Wilton Porter (USA) is playing his cards right with mount Larderello, owned by Sleepy P Ranch BV, and a slow and methodical approach to building the horse into the international divisions paid off with their biggest win yet in the $32,000 Buckeye Nutrition CSI2* Qualifier on Friday of Week 7 at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF).
Porter was one of 16 clear rounds over Anthony D’Ambrosio’s (USA) first-round course, and his early draw had him coming back second to show what he could do. “We had a plan for the jump-off to be efficient and use his stride a bit,” Porter explained of his strategy. “That went exactly how I wanted. It was fast; it wasn’t crazy but they had to catch us. I got very lucky at the end; Chris Pratt had the last one down and that sealed the win for me.”
Grace Debney (GBR) ended up second with Jesprit H.S, owned by Temple Equestrian LLC, and Charlotte Jacobs (USA) claimed third with Korbach van de Renger, owned by North Star.
Porter believes Larderello is a natural winner, and the proof is beginning to show. “I’ve had Larderello since he was 6-years-old, and he’s nine now,” he said of the Dutch Warmblood gelding (Arezzo VDL x London). “He’s been a great horse. He can be ridden by lots of different people; he’s really straightforward and he’s won some classes but this is the biggest win in his career. I think it’s definitely not the last.
“He’s got a great mind,” he continued. “One of my clients, Mary Wickstrom, has ridden him for me and did a great job with him. We’ve taken our time—he’s seen lots of great venues but we never forced him to go too big too quickly. It’s really paying off now as he’s getting older.”
Though he’s only just turned 31, Porter is a seasoned WEF competitor after basically growing up at the venue, saying, “I love Wellington; it really is like my home. I’ve probably been coming here for 18 years. It shows you where you’re at; you have to be organized for the whole season but this competition is as good as it gets. When you do well here, it’s pretty easy the rest of the year to count on success.”
Jordan Coyle on top
The first FEI win of the day went to Jordan Coyle (IRL) in the $62,500 Bainbridge CSI5* 1.50m Classic. Aboard King Kannan GP, owned by Elan Farm, Coyle sped to the win in the single-round class, besting 52 international entries. Just behind him by nine one-hundredths of a second was fellow Irishman Shane Sweetnam with Coriaan van Klapscheut Z, owned by Sweetnam and Voquest LLC. Just eight one-hundredths of a second behind second place was Ashlee Bond (ISR) with Night Wish.
