The first Grand Prix of the season took over the Grand Prix Arena on Thursday as athletes vied for the top prize in the $25,000 FarmVet Grand Prix at Desert Circuit I. Set as a speed format, 21 horse-and-rider combinations took to the Ken Krome-designed track and attempted to navigate the single round as efficiently as possible with all the rails intact. While many pairs took direct routes and vied for the quickest time over the track, it was ultimately Canada’s Darren Dlin and Buddy Bounce who captured the win.
The course featured 12 numbered obstacles, including three double combinations, a liverpool vertical, and lines extending across the expanse of the Grand Prix Arena. With the goal of going as quickly as possible, riders opened their horses’ strides in the bending lines and around the corners, but the three combinations required a balanced and collected stride in order to keep rails from falling, which interfered with some riders’ attempts to stay on an open, flowing stride. Dlin and Buddy Bounce, owned by Dorothy Dlin, beat out Olympian Cassio Rivetti and his mount, Delaney Batter’s Cristal De Menardiere, by just under half a second. In third was Canada’s Lisa Carlsen with Livestream 2.
Dlin got on a good pace with the gelding from the beginning of the course, taking direct paths down the bending lines and utilizing the horse’s large stride around the turns. He took a bold inside turn to the oxer at fence 10, cutting back tightly but finding the right distance and giving the pair the edge they needed to speed down the final line and claim the top spot in the class.
Buddy Bounce, an 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding has been ridden by Dlin for three years and the two have grown as a partnership. Dlin noted that he knows when it’s show time, and showcased it both Thursday night and throughout 2021 as he moved up the FEI ranks. Dlin used his mount’s stride and scope to his advantage to take home the top prize during the afternoon’s highlight event to kick off the eight-week Desert Circuit.
Juniors and Amateurs take center stage in the Grand Prix Arena on Friday of Desert Circuit I. The weekend features Saturday’s $40,000 Go Rentals Grand Prix with the $1,000 EquiFit U25 Classic and the first class in the $10,000 Interactive Mortgage 10 & Under Futurity Series on Sunday.
source: Press Release