On the eve of Tuesday, November 8th, Mclain Ward walked into the winner’s circle at The Royal CSI4*-W, but it wasn’t on of of his usual mounts. Instead, the grey mare Malou was his partner.
Normally piloted by his wife, Lauren Ward, Mclain rode the 12-year-old Swedish Warmblood mare to victory in the $35,000 Jolera International Jumper Welcome.
“I stole [her] from my wife three weeks ago!” exclaimed Ward. “My wife was actually second in the country with it this year in the amateurs, so that was really exciting for her, but she was going to give it a little break anyway, and I was short a second horse for indoors, so I started riding her at the Gold Cup. She had some nice ribbons there and was 2nd in Washington in a big class two weeks ago and she’s been getting better and better.”
But Malou (Maloubet de Pleville x Carthago) isn’t just any horse. “She’s a mare with a lot of history at the top of the sport before,” explained Ward. “So it’s nice to have a seasoned horse.”
With a knees-to-nose jump and the ability to turn on a dime, Malou is everything you’d want in a top horse, and has the record to prove it. Over the past few years, the mare has had great success competing at the FEI with riders Marlon Modolo Zanotelli and Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum.
“Lauren’s actually enjoying watching her show and compete. She’s done a lot of good work with her and had some great results so it’s not an issue.”
“She’s a mare with a lot of history at the top of the sport.”
And with Ward’s top speed horse, Carlos, needing some time off, having Malou around has certainly helped support his string of horses. “Carlos wasn’t right at Washington, so we’re kind of addressing that,” said Ward. “I don’t think it’s something major, but it’s something going on. So he’s going to have a nice long break and we’ll bring him back in Florida.”
Tuesday evening’s class saw 23 starters take on the Bernardo Cabrall-set track. For the opening day, the course was tough, with square oxers and tight turns that caused rails and refusals alike. Two top speed combinations, Jessica Springsteen and Tiger Lily (Balou du Rouet x Domino) and David Will and Cento du Rouet (Chintan x Balou du Rouet), each looked on form to take the win, but refusals late on course saw them out of the running.
While many riders took on the speed class at a slow pace, the top three finishers stood apart, finishing over three seconds faster than the rest of the field. Ward’s winning time was 54.66 seconds, with Rodrigo Pessoa and Citizenguard Cadjanine Z (Canabis Z x Freinschnitt Z) finishing on 54.75 seconds to land 2nd place, and Shane Sweetnam and Main Road (Heartbeat x Irco Marco) crossing the timers in 54.80 seconds to claim 3rd.
Ward was very at ease after the evening’s win, leaning again the arena railing as he spoke of the atmosphere. “It’s like my vacation here, I actually enjoy it more than a vacation,” he said of attending The Royal. “It’s such a classy event. The people take such pride in the traditions here, and they’ve kept it an atmosphere that very few places in the world have been able to keep, not just in sports but in any type of entertainment. It’s like going back 80 years and that’s something that’s very special to me and I enjoy it a great deal.”
See the full results of the $35,000 Jolera International Jumper Welcome at this link.
