On Wednesday, the international CSI5* week in Monterrey La Silla kicked off with a 1.40m opening class, where Belgian breeding took center stage. Victory went to Lillie Keenan aboard Anton., bred by Louis Bijloos (BEL).
"The first CSI5* Grand Prix I ever won was in La Silla," Lillie Keenan shared. "It goes without saying that I have great memories of this show. Winning an opening class always gives you a good feeling for the rest of the week. Anton is relatively new to me; he is owned by one of my students. He felt incredibly good, and the grass arena here is excellent—you could really feel Anton’s confidence today. Jumping on grass is always fun; you can feel the horses open up more in their gallop!"
Keenan and the son of Arko III, Anton, jumped to victory in 30.00 seconds. He was followed on the podium by Gabriel De Matos Machado in the saddle of Nyles van de Mottelhoeve (I Am Moerhoeve's Star), bred by Lode Aerts. The stallion was previously campaigned by Vicky Van de Poel and Martien Van der Hoeven.
Olympic rider Rodrigo Pessoa completed the top three riding Giorgio d'Ellipse (Prestigio LS La Silla, breeder: SNC Ellipse). The pair was followed by Eduardo Pereira de Menezes, who finished ahead of Kyle Timm with Excellent Sunshine Z (Emerald, breeder: Tom De Waele). Timm rounded out the top five in the saddle of Glamour Du Chanu (L'Arc de Triomphe).
