The final Friday of the 2023 Devon Horse Show was competition-filled, with the $38,700 CSI4* 1.45m Devon Speed Derby as the night class in the Dixon Oval. Speed was the name of the game, and because the class was set as a Table C, instead of a rail counting for four faults, it counted for four seconds added on the clock to the riders’ overall time.
Course designer Anderson Lima pulled everything out of his bag of tricks, utilizing two rings for the long track that featured two option opportunities at jump five and jump 14. With only two days of competition remaining, 31 horse-and-rider combinations stared down the Dixon Oval eager to capture one of the final blue ribbons of the 2023 Devon Horse Show.
Jessica Mendoza (GBR) and Charlyn (Clinton x Escudo I) set the pace very early on with a clear round at 81.04 seconds, and their lead was not caught until Laura Chapot (USA) and Jimmy Torano (USA) entered the ring on back-to-back rides. The veteran McLain Ward (USA), however, bested them all with a speedy round in 76.19 seconds aboard Catoki (Catoki x Caretello B), ahead of the second-place duo Cathleen Driscoll (USA) and Flotylla (Alvaro 121 x Bajou du Rouet). Laura Chapot took the third place with Diarado's Flying Dutchman (Diarado x Landadel).
"It was a very different type of competition. It's a new class here at Devon that I've actually been proposing to them for a couple years. There's a similar type class shown in Holland and it’s a crowd favourite, so no better place than Devon to have an event like this. It challenging, exciting and something different," said Ward after his second win of the week.