Wellington: McLain Ward victorious in the last WEF Grand Prix

Bologna, March 2015 – Forty of the circuit’s best horses and riders representing 13 different countries jumped yesterday night in Wellington (Florida, USA) for the Rolex Grand Prix, the last 2015 Winter Equestrian Festival Grand Prix. A very tough competition with only three riders qualified for the final jump-off, none of them eventually clear again. USA’s Georgina Bloomberg and Gotham Enterprizes LLC’s Lilli jumped first with eight faults in 44.39 seconds. Venezuela’s Daniel Bluman returned next with one rail in 41.64 seconds. Last to go, USA’s McLain Ward and HH Carlos Z knocked the top plank off the second fence, and everyone held their breath. The pair cleared the rest of the course, coming home in 41.25 seconds for the win.

Hunter Harrison of Double H Farm purchased HH Carlos Z, a 13-year-old Zangersheide gelding (Chellano Z x Voltaire), for Ward to ride last winter and the horse has continued to impress. “He is very careful and very competitive, but we did not buy him to jump this level of grand prix”, Ward detailed. “Last year in the summer we had to call on him a few times when Rothchild was resting for the World Equestrian Games and he stepped up beautifully, including the Spruce Meadows Masters in September. We knew we had a little more in the tank than we had planned. I would say coming into WEF, it would not have been the horse I thought I would have ridden tonight, but as I always say to Mr. Harrison, he is one of those horses that is always worth getting dressed for because he is going to fight and try and dig. You really appreciate those kind of athletes”.

Mark Bellissimo, CEO of the WEF’s organizer Equestrian Sport Productions, said: “The relationship we have had with Rolex has been inspiring for our organization. It is great to have a partner with such a great commitment to the sport, our venue and the organization. We are very proud of that relationship. With their help we have been able to have four 5* competitions here and I think that is very important for the sport, the venue, our organization and the riders. When we took over it was $2.6 million in prize money and I think it was close to $9 million this year. In general it has been great to see. The crowd here tonight was the best we have ever had. It is great to see it build every week. I think that is something that has never happened for the sport in this country”.

March 29, 2015