Victory was sweet for Count Me In and Ireland’s Conor Swail in the CHF216,000 MARS Equestrian™ CSI4* Grand Prix, the featured event on the expansive grass derby field at Equestrian Village during the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) Week 4 on Saturday in Wellington, FL.
The pressure was on for Swail riding Count Me In, a 2007 Hanoverian gelding (Count Grannus x Sherlock Holmes) owned by Sandy Lupton & Mannon Farm. The first to crack the code on the opening round track designed by Anderson Lima (BRA), Swail was the trailblazer again in a five-horse jump-off.
“I’m lucky to have Crosby,” said Swail, currently ranked fifth in the world on the FEI rankings. “He’s a very fast horse. I was trying to give it a good go and put the other riders under enough pressure and hope that they would make mistakes. It was a tough track but fair I thought. I have an amazing horse and I hope his good form continues. This was our first time out this year and I must say I thought he felt fabulous.”