The Desert International Horse Park (DIHP) Roadrunners are gaining valuable momentum after winning the $300,000 ClipMyHorse.tv 5* MLSJ Team Competition in Traverse City.
Roadrunners riders McLain Ward (USA), Erynn Ballard (CAN) and Kaitlin Campbell (USA) climbed atop the podium during leg 4 of the season after Ward—currently ranked world no. 7—posted the fastest time of the day in the medal round jump-off.
Running all the way to gold, the Roadrunners brought out a trio of horsepower. Currently the top-ranked female rider in the world, Ballard piloted Ginger ASK (Casall x Levisto), owned by Marigold Sporthorses; world no 7 Ward rode First Lady (Don Diarado x Lordanos), owned by Robin Parsky; and team veteran Campbell was aboard Castlefield Cornelious (Cornet Obolensky x Contender), owned by 3P Equine Partners.
McLain Ward and First Lady posted the fastest time over the second-round course to clinch the Roadrunners’ victory. (Laila Klinsmann/MLSJ)
After the first round, the team stood on zero faults in good standing for gold. Coming back for round two, Ballard and Campbell were selected to return and once again laid down clear rounds. Ward faced off against Maccabi United’s Gabriel Machado (BRA) and Legaland Sandro, owned by Bay Winds Equestrian, and stopped the clock in an unbeatable 37.88 seconds.
“I knew if I could find the same track with similar strides it would be very close,” said Ward of his medal-round performance. “She made a good turn after the liverpool, so I felt like we had the time pretty well.”
After setting Ward up for success, Ballard noted, “I think we’re a great team; we have old friendships and new friendships. I joked in the warm-up that I don’t think Mclain and I have ever cheered each other on in this way. That diversity of the team is great.”
Campbell led off for the team in both rounds and set a winning standard. “Mclain told me to go as fast as possible and I was more afraid of McLain than going slow,” joked Campbell.
As for what’s next for the Roadrunners, the team will continue on to the second half of the season, now sitting at the top of team standings by six points over the Trelawny Trailblazers. “We’re also getting some new talent for the second half,” hinted Campbell. “They’re going to be good.”
After going to head-to-head in the gold-medal match, Maccabi United, a new team to the league in 2024, finished in the silver-medal position. Represented by Machado; Luis Larrazabal (VEN) aboard Condara, owned by Victoria Heurtematte; and Shane Sweetnam (IRL) riding RR Combella, owned by Voquest LLC, Maccabi United had a rocky start on 12 faults in the first round. They redeemed themselves in round two, however, by leaving all the rails in their cups. Machado stopped the jump-off clock in 38.68 seconds for silver.
Coming off a team win at the previous leg in Ottawa, Northern Lights took bronze. They were represented this time out by Ali Ramsay (CAN) riding Conrado 12, owned by David Sport Horses Inc & Ramsay Equestrian Inc; Antonia Häggström (SWE) on Tom Hanks, owned by AS Trading; and Nicole Walker (CAN) with her own Atout des Trambles. In her team debut, Häggström clinched the bronze medal by beating Eye Candy’s Roberto Teran Tafur (COL) in the first jump-off.
Five-star action comes to a peak at Traverse City Horse Shows on Sunday as individuals chase their own glory in the iconic $340,000 5* American Gold Cup. Tune in live on MLSJ TV.
Results here.
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