The 2015 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) continued at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) on Thursday with a win for 22-year-old Lucy Davis (USA) and Old Oak Farm’s Barron in the $127,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup Round 7. Davis and Barron topped two-time Olympic Gold Medalist McLain Ward (USA) and his ultra fast mount, Rothchild, in an exciting jump-off round to earn top prize. Wilton Porter (USA) and Diamonte Darco finished third. Steve Stephens (USA) set the track for 69 entries in Thursday’s WEF Challenge Cup, with 13 to advance to the jump-off and five double clear rounds. Davis and Barron raced through the course in 38.06 seconds for the win. They beat the leading time of Ward and Sagamore Farms’ Rothchild in 39.29 seconds. Porter and Sleepy P Ranch LLC’s Diamonte Darco stopped the clock in 40.48 seconds for third. Alise Oken (USA) and Hi Hopes Farm LLC’s Teirra finished fourth in 40.92 seconds, and Lauren Tisbo (USA) clocked in at 41.56 seconds to take the fifth place prize aboard Tequestrian Farms LLC’s Entre Nous. A student at Stanford University in California, Davis travels back and forth to show in Florida throughout the winter. She flew in this morning for the week’s CSI 5* competition and will return to school on Monday, coming back again during weeks 9, 11 and 12. While her horses stay in Florida with trainers Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum and Markus Beerbaum, Davis has a horse at school to keep in the saddle between shows. She is already qualified for the FEI World Cup Finals in Las Vegas this spring and will continue to gear Barron toward that goal.
