“It’s a very good mare that I ride, and I wanted to just school her around today,” he said. “She was jumping very fresh at the start, so it was good for her to go a little quick in the second phase. She felt great so I just kind of went with it, and I didn’t really have much of a plan to be honest. I was just going as fast as she felt comfortable.”
Representing Egypt, Abdel Said and the 10-year-old Selle Français gelding, Oak Grove’s Laith, owned by AB Sporthorses, also put forth a double-clear effort, finishing just off the mark in 33.08 seconds. It was a double podium finish for Ireland as Lorcan Gallagher rounded out the top three aboard Sangris Boy, an 11-year-old gelding owned by Heathman Farm, LLC, stopping the timers in 34.27 seconds.While Kenny and Sweet Tricia have only reunited recently, the beginning of their partnership dates back to 2018 when the pair jumped together for about six or seven months. In November, Kenny got the opportunity to campaign the talented mare once again, something he’s very excited about.“She was always a super jumper and really, really light and careful so it will be fun to show her again this winter,” he said. “I have a lot of faith in her, I think she’s a really, really good jumper and I think I can do some good stuff with her here at WEF.”
Kenny has a busy schedule with a large string of horses to show and there are always a few to exercise off the show grounds each day. As expected, that amount of activity is physically demanding and can take its toll on a rider’s body, but the eighth-ranked rider in the world has established a good program to manage.“Strangely enough, I’ve actually been going to the gym which I never used to do,” said Kenny with a laugh. “I think with the number of horses I’m riding every day and the older I’m getting, my back is getting sore more regularly, so I have to manage that a bit better by staying more fit and strong. I’ve been quite concentrated on that this winter, and it seems to be working well.”