The penultimate day of the ESP Pre-Charity CSI3* offered jumper competitors a final chance to compete for FEI points ahead of the $137,000 Noltrex®Vet Grand Prix CSI3*, which will take place Sunday as the highlight event of the competition. In the $37,000 Elite Horse Transport 1.45m CSI3*, the final class of the day in the International Arena, Jessica Springsteen (USA) and Stone Hill Farm’s Naomi Van Het Keizershof proved their prowess by finishing as the swiftest contenders over designer Andy Christiansen’s (ECU) tracks to claim victory.
Of the winning 9-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare by Cardento x For Pleasure, Springsteen shared, “I’ve had her since she was six years old, and she’s nine now. I think she is really special. She has taken a little bit more time but is super careful and is very competitive. I’m hoping to step her up and put her in a couple of the smaller Grand Prix classes this season.”
The speed class featured efforts from 37 challengers, with 18 of those placing foot-perfect rounds. Twenty-sixth in the order of go, Springsteen and Naomi Van Het Keizershof stopped the clock at 62.69 seconds to edge the early leaders, Jad Dana and Fleur-De-Lis’ Cherie, out of the lead. Their swift but careful round that put them in the lead was ultimately the winning time.
“It was a very fast class,” recalled Springsteen. “The first few were all fast, so I knew that we had to go a little bit more forward today. She [Naomi Van Het Keizershof] jumped well on Thursday, so I knew I could really rely on her. A lot of people were leaving out a stride in the first line, and I thought about it for a second but then changed my mind. I ended up doing an eight and was able to make up for the time in other places.”
Just off the pace, Dana and Fleur-De-Lis’ Cherie, The Cherie Group’s ten-year-old Holsteiner mare by Clarimo x Lancer II, captured the runner-up title with their time of 63.19. Michael Hughes (USA) piloted Calisto Blue, a 15-year-old Oldenburg gelding by Chacco-Blue x Con Air that’s owned by Stephex Stables, to a third-place finish with a clear time of 64.3 seconds.
For the full results of the $37,000 Elite Horse Transport 1.45m CSI3*, please click HERE.