Ireland’s Conor Swail and Theo 160 (Christian x Calando iv) were only the second pair to jump the CSI3* Welcome Speed, but they set a time that would stand untouched. Through the remainder of the class on the Grass Field at Desert International Horse Park, no one came within even three seconds of Swail and Theo 160’s winning time of 65.87 seconds.
Finishing in second place in the day’s featured event was the very last rider to jump, the USA’s Kaitlin Campbell. She piloted Cosm Questa VD Heffinck (Cabrio van de heffinck x Cooper van de heffinck), owned by Mirasol Equestrian, to a time of 69.52 seconds. Third place with a time of 71.50 seconds went to Canada’s Tiffany Foster and Anton (Accorado I x Sir Shostakovich xx), owned by 5 Roosters.
“All the numbers came up lovely for [Theo 160], and he is a quick, competitive horse,” said Swail of what gave “Theo” the winning edge. “I must say, he jumped beautifully today. This is his first time out on the grass this year. He has been here before on the grass, and he is very good on it. I was very pleased with the size of his step and how easily he went around. It was very smooth.”
Swail continued, “We had a bit of rain overnight there, but honestly [the Grass Field] felt super good. They were really jumping very confidently off it, so it was great. It was a great result for him.”
