Kady Abrahamson Pilots Rhumba Jw-Van De Moerhoeve to First $60,000 Standlee Grand Prix Win
11 OCT 25 Wilmington, OH
Wilmington, Ohio – Twenty-five competitive horse-and-rider combinations gathered at the Standlee Sanctuary at World Equestrian Center – Wilmington (WEC) Saturday evening for the $60,000 Standlee Grand Prix of Fall Classic 3. FEI Level IV course designer Guilherme Jorge set a technical first-round track that challenged the field, ultimately sending eight combinations into the jump-off.
Rowan Willis went early in the jump-off aboard Patricio Pasquel’s 10-year-old Warmblood gelding, Cape Town, posting an initial lead of 40.924 seconds that proved difficult to surpass.
Kady Abrahamson came later, riding Nicole Carter’s Rhumba JW-Van De Moerhoeve (Di Cantero Van Ter Hulst Z x Olleke Bolleke JW Vd Moerhoeve).
“Roo’s owned by one of my best friends, Nicole Carter, who just had a baby in April. While she was pregnant, I was riding her horses, and that’s actually when Roo and I started together,” Abrahamson reflected.
“Nicole bought her in a collection auction last year as a seven-year-old, but she didn’t really do much at first. She’s little, but so brave. I showed her a couple times in the 1.35m and then at the Eight-Year-Old Finals in Traverse City, Michigan. She was clear all week and ended up third. She’s still learning, but she has all the heart.”
The eight-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare impressed again in the jump-off, posting her second clear round with a time of 39.637 seconds, moving Willis into second place and securing her first career Grand Prix win.
The jump-off track suited Abrahamson and ‘Roo.’ “The jump-off track really suited her. The rollbacks weren’t too scopey, and she’s naturally fast across the ground and in the air. I honestly didn’t think I was that quick—I thought I was riding for third—but when I landed and saw 39 on the clock, I was shocked,” Abrahamson said with a laugh.
Loic Cannaert rounded out the top three aboard Charlotte Babbitt’s 12-year-old Oldenburg mare, Vivianne Blue PS (Vivant Van De Heffinck x Chacanne), finishing in 40.924 seconds.