Wilton Porter and Diamonte Darco Dominate in the $37,000 Palm Beach Equine Clinic 1.45m Qualifier CSI2*

“I thought the course designer did a great job today,” said Porter. “I think he had just the right number of clear with 13 and I thought it was a difficult course. My horse ‘Bridget’ is really experienced. She’s 16 years old this year and she’s been in our family for a long time, so she handled it well.”The 27-year-old spoke fondly of his partner, the talented mare by Unbelievable Darco x Kriska, with whom he won individual gold at the 2014 Adequan®/FEI North American Young Rider Championships.

“She’s such a fighter,” he said. “She doesn’t have the most textbook technique but she’s always fighting to jump the jumps clear and she gets the job done year after year.”Porter also echoed sentiments of top international riders Ben Maher (GBR) and Eric Lamaze (CAN) who found success on the turf during WEF 2 with veteran mounts, who benefit from additional opportunities this season to jump on the stellar footing at Equestrian Village.

“I think it’s awesome,” said Porter. “Especially for my mare but also for any horse. Having more opportunities to jump on the grass keeps them fresher throughout the season. Every time you come out here it’s as if you’re in a new venue. Normally her [Diamonte Darco] main classes are the shows on the grass and now that there are four weeks on the schedule, she can do a little bit more.”Just five hundredths of a second behind the class winner, 18-year-old Irish rider Max Wachman piloted the 12-year-old gelding Lazzaro Delle Schiave, owned by Coolmore Show Jumping, to a runner-up finish in 43.17 seconds. Rounding out the podium in third place was Anna Beth Athey (USA) aboard her own Nat King Cole, an 11-year-old Swedish Warmblood mare, stopping the clock in 43.87 seconds.