Ocala, FL – Spectators and exhibitors alike gathered at the WEC Grand Arena at World Equestrian Center – Ocala for the fourth Saturday night event of the 2024 Winter Spectacular Show Series, the $100,000 UF Health Grand Prix. Designed by FEI Level III course designer Ken Krome (USA), the intricate track set the stage for top-notch competitors hailing from nine different nations. Ultimately, it was pathfinders Dorothy Douglas (USA) and Davenport Farms’ MTM Pablo (Perigueux x Celina) who claimed victory, marking their second grand prix win of the circuit.
Ten skilled athletes representing the United States, Ireland, Australia, Portugal, Czech Republic, and New Zealand navigated their way to a clear first round, setting the stage for an intense tiebreaker.
Dorothy Douglas and MTM Pablo were the first to enter the jump-off. Contrary to most competitors, Douglas found the advantage in going first, “I didn’t have to dwell on how many strides did they do here, how quick were they there. Going first, I wanted to be efficient, and I wanted to be clear. I knew ‘Pablo’ felt on his game, so I stuck to my plan and trusted it.”
Executing her plan, Douglas guided the 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding to an unbeatable time of 41.243 seconds to ultimately gallop away with another grand prix title.
Reflecting on the course, Douglas praised Ken Krome’s design, “I jumped a lot of Ken Krome’s courses over the years. I think he did an unbelievable job building. There were a lot of mistakes in different areas,” shared Douglas. “The triple combination caught a good number of riders. It surprised me a bit, but I think coming away from the ingate, you really had to power up and keep the momentum all the way through. Pablo jumped amazing tonight and he felt like he was in it to win it.”
“It’s an incredible feeling knowing that Pablo has not only stepped up to the plate to compete in these classes, but now he’s proven to be a consistent grand prix winner. I couldn’t be more proud of him,” expressed Douglas.
Securing second place was Friday night’s futures prix winner, Sharn Worldey (NZL), this time riding Della Wordley’s 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding Champion League (Cador 5 x Charisma). The duo delivered a swift round in 42.473 seconds.
Jordan Coyle (IRL) claimed the third-place spot on the leaderboard, navigating Dermott Lennon’s 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Millview Cicero (Cicero Z Van Paemel x Royal Dutch) to a quick time of 42.539 seconds, just a tenth of a second behind Wordley.
Charlie Jones (GBR) earned the fastest four-faulter award aboard Morning Star Sporthorses LLC’s Capitale 6 with a quick first round time of 70.997 seconds with one unlucky rail down.
Manuel Torres received the ‘Luck of the Draw’ award.
$100,000 UF Health Grand Prix Results:
1 MTM Pablo, Dorothy Douglas (USA), Davenport Farms: 0 | 0 | 41.243
2 Champion League, Sharn Wordley (NZL), Della Wordley: 0 | 0 | 42.473
3 Millview Cicero, Jordan Coyle (IRL), Dermott Lennon: 0 | 0 | 42.539
4 Ivaro N, Lisa Goldman-Smolen (USA), Barbara Disko: 0 | 0 | 44.694
5 Happiness VD Hazel Hof, Grace Long (AUS), G & T Equestrian: 0 | 0 | 45.059
6 MTM Apple, Tracy Fenney (USA), MTM Farm: 0 | 4 | 38.794
7 Bull Run’s Jireh, Kristen Vanderveen (USA), Bull Run Jumpers, Inc.: 0 | 4 | 42.623
8 Quintin, Vaclav Stanek (CZE), Ariel Grange: 0 | 4 | 43.116
9 James Bond HX, Samantha Schaefer (USA), Bonne Chance LLC: 0 | 8 | 43.189
10 Vick Du Croisy, Luis Sabino Goncalves (POR), Sigma Stables LLC: 0 | RT
Spectators are welcome! From now until March 24, 2024, experience the thrill of the 2024 Winter Spectacular Show Series at World Equestrian Center – Ocala. Explore the daily class schedule, orders of go, class counts, and final results on HorseShowing.com. For real-time scoring, check out Ryegate.Live.
A limited number of weekly stalls remain for the 2024 Winter Spectacular Show Series, book your stall today!
Photos courtesy of Andrew Ryback Photography.
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