Ocala, FL – Worldwide competitors is in full swing at World Equestrian Middle – Ocala throughout Week I of the 2024 December Present Sequence. On Thursday afternoon, 61 horse-and-rider mixtures from 17 nations gathered on the WEC Grand Area, all vying for the $63,000 Wheels Up Grand Prix Qualifier CSI3* profitable title. In the long run, it was Eire’s Paul O’Shea who soared to the highest aboard the lightning-fast Squirt Gun (Diarado x Fast Star), owned by Eye Sweet Jumpers and Paul O’Shea.
FEI Degree III course designer Catsy Cruz (MEX) set a difficult monitor for Thursday’s competitors, with 15 riders delivering clear first rounds to earn a spot within the jump-off. Because the lights illuminated the WEC Grand Area, remodeling it into the magical WEC Winter Wonderland introduced by AdventHealth, the stage was set for an intense showdown. High athletes from Switzerland, the US, Eire, Columbia and France returned to vie for the win below the heightened stress.
The jump-off started with Beat Mändli (SUI) setting a swift tempo aboard Kay Gray, clocking in at 36.82 seconds. Richard Spooner (USA) adopted because the third to return, driving Halcon (Con Air 7 x Cardento 933), owned by Molly Ohrstrom. Recent off a current victory within the $75,000 Barnwalkers Grand Prix through the November Present Sequence, Spooner and the nine-year-old Argentinian Sport Horse stallion shaved two seconds off Mändli’s time, taking the lead in 34.67 seconds.
Chloe Reid (USA) and her agile companion Crossover 4 (Cascadello x Chacco-blue), a 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by Crew Reid LLC, gave a robust efficiency, ending the quick course in 36.04 seconds to assert the second spot for the second.
A number of athletes tried to unseat Spooner, but it surely wasn’t till Paul O’Shea and Squirt Gun, the second-to-last pair to go, entered the sector that the leaderboard shifted. “I noticed Beat have a fantastic spherical, after which I watched Richard go, and I imply, he was quick. I instructed myself, ‘I’ve to go as quick as I can right here to get even near him. He impressed me to go as quick as I might,’” O’Shea shared.
“There was a choice to be made on the final—10 strides or 9. I noticed one particular person do the 9 and knock it, so I opted for 10. Fortunately sufficient, it labored out,” O’Shea added.
Flying by means of the course, O’Shea and Squirt Gun stopped the clock in a blazing 33.82 seconds, securing the win and the lion’s share of the prize cash.
Paul O’Shea receiving his first-place awards from Jim Wolf of World Equestrian Middle, together with Paula and John Odegard representing Wheels Up. Picture by Andrew Ryback Pictures.
The 13-year-old Oldenburg gelding has been a dependable companion for O’Shea for a number of years. “I’ve been driving him for 3 or 4 years now, and he’s been phenomenal. He’s gained a number of lessons and has been an unimaginable companion. He’s bought an enormous character, which could be difficult at occasions, however he all the time provides his finest,” O’Shea stated. “I’m so grateful to Erica Hatfield of Eye Sweet Jumpers for her unimaginable assist—she’s an incredible proprietor with an excellent group of horses.”
$63,000 Wheels Up Grand Prix Qualifier CSI3* Outcomes
Discover the each day class schedule, orders of go, class counts, and closing outcomes on HorseShowing.com. For real-time scoring, try Ryegate.Dwell.
Photographs courtesy of Andrew Ryback Pictures.Movies accessible at ClipMyHorse.TVMake positive to go to the WEC Weblog and observe us on social media @worldequestriancenter for full protection on all function lessons! Plan your keep at World Equestrian Middle – Ocala.
