The week began with a victory in the $6,000 1.40m Power & Speed CSI 3* for Sydney Shulman (USA) and Jill Shulman's 2009 Warmblood mare Villamoura (Dianant De Semilly x Kasina), after completing the jump-off track in a brisk 25.477 seconds. Kristen Vanderveen (USA) maintained a steadfast lead until the end of the class, but still ended the afternoon in second place after a jump-off round of 26.002 seconds aboard Bull Run Jumpers Six LLC's Bull Run's Divine Fortune, a 2009 Dutch Warmblood mare (Padinus x Amhilavsca Fortuna). Shawn Casady (USA) and Zephyr, a 2004 Dutch Warmblood gelding (Landor S x Tobelia), owned by Wyndmont Inc., rounded out the top three after completing the short course in 26.035 seconds. "The track was suited, in my opinion, for a smaller horse today," commented Shulman. "They gave you the options to add if you want to add to the verticals or to the combinations. I fortunately had two smaller horses in the class and it really suited them. After I watched Kristen and Shawn ride, they're both on massive horses and I didn't think there was anyway that I was going to match that, but Villamoura is really quick across the ground." Shulman has had the mare for a little over a year, and will head to Florida after the completion of the Tryon Fall Series. She continued, "Villamoura has really come into her own in the past five or six months. She was really green when we got her. I really only did the 1.20m and maybe 1.30m in Florida all last winter with her. In Kentucky she did her first 1.40m, and then at Gold Cup she won the 1.45m. After that, I decided to just go for it and see what she could do here in the FEI classes." Shulman concluded, "I love the facility here and it's very horse friendly, so there is really no better place to give this mare more experience. I'm looking for her to be a 1.50m speed horse in the future."
