Ocala, FL – The $32,000 Juniper Grand Prix Qualifier CSI2* was the highlight of Friday morning at World Equestrian Center – Ocala (WEC), where 29 horse-and-rider combinations representing 13 nations put forth their best efforts in hopes of taking home the win. In a jump-off where placings were separated by mere hundredths of a second, it was Nayel Nassar (EGY) and Evergate Stables LLC’s Donvier (Don Vhp Z x Andiamo Z) who snagged the victory.
Eleven combinations managed to jump clear over FEI Level IV course designer Alan Wade’s (IRL) winding track, earning a spot in the jump-off.
Luis Larrazabal (VEN) was the first to return and laid down a blazing fast round aboard Driss Ngadi’s 15-year-old mare Belle De Muze (Pensee V x Lando), stopping the clock in 29.32 seconds.
Carlie Fairty (CAN) and Carmac Hanley (IRL) each gave the shortened track their best shot, but couldn’t quite catch the time.
Wilton Porter (USA) came close aboard Sleepy P Ranch BV’s 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding, Sternmarke 3 (Stakkato x Escudo I), finishing in 29.36 seconds—just four hundredths of a second off the leading time.
Several other athletes tried to match the pace, but Larrazabal’s time remained untouched until Nassar returned with his first of two jump-off rides.
After watching Larrazabal’s round, Nassar knew the bar was set high. “I know that mare really well—she is extremely hard to beat,” Nassar shared. “In fairness, I thought the win was out of reach today. Donvier is actually my wife’s [Jennifer Gates’] horse, so I get to compete him every once in a while, and we’ve been working on making him faster. So, I thought if anything, this would be great training for him to try to go as fast as I can.”
He did just that aboard the 13-year-old Warmblood gelding. “I was hoping to actually do the double leave out in the first line, but it didn’t show up the way I wanted at the first jump. I needed to catch that a little better,” he explained. “Once I knew I had already gone a little slow from one to two, I figured I really had to take a shot to the double, and I think that’s where I won it. I took a stride out rolling back to that combination. The problem with a jump-off like that is there really wasn’t a whole lot to do—it was short, everyone was doing the leave-outs—so I had to find a creative way to take even more strides out, and that was the spot where I was able to do it.”
Their time of 28.79 seconds catapulted them into the lead and ultimately proved unbeatable.
Nassar also returned aboard a new partner, S&L Maracana’, owned by S & L Farms. “This is my second class with that horse. I don’t know him at all, he’s a bit of a bigger and slower model, but I have to say, I was very impressed with how he felt in the jump-off,” he said. “He’s actually not slow at all. I feel like I could have done that same leave-out I did on my first horse to the double, but considering I don’t know the horse very well, I figured I would play it a bit safe and see where we end up. I am super pleased with both of them today.”
Their time of 29.81 seconds secured a sixth-place finish.
This week marks Nassar’s first visit to WEC – Ocala, and he shared his impression: “It is magnificent. This is horse paradise. I have to say this is probably one of the best facilities in the world, if not the best. To be here in the summer and have the air-conditioned indoor and air-conditioned barns, rubber mats everywhere—you can tell they didn’t cut any corners building this place. It’s an absolute pleasure and joy for us and for our horses to be here.”
$32,000 Juniper Grand Prix Qualifier CSI2* Results
Explore the daily class schedule, orders of go, class counts, and final results on HorseShowing.com. For real-time scoring, check out Ryegate.Live.
Photos courtesy of Andrew Ryback Photography.
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