Todd Minikus (USA) and Babalou 41 concluded week four of the 2017 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) with a victory in Sunday’s $216,000 Ariat® Grand Prix CSI 4*, held on the beautiful grass derby field at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) in Wellington, FL. Minikus topped a three-horse jump-off over Olympian Sergio Alvarez Moya (ESP) and G&C Unicstar de l’Aumone in second, and young rider Jennifer Gates (USA) riding Pumped Up Kicks for third.
The 2017 Winter Equestrian Festival continues with its fifth week of competition, sponsored by Fidelity Investments®, on February 8-12, 2017. The week’s highlights include the $130,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup Round 5 on Thursday, February 9, the $380,000 Fidelity Investments® Grand Prix CSI 5* on Saturday, February 11, as well as the $86,000 Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic and the $50,000 Equo LLC Grand Prix CSI 2* on Sunday, February 12. The 12-week WEF circuit continues through April 2, 2017, awarding over $9 million in prize money.
Course designer Steve Stephens (USA) wrapped up his duties for week four with the highlight grand prix event at PBIEC’s Equestrian Village, also home to the Adequan® Global Dressage Festival. Thirty-two entries started over Stephens’ first round course, and three were able to advance to the jump-off.