The 2015 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) kicked off its second week of competition at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) in Wellington, FL, with a win for two-time Olympic gold medalist, McLain Ward (USA), and Double H Farm’s HH Ashley. The pair was fast and clear to top the $8,000 1.45m speed class over Laura Chapot (USA) and Quointreau Un Prince. The 2015 Winter Equestrian Festival hosts its second week of competition, sponsored by Wellington Equestrian Realty, from January 14-18, 2015. The week features the $50,000 Wellington Equestrian Realty Grand Prix CSI 2* on Saturday, January 17. The Artisan Farms Under 25 Grand Prix Series will also get underway with its first two competitions of the circuit. The $10,000 Artisan Farms Under 25 Grand Prix Welcome will be held on Saturday, January 17. The $25,000 Artisan Farms Under 25 Grand Prix, presented by Equine Couture/Tuff Rider, will be held on Sunday, January 18. WEF features 12 weeks of world-class competition through March 29, awarding over $8.2 million in prize money. Luc Musette of Belgium is the course designer in the International Arena at PBIEC for week two competition. Musette kicked off the first class of the week with 29 entries and six clear rounds over his 1.45m speed track. McLain Ward and the 15-year-old Hanoverian mare, HH Ashley (Acorado x Chasseur), topped the class with a time of 67.57 seconds. Ward is also the co-owner of second place finisher, Quointreau Un Prince, with rider Laura Chapot. Chapot stopped the clock in 69.33 seconds. Mexico’s Nicolas Pizarro and Temascaltepec placed third in 71.29 seconds. Ward and HH Ashley began the WEF circuit with a great start in week one, including a third place finish in Sunday’s $30,000 WEF 1 Grand Prix. They remained in top form this morning with an excellent speed round to take their first win of the season. Also showing on Wednesday, the $6,000 Spy Coast Farm 1.40m speed saw a total of 111 entries and was scored in a California Split, awarding two sets of prizes. Laura Chapot was the overall winner to take top prize in section A with Mary Chapot’s Zealous. Nicolas Pizarro was second fastest to earn top honors in section B aboard Jacobo Zaga’s Calvaretto. In the $6,000 Spy Coast Farm 1.40m jump-off, Abigail McArdle and David McArdle’s Cosma 20 set the pace early with the fastest of eight double clear rounds in a 13-horse jump-off out of 55 competitors. Laura Chapot also finished second in that class aboard Mary Chapot’s Umberto. Week two of the 2015 Winter Equestrian Festival continues on Thursday with the $34,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup Round 2 in the International Arena and hunters will compete for top prizes in the Wrenwood Farms High Performance Working Hunters. For full results and more information, please visit www.pbiec.com. Final Results: $8,000 1.45m Speed 1 1800 HH ASHLEY MCLAIN WARD DOUBLE H FARM: 0/67.574 2 2937 QUOINTREAU UN PRINCE LAURA CHAPOT LAURA CHAPOT & MCLAIN WARD: 0/69.330 3 3281 TEMASCALTEPEC NICOLAS PIZARRO ARMANDO TORRADO: 0/71.291 4 4773 CASSINJO DAVID BLAKE PINE HOLLOW FARM: 0/73.944 5 1273 GOLDBREAKER AMANDA DERBYSHIRE AMANDA DERBYSHIRE: 0/76.074 6 1084 UPFRONT LAUREN HOUGH LAUREN HOUGH: 0/78.999 7 2972 COBERLINA PETER LUTZ ORCHARD FARM: 1/79.630 8 3231 UNEX OMEGA STAR TIM GREDLEY UNEX COMPETITION YARD: 4/67.831 9 1080 HERACROSS PARIS SELLON PARIS SELLON: 4/70.001 10 2800 ZEPHYR MICHAEL DORMAN WYNDMONT: 4/71.309 11 1712 HERMINE 44 PETER WYLDE KAMINE AND FISHER FAMILIES LLC: 4/71.311 12 2801 VALINSKI S MICHAEL DORMAN WYNDMONT: 4/71.648
