On Friday afternoon at the 2021 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) Week 5 in Wellington, FL, Jim Ifko (CAN) piloted Un Diamant Des Forets, owned by Eventyre Farms, to a fast and fault-free jump-off round to capture the $37,000 Restylane 1.45m Qualifier CSI2*. Ifko and the 13-year-old Selle Français stallion by Diamant De Semilly x Grace Des Forets, flew across the finish line in 34.74 seconds.
“When you have that many [10] in the jump-off in a class like this, you know that you have to be fast if you want to have a chance,” said Ifko. “He’s so fantastic for the jump-off, especially when it comes to making shorter turns and being able to jump something on an angle. He’s so competitive that you can come in on an incredibly sharp angle, and he has no problem. He never doubts it or questions what you’re doing. The bigger the challenge, the better it is for him. We had a good plan and fortunately we were able to execute it and it turned out great.”
Ifko has been fortunate enough to have the ride on the stallion for seven years and knows him quite well.