Christina Kelly Pilots Victoire VD Windeweg Z to $35,000 Buckeye Grand Prix Win of Fall Classic 2

03 OCT 26 Wilmington, OH

A rider in competition attire jumps a bay horse over an equestrian obstacle.

Wilmington, Ohio – The Standlee Sanctuary hosted the first $35,000 Buckeye Grand Prix of the 2026 Fall Classic Series Saturday evening at World Equestrian Center – Wilmington (WEC). Robert Barton set a track that the field of athletes mastered, as nine combinations moved on to the jump-off phase.

A rider in formal equestrian gear jumping a horse over a blue ornate obstacle in an indoor arena.
Christina Kelly & Victoire VD Windeweg Z. Photo by Winslow Photography.

Christina Kelly put the pressure on with The Diamond Edge Group’s Victoire VD Windeweg Z (Vigo D’arouilles x Nemile M) and ultimately proved uncatchable to take the first grand prix victory of the series.

Despite their relatively new partnership, Kelly discussed the 12-year-old Zangersheide mare’s consistency so far in her program: “She’s been an awesome horse for us and a really good speed horse. She’s great at the 1.40m-1.45m level, so I was hoping to have a nice, smooth round and be clear today.”

A rider on a brown horse jumping over a hurdle decorated with large butterfly wing designs in an indoor arena.
Christina Kelly & Victoire VD Windeweg Z. Photo by Winslow Photography.

“I’ve had her for about six months. We started off with a bang, and she won two Grands Prix back-to-back. She’s been awesome. We were clear in Omaha and Chicago, and she’s kind of just been a very consistent horse for us at this height. She loves to come out and go fast, so she’ll go home now and have a break and start back up for winter.”

A horse and rider in equestrian gear stand with two people holding a large $10,500 check and animal feed bags at a Buckeye Nutrition sponsored show jumping arena.
Christina Kelly & Victoire VD Windeweg Z in the winner’s circle presented by Buckeye Nutrition. Photo by Winslow Photography.

Kelly returned for the jump-off as the second rider, looking to chase Maleah Lang McMahon’s clear time of 33.036 seconds.

“I watched Maleah (Lang McMahon) go ahead of me, and I knew I had Nikko (Ritter) and a few fast ones behind me, and I said, ‘Oh, I need to try and run a little bit,’” she laughed. “I always start with the plan to go a little more conservative, and then I get excited and start going faster. She was right there with me to do it. It all came up lovely, and she was great.”

A rider on a horse mid-jump over an obstacle at the World Equestrian Center.
Christina Kelly & Victoire VD Windeweg Z. Photo by Winslow Photography.

The duo stopped the clock in a blazing-fast time of 28.868 seconds, a time that was untouched by the rest of the field.

A horse and rider jumping over an obstacle decorated with butterfly wings and pumpkins.
Brian Leach & Cornet Star. Photo by Winslow Photography.

Brian Leach rode his own 11-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding, Cornet Star (Cornetto x Conqua Z), to second place in 31.520 seconds.

A horse and rider jumping over a blue, red, and white hurdle featuring Great American Insurance Group branding.
Jill Gaffney & FF Tiger. Photo by Winslow Photography.

Jill Gaffney rounded out the podium with Trevor Gaffney’s eight-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, FF Tiger (Tangelo Van De Zuuthoeve x Jumeirah), in 32.117 seconds. Gaffney also secured fourth place aboard FF Knockroe Lady.

$35,000 Buckeye Grand Prix Results

Explore the daily class schedule, orders of go, class counts, and final results on HorseShowing.com. 

Videos available at ClipMyHorse.TV

Make sure to visit the WEC Blog and follow us on social media @worldequestriancenter for full coverage on all feature classes!