In Section A, Wireman and Karen were the 14th of 28 entries to jump on the Desert International Horse Park’s Grass Field. Having come directly from competing in another ring, Wireman had not walked the course or had a chance to truly make note of how fast others were going. So, the young professional left nothing to chance.

“I had sent [working student Taryn McEntire] to walk it for me,” explained Wireman. “So, she told me some numbers. I don't even know half the numbers I actually ended up doing, but I definitely was leaving strides out…I just cut in and started slicing things. Halfway through I was like, ‘Man, I should just keep the gas pedal on!’ So, I just kind of kept going. [Karen] has such a natural foot speed for sure. She's so quick, and she doesn't spend extra time in the air. She's already landing and is like, ‘Where are we going now?’ She's right on it. She’s just such a fun mare to ride.”

With Wireman and Karen’s leave outs throughout the course, they would ultimately stop the clock in a winning 59.416 seconds. That time would impressively prove to be more than six seconds ahead of second place finisher Kaitlin Campbell. Campbell rode Sun Warrior, owned by Linda Starkman, to a time of 65.742 seconds for the runner-up spot, and third place went to Jamie Sailor and Gillion ES with a time of 66.961 seconds.

“I've been riding Karen close to five years now, and over this last year, I turned her over a little bit to Taryn [McEntire] to show in the junior jumpers again,” said Wireman of the 13-year-old Hanoverian mare, owned by MJ & Todd Kaplan. “I think she's been having fun playing around with that. She did the juniors last week, and then I said I was going to steal her back for this class this week to try and qualify for the Speed League! She was ready. She was flying on the grass this week, and she is just such a special mare. She loves to win, and she knows when that cooler goes on, she's the winner!”

To view full results of the $10,000 1.35m Welcome Speed – Section A, click here.

In Section B, Wireman now had a sense of the time needed to win – and the fact that she was not likely to need to be as quick as she was on Karen. However, that did not make Wireman slow down by much. Aboard Corsini, Wireman sped to her second consecutive win with a time of 64.996 seconds. Finishing in second place on a time of 72.020 seconds were Carmen Edwards and Casirado 3, owned by Risen EQ Holdings LLC. Emily Esau Williams and Air Jordan Delacense took home third with a time of 72.114 seconds.

“[Corsini] certainly is very fast across the ground and loves to go also,” said Wireman of the 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, owned by Claire Marie Diamond. “He is just naturally quick in the air, and he is quick across the ground, so that's really fun. My plan was just to go a little bit more conservative than on Karen, but I could still kind of put the pedal to the metal a little bit, and he was fantastic.”

Wireman continued, “It’s only my fourth week showing this circuit because I did a little bit and went to Abu Dhabi [for the Longines FEI League of Nations Abu Dhabi], so I was gone for a bit of the middle of the circuit. So, I haven't gotten that many chances to qualify for the Speed League. Last night, we were debating, we entered both this class and the 1.40m for Taryn and I was like, ‘I think I'm going to steal [Karen] and do the 1.35 Welcome and see if I can get into the Speed League, and well, mission accomplished!”

To see full results from the $10,000 1.35m Welcome Speed – Section B, click here.