Canada’s Erynn Ballard kicked off another week at the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival (GLEF) in top form, snatching victory in Wednesday’s $31,100 CSI3 hippo data Welcome Stake*.
Riding the 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare Her Game Ball BG (Carambole), Ballard delivered a masterclass in speed and precision. She put her foot on the gas from the start, slicing through tight rollbacks and maintaining maximum pace to stop the clock in a blistering 34.02 seconds.
That razor-thin margin proved unbeatable, edging out Luxembourg’s Charlotte Bettendorf by just nine-hundredths of a second. Bettendorf, another rider enjoying a stellar summer run at the GLEF series, settled for second place aboard the 10-year-old Belgian Sport Horse mare Kalliope (Emerald van 't Ruytershof) after crossing the timers in 34.11 seconds.
Rounding out an impressive podium for North America, Canada’s Amy Millar claimed third place in the 1.45m class. Partnered with Christiano, (Canoso), a 16-year-old German Sport Horse gelding, Millar delivered a clean jump-off round in 34.80 seconds.
