Wellington, Fla. – Feb. 26, 2022 – The second CSI5* grand prix of the 2022 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF), the $406,000 Lugano Diamonds Grand Prix CSI5*, took center stage Saturday night under the lights at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. An international field of 40 entries representing 15 nations took on the track built by Anthony D’Ambrosio (USA) and Andy Christiansen (ECU). At the conclusion of a five-horse jump-off, it was Ireland’s Bertram Allen who emerged victorious aboard Pacino Amiro.
Among the challenges presented on the 13-obstacle first round course were numerous careful verticals, a triple bar oxer into a very short four-stride line, a vertical-oxer double combination, an oxer-vertical double combination, a vertical-oxer-vertical triple combination and wide oxers across the course. Several of the course’s elements proved to be too challenging, as athletes opted to retire early on after realizing they were out of contention for the top spot. It wasn’t until Israel’s Daniel Bluman took to the ring twelfth in the order-of-go aboard Ladriano Z that the course proved jumpable as the pair recorded the first clear round.
A jump-off was guaranteed when Allen and Aiden McGrory’s Pacino Amiro, previous winners of this very grand prix during Week VII in 2021, notched a second clear round within the time allowed. Hearts broke as top riders, including world-ranked number three and winner of the $75,000 Adequan WEF Challenge Round VII CSI5* Daniel Deusser, winner of the $406,000 Fidelity Investments Grand Prix CSI5* Philip Weishaupt, and Tokyo 2020 silver medalist McLain Ward all fell subject to rails along the tricky course. Still to secure a spot in the jump-off, however, were Belgium’s Nicola Philippaerts, the United States’ Bliss Heers and Ireland’s Paul O’Shea.
The track was shortened and the five clear round combinations took to the jump-off. Setting the pace was Bluman, who opened Ladriano Z’s massive stride around the short course to speed home in a time of 45.59 seconds, but with one rail down. A young but extremely experienced pair, Allen took to the course with the 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, knowing a clear round would put him into the lead but also fully aware of the competitive combinations coming behind him. He raced home in a time of 44.14 seconds, stealing the lead as the sole double-clear round early on. Philippaerts and his small but mighty mare Katanga V/H Dingeshof navigated the course with a few more strides between obstacles than the previous two, but kept up the footspeed, ultimately coming up short both on time and with the final fence down, crossing the beams in 45.68 seconds.
Heers piloted the 12-year-old Selle Francais stallion, owned by Bridgeside Farms, LLC, as she rode a very definite track with tight rollbacks and no room for error, laying down just the second clear round at that point in a time of 45.17 seconds with just one to challenge Allen’s leading time. O’Shea and Chancelloress were the final pair to challenge Allen, and the fellow Irishman used the Trelawny Farm, LLC-owned 13-year-old Hanoverian mare’s massive stride to gallop down the lines and turn back tightly around the lengthy course. He ultimately came up just shy, jumping clear and to a time of 44.49 seconds, which was only one-third of a second off Allen’s time. Allen ultimately secured the win, with O’Shea slotting into second place and Heers taking third place.
International competition Winter Equestrian Festival continues with Week VIII as the $150,000 Nations Cup CSIO4*, presented by Premier Equestrian, takes center stage Saturday, March 5. International athletes will also vie for individual honors in the $216,000 JTWG Inc. Grand Prix CSIO4* Sunday, March 6, to conclude Week VIII.
FROM THE WINNERS CIRCLE
Bertram Allen – $406,000 Lugano Diamonds Grand Prix CSI5* winner
On repeating multiple wins at the Winter Equestrian Festival:
“I’ve been coming now for the last three years. It’s great to win any class here but especially a grand prix and then a CSI5* is even more special. Last year it was great jumping here but tonight it’s even more special with a full house; you could really feel that atmosphere. I thought tonight was a tough Grand Prix; we saw that with so few clears. It was great to come out on top.”
On Pacino Amiro’s progress throughout the year:
“Here last year was brilliant for him. He really got into that that CSI5* level and then just went from strength to strength. He ended up at the Olympics and he jumped very well there. I backed off him a little bit after that, because he is relatively young. It was kind of the plan to build him back up and he was ready to go for the first CSI5* two weeks ago. He jumped very good for one down but tonight he felt even better again, maybe a little less rusty or he felt at his best.
“I got him in the middle of his 7-year-old career and his results were always good. I maybe at the time didn’t foresee him being so good. He’s a little bit quirky. He’s a big horse, he has his own way of going, but again a fantastic, genuine horse with a lot of talent. He’s as brave as a lion every day. You’re not nervous what the course builder is building, he can jump everything, and there’s great confidence with that.”
On the jump-off plan:
“It was a little bit hard to know how fast to go. Obviously with five in it I had to get the line right between going mad and too fast and having a rail, or trying to have as good a round as I could without going mad. He has a great length of stride; wherever there was an option I was able to take one less and that was maybe what helped me today.”
On the course for tonight:
“I think it was just a proper CSI5* grand prix, it wasn’t that there was one bogey fence or something like that. All three combinations were tough and the line down at the bottom with the triple bar. All the way around you had no real let up and it was a well-built course.”
Paul O’Shea – second place
On a top finish in a CSI5* Grand Prix in Wellington:
“We’re really happy obviously; it’s a big deal here under the lights. It’s a big deal to do well here with the crowd. You’ve got so many top class horses and riders here. The standard is always really high so it’s very nice. Cara Raether Carey bought her for me to keep last year. That was very good because I’ve had her maybe three or four years now and she was just kind of slow in the beginning but she was just coming into her form. She was very good at the end of last year and this year, and she’s only getting better.”
On Chancelloress’ personality:
“She is very sensitive, and very nervous of other horses. She’s afraid of everything. When she goes in the ring she’s like a lion. In the warm up I don’t know how many times she stopped on me because she’s nervous. She’s very unusual; she’s very timid outside the ring, even in the stable. But when she goes in the ring she’s very tough and brave, so it’s a great quality.”
Bliss Heers – third place
On her jump-off track:
“To be honest I took the track I wanted to take. Like Bertram said, it was a fine line between going too much, and Antidote is naturally very very fast. I could’ve taken a bit more risk than I did and trusted his footspeed a little more. I think I definitely lost some time just by being a bit more cautious, but then again you take the risk and you knock one down. I did my plan and I’m very happy with my result.”
On Antidote De Mars:
“For me he’s the best horse in the world. He does everything for me. He has the biggest heart. He has every quality you would want in a show jumper. Just as a personality, he’s the kindest soul. I trust him with everything. It’s really fun to have a horse that we think the same sometimes and where I make mistakes he’s very keen in picking it up and helping me out, so we’re a good team that way. I support him and he helps me out.”
RESULTS
$406,000 Lugano Diamonds Grand Prix CSI5*
Place / Horse / Rider / Country / Owner / R1 Faults | R1 Time / R2 Faults | R2 Time
- Pacino Amiro / Bertram Allen / IRL / Aiden McGrory / 0 | 74.36 / 0 | 44.14
- Chancelloress / Paul O’Shea / IRL / Trelawny Farm, LLC / 0 | 77. 55 / 0 | 44.49
- Antidote De Mars / Bliss Heers / USA / Bridgeside Farms, LLC / 0 | 76.72 / 0 | 45.17
- Ladriano Z / Daniel Bluman / ISR / Over The Top Stables LLC / 0 | 75.39 / 4 | 45.59
- Katanga V/H Dingeshof / Nicola Philippaerts / BEL / Nicola Philippaerts / 0 | 73.62 / 4 | 45.68
- Winning Good / Emily Moffitt / GBR / Poden Farms / 2 | 79.82
- H&M Kirlo Van Den Bosrand / Samuel Hutton / GBR / Abdel Said / 4 | 72.49
- Alamo / Sergio Alvarez Moya / ESP / Sergio Alvarez Moya / 4 | 73.09
- Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z / Daniel Deusser / GER / Stephex Stables & Scuderia 1918 / 4 | 73. 56
- Arpege Du Ru / Abdel Said / BEL / Abdel Said / 4 | 74.37
- Contago / Eugenio Garza Perez / MEX / El Milagro / 4 | 75.41
- Agana Van Het Gerendal Z / Lillie Keenan / USA / Chansonette Farm LLC / 4 | 75.63