In the $62,500 Hermès CSI4* 1.50m Classic during the MARS Equestrian-sponsored WEF 4, former Olympic Champion Ben Maher (GBR) reigned with Corlander, owned by Charlotte Rossetter and Pamela Wright. Belgium’s Nicola Philippaerts took second aboard Derby de Riverland after winning the WEF Challenge Cup earlier in the week, and Cian O’Connor (IRL) was third with Belvedere, owned by Paseo Farms, LLC. The competitive class saw 14 clear rounds and ultimately six double-clear.
Michael Murphy conquers CSI2* Grand Prix
Michael Murphy (USA) and Kaida CM’s partnership is one year in the making, and they’re proving the pieces are really falling into place by securing a win on Sunday of Week 4 at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in the $62,500 Griffis Residential CSI2* Grand Prix. Highlighted by 12 weeks of consecutive FEI competition, WEF continues through March 30 at Wellington International in Wellington, FL.
South Coast’s 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare (Kannan x Indoctro) put in a very quick jump-off with Murphy aboard to best seven pairs that challenged Anderson Lima’s (BRA) short course.
“My horse is so quick,” Murphy—a Wellington local—said of Kaida CM. “If she's clean, she's quick. She's better when she can gallop. When I try to ride her too slow and make her too traditional, it's not her style.”
The jump-off proved to be just the mare’s style Sunday, earning her the win. In second was Carlee McCutcheon (USA) aboard Aralyn Blue, owned by Ann C Thompson, and in third was Michael’s wife Lauren Murphy (USA) aboard Voltanos.
The win was another notch on the horse’s record as she and Michael Murphy continue to test the gears together. “She won a three-star grand prix over the summer, and she’s won a few ranking classes,” he said of her progression. “She has a lot of blood, so it's been taking a long time to learn how to manage that.”
If he’s learned anything working with the mare for a year, it’s that, “You can only make her do something one out of five times. She's a really strong-willed mare and some days she wants to be put back in the stall or turned out in the paddock. You have to listen to her. If you don't listen to her, she'll make you listen.”
Michael Murphy found the horse through six-time U.S. Olympian Mclain Ward and Stonehenge Stables’ Max Amaya, originally intending the horse to be paired with an amateur rider. Since the first day he sat on her, it’s been a range of highs and lows, but he’s pleased it’s becoming far more highs than lows now that he knows the horse better.
Echoing how many other riders feel about jumping on the grass derby field and mixing up the environment during WEF 4, Michael Murphy said, “I love the field. We base here in the summer, so we get the show out here all the time. I think the horses are happy to be over here and for them, it's a good breath of fresh air. And it's great jumping on grass; we don't get to do that as often anymore.”
As someone who spends most of his year in Wellington, Michael Murphy does enjoy having world-class athletes amongst his company during the winter months. “It makes you raise your level,” he remarked. “There's more riders here, and it takes more to win. The quality [riders], they push you, which is great. It makes you ride better.”
Michael Murphy conquers CSI2* Grand Prix
Michael Murphy (USA) and Kaida CM’s partnership is one year in the making, and they’re proving the pieces are really falling into place by securing a win on Sunday of Week 4 at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in the $62,500 Griffis Residential CSI2* Grand Prix. Highlighted by 12 weeks of consecutive FEI competition, WEF continues through March 30 at Wellington International in Wellington, FL.
South Coast’s 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare (Kannan x Indoctro) put in a very quick jump-off with Murphy aboard to best seven pairs that challenged Anderson Lima’s (BRA) short course.
“My horse is so quick,” Murphy—a Wellington local—said of Kaida CM. “If she's clean, she's quick. She's better when she can gallop. When I try to ride her too slow and make her too traditional, it's not her style.”
The jump-off proved to be just the mare’s style Sunday, earning her the win. In second was Carlee McCutcheon (USA) aboard Aralyn Blue, owned by Ann C Thompson, and in third was Michael’s wife Lauren Murphy (USA) aboard Voltanos.
The win was another notch on the horse’s record as she and Michael Murphy continue to test the gears together. “She won a three-star grand prix over the summer, and she’s won a few ranking classes,” he said of her progression. “She has a lot of blood, so it's been taking a long time to learn how to manage that.”
If he’s learned anything working with the mare for a year, it’s that, “You can only make her do something one out of five times. She's a really strong-willed mare and some days she wants to be put back in the stall or turned out in the paddock. You have to listen to her. If you don't listen to her, she'll make you listen.”
Michael Murphy found the horse through six-time U.S. Olympian Mclain Ward and Stonehenge Stables’ Max Amaya, originally intending the horse to be paired with an amateur rider. Since the first day he sat on her, it’s been a range of highs and lows, but he’s pleased it’s becoming far more highs than lows now that he knows the horse better.
Echoing how many other riders feel about jumping on the grass derby field and mixing up the environment during WEF 4, Michael Murphy said, “I love the field. We base here in the summer, so we get the show out here all the time. I think the horses are happy to be over here and for them, it's a good breath of fresh air. And it's great jumping on grass; we don't get to do that as often anymore.”
As someone who spends most of his year in Wellington, Michael Murphy does enjoy having world-class athletes amongst his company during the winter months. “It makes you raise your level,” he remarked. “There's more riders here, and it takes more to win. The quality [riders], they push you, which is great. It makes you ride better.”