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This week, the second round of the League of Nations is taking place in Ocala. On Wednesday, the international CSIO5* program kicked off with the 1.55m Grand Prix qualifier. With 44 combinations at the start, Nicola Philippaerts raced to victory with his 12-year-old Derby de Riverland. "The competition was tough in this class, but Derby is naturally very fast!"
Riding his brother's (Thibault Philippaerts, editor’s note) former top horse, Philippaerts secured the win in 64.08 seconds. "I was lucky that luck was on my side. I took some risks in certain turns, and fortunately, they paid off. I'm becoming more and more convinced that Derby thrives in the United States; he has always delivered good results here."
"This is my second time in Ocala, and it's breathtaking. There is plenty of space for the horses, the arena is spacious, and the surroundings are beautiful," Philippaerts concluded.
Over two seconds behind, Kent Farrington followed in second place in front of his home crowd. Farrington finished second with his 10-year-old Myla (Crunch), clocking in at 66.63 seconds and pushing Daniel Coyle with Quintin (Quaprice Bois Margot) into third place.
Just outside the top three, Janika Sprunger landed in fourth place with Tullogher Lady Liberty (Indoctro), ahead of Piergiorgio Bucci and the 13-year-old KWPN gelding, Hantano (Quasimodo Z).
