Ocala, FL – The $32,000 UF Health Grand Prix Qualifier CSI2* headlined Thursday morning’s competition at World Equestrian Center – Ocala, drawing 19 top horse-and-rider combinations representing 12 nations. In a competitive field, it was New Zealand’s Sharn Wordley who secured the win aboard Champion League (Cador 5 x Contendro I). Wordley also claimed third place with Conto Blanco 4 (Cellestial x Kolibri), both of which are owned by Della Wordley.
FEI Level III course designer Colm Quinn (IRL) set a technical track that proved to be a true test, with only four combinations advancing to the jump-off.
“I thought it was a great course,” said Wordley. “It was challenging and technical, but not too hard. There were a lot of good riders in it, and it was just tricky enough to jump clear. I thought it was fantastic.”
Wordley successfully navigated clear rounds with both of his entries, claiming two of the four coveted jump-off spots. He returned first aboard the 10-year-old German Sport Horse gelding Conto Blanco 4.
“My first one was being very careful in the first round, so I didn’t want to go crazy fast,” Wordley shared. “I kind of just cruised around and had one down, which is very unlike him.”
Their jump-off time of 41.83 seconds with four faults held the lead briefly. Cristina Padilla (PUR) followed with her own VDL Kirado, also incurring a single rail in a slower time of 45.54 seconds.
With the door still open, Wordley returned on his second mount, Champion League, a 12-year-old Hanoverian gelding, and executed a tidy, efficient round to stop the clock clear in 41.25 seconds.
“I knew whatever I did, Lauren probably could beat me if she tried,” Wordley admitted. “So I just went medium fast and clear to put enough pressure. She had to be quick enough to catch me, but not too quick that she would have a fault.”
Last to go, Lauren Hough (USA) gave it her best shot aboard her nine-year-old AES gelding Clarisall Junior. The pair crossed the timers just three-tenths of a second slower in 41.60 seconds, sliding into second and moving Wordley’s Conto Blanco 4 to third.
$32,000 UF Health 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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