Wilmington, OH – The highlight event of the second international week at World Equestrian Center – Wilmington (WEC) welcomed 27 top horse-and-rider combinations representing five nations for the $65,000 IDA Development Grand Prix CSI2*. Spectators were on the edge of their seats for a thrilling nine-horse jump-off, where Ireland’s Simon McCarthy clinched victory with his own Narcotique V/H Dingenshof (Harley x Chacco-Blue) by just seven hundredths of a second, marking his second international win of the week.
FEI Level III course designer Catsy Cruz (MEX) set a technical and winding track in the Outdoor Jumper Arena that allowed nine athletes to advance to the jump-off.
McCarthy was, “excited to get going today,” following his win in yesterday’s speed class.
“[Narcotique] is in amazing form. She won two weeks ago in Kentucky and she won yesterday. I knew that if I rode correctly today she would have a pretty good chance at winning. I was just delighted to get through to the jump-off and she is so fast, so I knew I had a good chance.”
Thursday’s Grand Prix Qualifier CSI2* winner, David Blake (IRL), was the first to return, laying down an efficient time of 36.96 seconds aboard Cornwall BH. His lead didn’t last long—Izzy Beisel (USA) and Contigo shaved more than a second off, crossing the timers in 35.61 seconds.
The momentum continued when last week’s two-star Grand Prix winner, Victoria Birdsall (USA), piloted Abigail Wexner’s nine-year-old KWPN mare Las Lajas (Glenfiddich VDL x Quasimodo Z) to an even quicker time of 33.94 seconds, raising the stakes for the remaining competitors.
Canada’s Sean Jobin soon answered the challenge with his new mount, Grande Dame DK (Ceira D’Ick x Kannan). The pair flew around the short course to stop the clock in 33.57 seconds to take over the lead.
Just as victory seemed sealed, last to return Simon McCarthy (IRL) entered the ring with the 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare Narcotique V/H Dingenshof.
“She is a 12-year-old and she is incredibly fun to ride. She is so fast and has given me a lot of wins in the past year. She can be a bit of a handful at times. Our first round today wasn’t the prettiest, but she is a fighter. I am thrilled with her today,” McCarthy shared about his speedy mare.
The duo set off at a gallop in the jump-off, stopping the clock in 33.50 seconds to secure the win and claim the top spot on the podium.
McCarthy commented on the track set by Catsy Cruz, “I thought the track today was nice. The combination was a bit tricky coming away from the gate, the oxer was riding scopey enough. Catsy [Cruz] always does an amazing job. Lucky enough, this is my second win, so she is obviously good luck,” he laughed.
“The fact that they have FEI shows here now is incredible,” McCarthy said. “I have come here a few times to jump the national grands prix, so we are very thankful that it is moving onto the international circuit and the last two weeks have been amazing here.”