Two riders after that, Adrienne Sternlicht (USA) and Bennys Legacy owned by Starlight Farms, LLC, moved into the lead, stopping the clock at 37.60 seconds. In the end, the 27-year-old rider would land in third position aboard the 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding by Lupicor x Acordia.Following Sternlicht, the door was left open just a crack and one of the world’s fastest Irishmen seized the opportunity. Sweetnam and Indra Van De Oude Heihoef, a 13-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare by Casantos x Action-Breaker, who shaved nearly a full second off the leading time to take over top spot in 35.56 seconds.
Last to go, Eugenio Garza Perez (MEX) and Armani SL Z owned by El Milagro, gave it their best shot and came close. The 24-year-old rider piloted his 13-year-old Zangersheide stallion by Asca Z x Cumano to a second-place finish in a time of 35.70 seconds, less than two-tenths of a second off the leading pace.“This class was the aim for my horse for the end of circuit,” said Sweetnam of his plan heading into Friday’s final. “I actually gave her a break and then did two nice classes last week on the derby field. She won one of them, and then her focus was to try to have a good chance at winning this, which she delivered. I’m very happy when the plan comes together.
“She has a big heart, and she’s super, super careful,” he continued. “She really does not want to hit the jumps, and obviously when you’re going at that speed in the jump-off, you need a special horse to keep the jumps up. You see the standard of horses in that jump-off, Nations Cup-caliber horses, championship horses; that’s what you’re up against, so I’m very happy with her.The win marked one of many for Sweetnam, who had an incredibly successful campaign during the 2021 WEF with victory in the $401,000 Douglas Elliman Real Estate Grand Prix CSI5* during WEF 5, as well as representing his home country of Ireland for a second-place finish in the $150,000 Nations Cup CSIO4* during WEF 8.
“This is probably the best WEF I’ve had,” he said, “between grand prix wins and being consistently in the ribbons with a good team of horses and owners behind me. This is my last class of the season, so this win is just the cherry on top. It’s a great way to finish off.”Sweetnam added, “I think [WEF Show Manager] David Burton, [Equestrian Sport Productions (ESP) President] Michael Stone, [ESP CEO] Mark Bellissimo, and the entire ESP team have done a great job running a brilliant circuit that hasn’t been interrupted. As you can see around the world, that seems to be a very hard thing to do, so my hat is off to them for doing that. They’ve worked very hard for it.”
Following the final, Ireland’s Darragh Kenny was crowned overall champion of the CaptiveOne Advisors 1.50m Classic Series. In honor of his win, Kenny was awarded a Yacht Outing on the CaptiveOne professional fishing vessel ‘Reel Captivating’ – with the choice of between a sunset dinner cruise, or day trip deep-sea fishing, for up to six people.
Two riders after that, Adrienne Sternlicht (USA) and Bennys Legacy owned by Starlight Farms, LLC, moved into the lead, stopping the clock at 37.60 seconds. In the end, the 27-year-old rider would land in third position aboard the 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding by Lupicor x Acordia.Following Sternlicht, the door was left open just a crack and one of the world’s fastest Irishmen seized the opportunity. Sweetnam and Indra Van De Oude Heihoef, a 13-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare by Casantos x Action-Breaker, who shaved nearly a full second off the leading time to take over top spot in 35.56 seconds.
Last to go, Eugenio Garza Perez (MEX) and Armani SL Z owned by El Milagro, gave it their best shot and came close. The 24-year-old rider piloted his 13-year-old Zangersheide stallion by Asca Z x Cumano to a second-place finish in a time of 35.70 seconds, less than two-tenths of a second off the leading pace.“This class was the aim for my horse for the end of circuit,” said Sweetnam of his plan heading into Friday’s final. “I actually gave her a break and then did two nice classes last week on the derby field. She won one of them, and then her focus was to try to have a good chance at winning this, which she delivered. I’m very happy when the plan comes together.
“She has a big heart, and she’s super, super careful,” he continued. “She really does not want to hit the jumps, and obviously when you’re going at that speed in the jump-off, you need a special horse to keep the jumps up. You see the standard of horses in that jump-off, Nations Cup-caliber horses, championship horses; that’s what you’re up against, so I’m very happy with her.The win marked one of many for Sweetnam, who had an incredibly successful campaign during the 2021 WEF with victory in the $401,000 Douglas Elliman Real Estate Grand Prix CSI5* during WEF 5, as well as representing his home country of Ireland for a second-place finish in the $150,000 Nations Cup CSIO4* during WEF 8.
“This is probably the best WEF I’ve had,” he said, “between grand prix wins and being consistently in the ribbons with a good team of horses and owners behind me. This is my last class of the season, so this win is just the cherry on top. It’s a great way to finish off.”Sweetnam added, “I think [WEF Show Manager] David Burton, [Equestrian Sport Productions (ESP) President] Michael Stone, [ESP CEO] Mark Bellissimo, and the entire ESP team have done a great job running a brilliant circuit that hasn’t been interrupted. As you can see around the world, that seems to be a very hard thing to do, so my hat is off to them for doing that. They’ve worked very hard for it.”
Following the final, Ireland’s Darragh Kenny was crowned overall champion of the CaptiveOne Advisors 1.50m Classic Series. In honor of his win, Kenny was awarded a Yacht Outing on the CaptiveOne professional fishing vessel ‘Reel Captivating’ – with the choice of between a sunset dinner cruise, or day trip deep-sea fishing, for up to six people.