Week six course designer Richard Jeffery (GBR) set the track for Sunday’s $50,000 National Grand Prix and had a four-horse jump-off. The winning time of 34.44 seconds belonged to Diego Vivero and Javier Estrada’s Bijoux, an 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare (Cartani x Athletico).
Taylor Land (USA) finished second riding Jay Land’s For Edition with a time of 36.56 seconds. Nicole Shahinian-Simpson (USA) cleared the short course in 36.62 seconds to place third riding Silver Raven Farms’ Akuna Mattata. Leslie Howard and Annie Phillips’ Street Legal were fast in 35.20 seconds, but incurred eight faults to finish fourth.
“I am very happy. I have had this mare for only ten months,” Vivero stated after his win. “She is very fast and very brave. We are a team now, and I think she going to do much more.
“She is fast, and I am very competitive,” Vivero detailed. “I just went fast and I trusted her today, and she was great.”
The pair earned two CSI 2* grand prix victories in Mexico last year, along with other national grand prix titles. In 2016, they also finished third in the $25,000 Nutrena Spring I Grand Prix competing post-WEF at PBIEC.
“I have been coming to Wellington for three years,” Vivero noted. “I am very happy to win because it is very competitive here and there are the most experienced and best riders in the world. It is very difficult, and it is good to win any class, but I am very proud to win here.”
