Canada’s Kim Farlinger was third with Free Style

Ireland’s Kevin McCarthy has been knocking on the door of a win recently, and that win came in the $10,000 Manchester Designer Outlets Welcome Stake, presented by Vineyard Vines, on Thursday, July 11, during the Vermont Summer Festival, running for six weeks through August 11 at Harold Beebe Farm in East Dorset, VT.

McCarthy, 42, and Catch A Star HHS were the final pair to jump from a field of 38 over tracks set by Alan Wade of Tipperary, Ireland, who was the course designer for the FEI World Equestrian Games™ Tryon 2018 (WEG). Catch A Star HSS’s speed turned heads during opening week of the Vermont Summer Festival and impressed again when the mare stopped the clock double-clear in 27.06 seconds. McCarthy stole the win by only fractions of a second from runner-up Kirk Webby of New Zealand, who sat in the top spot aboard Brando du Rouet for most of the immediate jump-off class with a time of 27.71 seconds.

“This is a great day,” said McCarthy, who transitioned from professional to amateur status within the last year. “I have been having a banter with Kirk, and I knew he was standing at the in-gate waiting to put on his winning rug. He’s a great rider and I watched him go earlier, so I knew what I had to do.

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