“Darlon was my best horse result-wise last year,” Rodriguez elaborated. “He is coming back from a six-month rest. This is his first show back, and he is in good shape. I have high hopes for him in Calgary, and he is probably the horse I would consider for the Pan American Games. I couldn’t have expected more from him out there. It was a wonderful victory because this is his biggest win since we started competing with him again, and when you bring a horse back after so long and that you have missed for so long, it really is something special.”
The eight strides to the final oxer was not the only move that Rodriguez made to secure the win. He also left out a stride down the first line, clearing the second obstacle in only six strides, setting a pace that second place rider, Kevin Babington (IRL) admitted that he knew he could not catch.
Four riders attempted to leave out the stride down the opening line, but only Rodriguez succeeded with the leave-out, seeing either the first or second obstacle fall in a shot to catch his pace. The pressure to catch Rodriguez during the first half of the course caught Shane Sweetnam, Richie Moloney and Roberto Teran.
Pablo Barrios and Zara Leandra attempted to angle the penultimate obstacle in the same fashion as Rodriguez, but the Audi-vertical fell in their haste.
Minikus was able to lay down a clean and quick jump-off round in 45.171 seconds with Con Capilot, but the time was not enough today to catch the Venezuelan, falling short with a 1.97 second differential.
Only three other riders would ride to double-clear results.
Emanuel Andrade and Bon Jovi went clean in 45.171 seconds, a conservative pace for the otherwise speedy rider. Colin Syquia and Adventure E grabbed the fifth place in 47.427 seconds, while Hayley Barnhill and Zephire finished just under the time allowed in 51.736 seconds to round out the top six.
Today marked the conclusion of the Kentucky Spring Classic, but in July competition will continue at the Kentucky Horse Park during the Kentucky Summer Series. Throughout July and August, riders will have the opportunity to compete in top-notch hunter/jumper events, and also try to earn valuable points toward the $50,000 Hagyard Challenge Series’ Leading Rider Bonus, and the $15,000 Leading Rider Bonuses available during the Hallway Feeds USHJA National Hunter Derby Series.
