It was another great day for the Irish at the Split Rock Jumping Tour Columbus International CSI 2* at Brave Horse Show Park, in Johnstown, OH, as Andrew Bournes rode his Ringwood Zebo to win the $10,000 Amalaya Investments 1.35m Prix in resounding fashion.
Bournes was one of 15 clear rounds out of a starting field of 46 horse and rider combinations. Only five of those pairs could manage double clear over the Alan Wade course, and none could match Bournes' time with Ringwood Zebo. Bournes did not appear to be pushing the 8 year old for more speed over the course, but the timers told the story with a finishing time of 39.972, 0.8 of a second faster than Taylor Land, Alpharetta, GA, and Falco V, who were pushed back into second place.
"Ringwood Zebo is a very exciting new prospect that I have. This is his biggest win since he got over here. He comes from my farm in Ireland. He was produced by my parents and he really has been fantastic. He jumped in a 2* Grand Prix two weeks ago in Canada. He was double clear there as well. He's just gone from strength to strength.
"Ever since I got him he has been wowing us with his ability and then today he showed some extraordinary speed. He is deceivingly fast. I don't think the others even saw him coming. With a young horse like this you can't get too brave with your plan, he has a lot of stride and scope, so I left out strides and kept him very, very tight in his turns. I relied a lot on his rideability, which I think made him so much faster than the other horses, because he was able to win the class and not look like he was breaking a sweat doing it."
The $5,000 U25 Welcome, sponsored by Booth Show Jumpers, was won in decisive fashion by Emanuel Andrade, VEN, and Clouwni, a 2003 Holsteiner gelding by Colman x Odessa XVII. The pair completed the jump-off fault free in a time of 34.183 seconds, two seconds ahead of Taylor Land and For Edition, who posted a double clear in 36.321 for second place.