Spencer Smith (USA) has been extremely consistent with a competitive group of horses so far during the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF), but on Thursday of Week 8, he opened Nations Cup week with his first WEF Challenge Cup win of the season by topping the $32,000 CSIO4* edition. “This is a great horse,” Smith said of the 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding (HHS Chantilly Lace x Cavalier Royale).
“I’ve had him for two years now. He was bought by Don and Nancy Stewart and they have supported me with the horse and let me keep riding him and competing him.”
Though the horse is quick across the ground, Smith wouldn’t have pegged this as the ideal class for HHS Seattle, with the grand prix qualifier set in speed format for WEF 8.
“He’s more of a grand prix horse, he’s not really a speed horse,” Smith noted. “He’s jumped a lot of grand prix this year, but he’s also pretty quick in a speed round. It was nice to get him going a bit and just let him go. He’s very naturally fast.”
The pair came home in a time of 65.06 seconds, more than two seconds faster than second place, which was awarded to Laura Kraut (USA) and Dorado 212, owned by St. Bride's Farm LLC. Marilyn Little (USA) claimed third with La Contessa, owned by Marilyn Little LLC.
Nations Cup week in Wellington is a favorite for many, including Smith. “It’s always a fun week because Steve Stephens (USA) designs and always brings in new jumps we haven’t seen much lately,” Smith said of what he saw in the International Arena Thursday. “[The course was] turny, twisty, short lines off of long runs. It was tough enough. There weren’t that many clear for the amount of people in the class.”
Between the Stewarts, Georgina Bloomberg, Dennis Sisco and his parents who head Ashland Farms, Smith has incredible support and a strong string of horses for the 2025 season. With a top finish in the CSI5* Lugano Grand Prix during WEF 7 and a win to kick off WEF 8, Smith is feeling confident as the weeks ramp up.
“I’m really lucky to have great people supporting me,” he continued. “I need to do my job now. Everyone’s working really hard so we’re all motivated for the same goal.
“I want to be consistent; I have some great horses so I want to keep getting myself in there and having good rounds,” he continued about the remainder of WEF and into the rest of the year. “The season is so long but now the bigger shows are coming up. It’s nice to catch a little momentum before the grand prix on Sunday and the five-star next week.”
See full results from the $32,000 Adequan® CSIO4* WEF Challenge Cup Round 8 HERE.
