Wellington Fla. – March 30, 2022 – Warm and windy, the $37,000 Douglas Elliman 1.45m CSI5* Two Phase Special made its way to the start line in the Stadium Derby Field at the newly rebranded Wellington International. McLain Ward and his mount, a long time favorite of his, Noche De Ronda, set the fastest time of the day to make their way to the podium to accept their win.
As the class commenced with 52 entries representing 12 countries, course designer Guilherme Jorge (BRA) set the 13-jump track with a time-allowed of 86 seconds. Unlike other classes, the course was divided into two phases, the first of which featured eight obstacles that athletes tried to navigate clear and within the time-allowed 44 seconds. Riders who achieved a clear first phase immediately advanced into the speed phase, which began at fence eight and required athletes to kick into the next gear to capture the quickest clear-round time in order to secure the win.
The first horse and rider on course, Matthew Sampson (GBR) and his mount Curraghgraigue Obos Flight, started off strong until fence five, where an unfortunate refusal led him to retire from the class. First to deliver a double-clear effort was Ioli Mytilineou (GRE) and La Perla VD Heffinck. The pair set the tone for the remaining horse-and-rider combinations with a time of 72.08 seconds over the second phase. Karl Cook (USA) was the next to deliver a double-clear effort aboard Fecybelle, but a time of 69.65 seconds would leave them out of contention as the class progressed.
Cook, who was 13th to contest, entered the grass with his mount Kalinka Van’t Zorgvliet, a 12-year-old Belgium Warmblood owned by Signe Ostby. The pair completed both phases clear with a speedy time of 68.16 seconds and zero faults, putting them into first ahead of Connor Swail (IRL). Ward and Noche De Ronda, entry number 31, came in guns blazing, taking the lead over Cook with a combined time of 74.92 seconds, a whole 2.73 seconds faster. Second to last to ride the 1.45m course was Petronella Andersson (SWE) and her Nithard Van De Peerdenhoeve, a 9-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding owned by Stephex Stables. Nithard Van De Peerdenhoeve, who put the pedal to the metal to take home the second place rosette with a combined clear round time of 67.38 seconds.
Ward, a world renowned athlete who has made his way to the Olympics Games on a number of occasions, as well as being named to the 2021 FEI World Cup Finals Jumping team, stated that Marilla Van Beuren, Bob Russel and Mclain Ward’s, Noche De Ronda, a 13-year-old Oldenburg mare, recently recovered from an injury she got in 2021. The seasoned athlete noted the mare’s scope and stride, stating she felt great on the Stadium Derby Field.
Coming into the final week of WEF Show jumping competition commences on Thursday, March 31, at 12:30 PM in the Stadium Derby field with the $140,000 Adequan WEF Challenge Cup Round XII CSI5*.
FROM THE WINNERS CIRCLE
McLain Ward – $37,000 Douglas Elliman Real Estate 1.45m CSI5* winner
On Noche De Ronda:
“She is just coming back from an injury she got last year, and she has been jumping well but just having an unlucky four faults here and there. We thought we would give her one more time out on this field this season, and she seems to be feeling quite well.”
On where he thinks they made up the time:
“I think where we took over was when we did the inside slice to the double combination. If it had been a single it wouldn’t have been that challenging, but with it being a combination it was definitely risky. She’s also got a huge stride that I use to my advantage out here. It was a huge loss not having her in our string last year, but she looks like she has a good year ahead of her.”
RESULTS
$37,000 Douglas Elliman Real Estate 1.45m CSI5:
Place / Horse / Rider / Owner / Country / R1 Time | R1 Faults / R2 Time | R2 Faults
1. Noche De Ronda /Mclain Ward / Ward / USA / 0 | 36.11 / 0 | 30.81
2. Nithard Van De Peerdenhoeve / Petronella Andersson / Stephex Stables / SWE / 0 | 36.39 / 0 | 30.99
3. Kalinka Van’t Zorgvliet / Karl Cook / Hellen Signe Ostby / USA / 0 | 36.39 / 0 | 31.77
4. Victor Finn DH Z / Eugenio Garza Perez / El Milagro / MEX / 0 | 35.89 / 0 | 31.95
5. Zineday / Philipp Weishaupt / Alice Lawaetz / GER / 0 | 36.72 / 0 | 32.05
6. Sara Tindale / Conor Swail / Sagamore Farms / IRE / 0 | 38.17 / 0 | 32.36
7. Donatello / Ashlee Bond / Ashlee Bond Show Jumping / ISR / 0 | 34.62 / 0 | 32.42
8. Grs Lady Amaro / Mark Mcauley / SNC Mcauley Equestrian / IRE / 0 | 37.03 / 0 | 32.49
9. Hellcat / Paul O’shea / Eye Candy Jumpers / IRE / 0 | 38.01 / 0 | 32.5
10. Tic Tac / Ben Maher / Jane Forbes Clark / GRB / 0 | 36.8 / 0 | 32.84
11. Christiano / Amy Millar / Future Adventures / CAN / 0 | 37.41 / 0 | 32.86
12. Fecybelle / Karl Cook / Helen Signe Ostby / USA / 0 | 36.51 / 0 | 33.14