The fifth week of WEF, sponsored by Fidelity Investments®, features CSI 5* competition that concludes on February 11 with the $70,000 Hollow Creek Farm 1.50m Classic and the $50,000 Equiline Grand Prix CSI 2*.
There were 40 entries in the grand prix, contesting a challenging course set by Kelvin Bywater of Great Britain in front of a jam-packed stadium of show jumping fans. Just two were clear to advance to the jump-off.
First into the ring for the second round was FEI World Cup Finals winner and Olympic silver medalist Beat Mändli of Switzerland riding Dsarie, a 10-year-old KWPN mare by Veron x Ahorn owned by Grand Road Partners GmbH. They laid the gauntlet with a clear round in a time of 40.47 seconds, with Dsarie giving her customary bucks after going through the timers.
“She loves life, obviously,” Mändli said with a smile. “She’s a happy girl. She loves her bucks. I let her do it, because I don’t see why I should take it away from her.
“She’s very uncomplicated in any venue – indoors, outdoors, sand, grass – wherever you take her,” he continued. “So it makes life very easy for me. She just wants to please in anything that she does. She loves the venue here with the lights. I’m lucky to have her.”
Knowing what he had to beat, Bluman and Ladriano Z, a 10-year-old Zangersheide gelding by Lawito x Baloubet du Rouet, went for the win straight from the first fence. They shaved just enough time off to gallop home in a winning time of 39.43 seconds.
“This was the first time I ever had to go last or was in the last group in a 5* grand prix,” said Bluman. “I walked the course – actually at the beginning I thought the course was very nice, actually maybe too nice. I was thinking in my head that there was going to be a fast jump-off, and that was going to be the end of my chances of winning. [It was a] fantastic job from the course designer.”
Bluman had the luck of the draw to go last in both rounds and made his plan accordingly.
“I just thought the only spot to be faster and yet not take too much risk, was from one to two,” he described. “I did the one less (stride), which my horse covered the ground easily. Until the end, when I landed, I kicked a little. I looked up, and I was actually surprised that I had got him because I got a lot of red lights coming out of different turns. I just didn’t think that it was enough.”
“I thought I’d done enough,” Mändli reflected. “When I came out I knew I had the seven (strides) to number two. Obviously that was what Daniel just said where he was faster. I’m super happy with the horse anyway.”
Third place went to Olympic bronze medalist Cian O’Connor (IRL) riding Armin Himmelreich’s Clenur. O’Connor and the 18-hand high Oldenburg gelding finished just over the time allowed for one time fault.
“He’s a very big horse to maneuver around,” O’Connor explained. “The big ring suits him. It’s only the fourth or fifth class that I’ve done with him here. He took a little bit of a wobble down the last line to the water tray vertical. I was clear then, and I just cantered it down. Maybe I could have been a little quicker coming to the third last (jump). I was just over the time, but I’m very happy with my check.”
