Irish Olympian Shane Sweetnam and the 10-year-old Coriaan van Klapscheut Z (Comme il faut x Lord z) left nothing to chance on the grass Derby Field at Equestrian Village by winning the $215,000 CSI4* Grand Prix, highlighting Saturday afternoon during Week 4 at Wellington International’s Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF). Hosting 12 consecutive weeks of international competition, WEF runs through March 29 in Wellington, FL.
Six advanced to course designer Anderson Lima’s (BRA) tie-breaking jump-off, and five double clears left the fate of the winner to the clock. Sweetnam shaved three seconds off the current leading time with Coriaan van Klapscheut Z, a Zangersheide gelding by Comme Il Faut 5 x Lord Z Z. After a final push to break the timer beam, the clock read an uncatchable 41.40 seconds.
“I thought it would take more time [to get to this level], but I didn’t have many horses when he stepped up to FEI last year,” said Sweetnam, who has had the ride on the gelding he owns together with Voquest, LLC, since the middle of 2024. “His first week here last year, he’d never done an FEI class and was second in the WEF [Challenge Cup]. He took to it like a duck to water and was very competitive from the start—even though he was green. He really wants to leave the jumps up.”
The win was a battle among fellow countrymen as Bertram Allen (IRL) took second by a half second aboard Conquest de Rigo, a 10-year-old Belgian-bred son of Fantomas de Muze and VDL Indoctro owned by Aloga Stables. The pair stopped the clock at 41.95 seconds to settle as runners-up.
“We’ve been second a lot, which was my year last year, so it’s nice to have him put me up one spot and get the win,” laughed Sweetnam, who finished 2025 on a high note with Coriaan van Klapscheut Z by winning a three-star grand prix at Wellington International. “With horses, they’ll tell you what the plan is, especially at this level, but he’s comfortable already, and now we can smooth it out.”
Sweetnam was sent a video of Coriaan van Klapscheut Z during the summer of 2024 and made an impromptu trip to Sweden to try the horse, previously owned by Abdel Saïd. “It was worth the trip,” explained Sweetnam, a two-time Irish Olympian.
“He’s a funny character; very smart, not spooky but quite sharp about his surroundings,” continued Sweetnam, whose groom Maria Israelsson, was honored with the Double H Farm Grooms Award and $500 prize for her care and preparation of Coriaan van Klapscheut Z.
