver Ghost xx) rose from fourth place overnight to take the win, adding 11.8 time penalties to finish on a score of 52.3. Her veteran CCI5* campaigner and crowd favourite, 15-year-old Wabbit (Line of Departure xx x No Kissing xx, by Great Gladiator xx), also rose from fifth place to finish third, adding 11.2 time penalties to complete on a 53.6.

Hambly said that his courses were “tightly wheeled” and making time would be difficult without efficient turns, bold lines, and speed in between the fences. This proved to be true, with no horses finishing double clear over today’s course. Overnight leader Sharon White, who was undecided yesterday as to whether she would try to make the time, added 18 time penalties to the score of CCI4* debutante Jaguars Duende (Jaguar Mail x Latina, by Lancaster) to finish second on 52.6, just 0.3 penalties behind Phoenix and Aeronautics.

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Always a speedy rider, Phoenix (who rode a total of six horses over the weekend) was especially pleased to be aboard her particular horses for today’s challenge. “I was incredibly proud of Aeronautics and Wabbit today. It is such a joy to gallop full thoroughbreds cross country. They were both so quick to pick up the combinations and processed each question really well! I really thought Jay designed this course well. It’s always difficult to create all of the necessary questions with a flat property but the horses really felt like they enjoyed it and learned a lot from start to finish. I also felt they did a phenomenal job with preparing the footing!”

This was the sixth CCI4* start for Aeronautics and his first FEI win. “Aeronautics is owned by Sara Irving and Bob Holman of Grandview farms in Ontario Canada. They have both ridden to the highest levels of this sport and it’s so fun to ride this special boy for them.”

Lisa Marie Fergusson and Trinity ThankQ 2nd in CCI3*-L

There’s nothing like the pressure of show jumping in reverse order of placing when you’re leading an ultra-competitive CCI3*-L division, but Rebecca Brown welcomed the challenge today at Ocala International. A dressage score of 29.3 put Brown and her Irish Sporthorse gelding Fernhill Quite Frankly (OBOS Quality 004 x Rusheen Lux, by Lux Z) into second place after dressage, with a speedy double clear over Jay Hambly’s challenging cross country track yesterday securing their spot at the top of the leaderboard heading into the final day of competition.

Brown admitted that historically show jumping is the horse’s weakest phase, but after yesterday’s cross country said, “I absolutely love show jumping for the win so I’m cautiously optimistic!”. That optimism proved to be well-placed, and a smooth clear round over Chris Barnard’s show jumping track earned them the win.

Brown has spent the past several years taking things slow with Fernhill Quite Frankly and continuing to chip away at his show jumping, something that clearly paid off for the pair this weekend.

“Frank has always wanted to jump clear but he’s a massive horse at 17.3h, so it was a bit of a process to help him to understand how to use his body correctly. He would also get frustrated and stressed when he would make a mistake. About 3 years ago, I started to ride with Karen O’Connor and her dedication to Frank is what really turned a corner for us. Frank was just so much raw talent and scope and I’m not a tall person – it was hard to contain. I remember during a particularly difficult lesson Karen paused and said to me, ‘We are two smart women, we are going to figure this out.’— and we did. There’s always more work to be done but we took it slowly, focused on the basics, and always listened to Frank in the process because he wanted it just as much as we did. We just had to give him the time.”

A clear round for Canadian rider Lisa Marie Fergusson and her own Irish Sporthorse gelding Trinity ThankQ (Beach Ball x Ballyderowen Clover) moved them from equal fourth place to finish in second place on a score of 34.5. Rounding out the podium for the CCI3*-L was Buck Davidson aboard Sandra Powers’ Thoroughbred gelding True Belief (Gone Astray xx x Double Major xx, by Bertrando xx), who added nothing to his dressage score of 34.9 to move from eleventh to third. Jessica Phoenix was also 4th in this division riding Cosmo GS, and 5th in the CCI1*-L-A with Avon GS.

Other top-5 finishes among the impressive Canadian contingent at this event included Chelsea Lowe and Fernhill Malito Park, 5th in the Intermediate Rider; Kendal Lehari with Mitchell and Colleen Loach riding Chiaro Z Excalibur, 3rd and 5th, respectively, in the Open Intermediate; Kyle Carter and Reddy For Raine, 5th in the Open Prelim; Melissa Boutin/Penny GS (3rd) and Megane Sauve/Secretly (5th) in the OP-1; Kyle Carter, who won the 7YO OP riding FR’s Citadel; Declan Bast and Je M’appelle Balou (1st) and Madeleine Scott with FE Speakeasy (3rd) in the Prelim Horse; and others in some of the lower-level divisions.

Full results here.

~with files from Florida Horse Park