Early this morning, 14 entries took to the WEC Grand Arena to contest the $15,000 WEC Ocala 1.40m Jumper Classic. Brazil’s Marina Azevedo, designed the technical track, that included a double combination and a triple combination. Eight entries managed a first clean round and seven jumped double clear, but it was Spain’s Diego Bilbao and Tinker Bell who captured their second Week V feature class win.
Bilbao and Tinker Bell by Chacco Blue are on a roll this week, with a previous win in Thursday’s $15,000 WEC Ocala Welcome Prix. The pair also earned third place in last week’s $15,000 WEC Ocala 1.40m Jumper Classic. Diego Bilbao is very proud of the fast mare, “She is an amazing horse. She clears every fence so easily and she is so quick off the ground, I really enjoy riding her.”
Bilbao and the 11-year-old Warmblood Mare produced a very fast, clean first round, stopping the clock at 79.037 seconds, way under the time allowed of 87 seconds. Tinker Bell and Bilbao advanced straight to the jump-off, galloping from fence one to two in seven strides for a tidy roll back to fence three. The pair raced to the CaptiveOne Advisors double combination, leaving all rails up. Bilbao and Tinker Bell took a very tight inside turn to the large yellow oxer, “The inside turn to the yellow, was there exactly how I planned. I got to the fence on a little bit of an angle and a tad deep, but she just explodes over the fences,” expressed Bilbao. The duo galloped to the last fence, to stop the clock at 34.243 seconds to earn the class win.
Bilbao praises Tinker Bell for her carefulness and willingness, “She wants to jump every fence like it’s the last. I try not to get in her way because she is ready to win each time she steps into the ring.”
Just behind Bilbao and Tinker Bell was Australia’s Rowan Willis and Molly Kenney’s Fashion Prince. Willis earned second and third place in last night’s $75,000 CaptiveOne Grand Prix. Willis and 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding produced a flawless first round, soaring to the top of the standards to stop the timers at 82.833 seconds. The pair jumped-off immediately, galloping from fence one to two in six strides, to roll through the rest of the course to stop the clock at 34.753 seconds, just behind Bilbao and Tinker Bell.
Kris Killam and Helene Jones’s Gangster CHS rounded out the top three. Killam and Gangster CHS received third place in last week’s $15,000 WEC Ocala Welcome Prix. Killam and the 10-year-old KWPN gelding delivered a fast first round, stopping the clock at 79.227 seconds. Killam and Gangster CHS advanced straight to the jump-off, also taking six strides from fence one to fence two. The pair soared through the rest of the course to stop the clock at 35.785 seconds, to earn third place.
$15,000 WEC Ocala 1.40m Jumper Classic Results:
1. Tinker Bell, Diego Bilbao, Wyndmont Inc.: 0 | 0 | 34.243
2. Fashion Prince, Rowan Willis, Molly Kenney: 0 | 0 | 34.753
3. Gangster CHS, Kris Killam, Helene Jones: 0 | 0 | 35.785
4. Infante SK, Marcus Gruenthal, Marcus Gruenthal: 0 | 0 | 35.899
5. Souper Shuttle, Chloe Reid, Live Oak Plantation: 0 | 0 | 35.994
6. Emeraldo, Karl Beyer, Hannah Matts: 0 | 0 | 36.841
7. Univers D’OR, Angela Covert, Angela Covert: 0 | 0 | 38.665
8. Follow Me, David Jennings, The Follow Me Group: 0 | 4 | 34.264
9. Finch Farm Clifford, Bryn Rose Sadler, Bull Run Jumpers Six LLC: 4 | 79.463
10. Luberon JK, Lauren Gumpert, Lauren Gumpert: 4 | 83.077
Congratulations to all entries on another fantastic week of equestrian sport!
Photos courtesy of Andrew Ryback Photography.