Thursday of Desert Circuit Week V welcomed back FEI and Alan Wade. FEI kicked-off with not one but three FEI classes in the Grand Prix Stadium as part of the new tiered structure at Desert Circuit, inviting different levels of competition to compete in three tour options: Ruby Tour (1.35m - 1.40m), Sapphire Tour (1.40m - 1.45m), and Diamond Tour (1.45m - 1.55m).
Katelyn Denby Edwards (USA) and Escapado S sped to a first place finish in the $10,000 Diamond Tour Welcome CSI3*, sponsored by SmartPak, with a short-course time of 28.59 seconds. Nicholas Dello Joio (USA) and Columbcille de Reve (Hermes de Reve x Errigal Flight), owned by Wembley Farms Inc., finished in a close second with a time of 28.85 seconds. Ali Ramsay (CAN) concluded the top three aboard her own Casino(Casiro 3 x Ludwig von Bayern), finishing with a time of 29.34 seconds.
Twenty-two pairs challenged the course designed by Alan Wade (IRL) with 16 participating in the short-course. “I thought they were great courses, challenging but welcoming for the first day of competition,” Edwards shared. “I like to see that on the first days, I don’t necessarily want to go out there on the first day and have it be the biggest most challenging course, but that’s just me,” Edwards continued, “I like to ease into the week.”
Edwards has been paired with Escapado S (Whitesnake x Elcaro), owned by Mountain View West Farm LLC, for two years, “We’ve just been kind of doing a lot of the 1.45m and 1.50m and we just moved up to the 1.50m last year.” Edwards also shared that the 2009 Dutch Warmblood can be a bit challenging sometimes, “He can have a little bit of an odd brain sometimes, he can get a little antsy about things, like traffic, so the most important part for me when warming him up is to keep his head in the game and keeping him as relaxed as possible.”
“It was an adjustment at first because the warm-up might not always be pretty or what I want it to be,” Edwards explained, “but I always just have to go in and have faith that we’re going to be great in the ring. Once we go in the ring, that is his happy place.”
Edwards is returning to the Desert International Horse Park after also competing at the horse park during the National Sunshine Series in the fall, “I love some of the changes that have been made, and I think they’ve done a lot for the spectators as well,” Edwards shared. “Being married to a non-horse person is always interesting coming to the horse shows, so anytime there’s a little something that will entertain him while he’s waiting around is always nice. I like that there’s some games and it just seems like it's more exhibitor friendly and fun.” Edwards concluded.
Katelyn Denby Edwards (USA) and Escapado S sped to a first place finish in the $10,000 Diamond Tour Welcome CSI3*, sponsored by SmartPak, with a short-course time of 28.59 seconds. Nicholas Dello Joio (USA) and Columbcille de Reve (Hermes de Reve x Errigal Flight), owned by Wembley Farms Inc., finished in a close second with a time of 28.85 seconds. Ali Ramsay (CAN) concluded the top three aboard her own Casino(Casiro 3 x Ludwig von Bayern), finishing with a time of 29.34 seconds.
Twenty-two pairs challenged the course designed by Alan Wade (IRL) with 16 participating in the short-course. “I thought they were great courses, challenging but welcoming for the first day of competition,” Edwards shared. “I like to see that on the first days, I don’t necessarily want to go out there on the first day and have it be the biggest most challenging course, but that’s just me,” Edwards continued, “I like to ease into the week.”
Edwards has been paired with Escapado S (Whitesnake x Elcaro), owned by Mountain View West Farm LLC, for two years, “We’ve just been kind of doing a lot of the 1.45m and 1.50m and we just moved up to the 1.50m last year.” Edwards also shared that the 2009 Dutch Warmblood can be a bit challenging sometimes, “He can have a little bit of an odd brain sometimes, he can get a little antsy about things, like traffic, so the most important part for me when warming him up is to keep his head in the game and keeping him as relaxed as possible.”
“It was an adjustment at first because the warm-up might not always be pretty or what I want it to be,” Edwards explained, “but I always just have to go in and have faith that we’re going to be great in the ring. Once we go in the ring, that is his happy place.”
Edwards is returning to the Desert International Horse Park after also competing at the horse park during the National Sunshine Series in the fall, “I love some of the changes that have been made, and I think they’ve done a lot for the spectators as well,” Edwards shared. “Being married to a non-horse person is always interesting coming to the horse shows, so anytime there’s a little something that will entertain him while he’s waiting around is always nice. I like that there’s some games and it just seems like it's more exhibitor friendly and fun.” Edwards concluded.