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.