Wellington, Florida, USA – February 2, 2019 – Beezie Madden (USA) and Darry Lou won the $209,000 Marshall & Sterling Insurance/Great American Grand Prix CSI 4* last Saturday during the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) on the Stadium Derby Field at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) in Wellington, Florida, USA.

Forty-five entries were set for an exciting challenge that promised to keep spectators on the edge of the seat. For the third straight grand a row, a Colombian rider showed the way to the rest of the field by being the first one to leave all the poles up throughout the course set by Anderson Lima (BRA). This time, the feat was up to Juan Manuel Gallego (COL) riding Fee des Sequoias Z (Figaro du Ri d’Asse x La Bomba Gascora).

Twelve other riders managed to qualify for the jump-off, with Amy Millar (CAN), Heather Caristo-Williams (USA), Karen Polle (JPN), McLain Ward (USA), Lucas Porter (USA), Lorcan Gallagher (IRL), Jennifer Gates (USA), Margie Engle (USA), Amanda Derbyshire (GBR), Santiago Lambre (MEX), Kent Farrington (USA) and Beezie Madden (USA) being the ones to do so.

In the tiebreaker, McLain Ward (USA) and were the first of the three American “Titans of the Sport” to challenge the leading time set Lucas Porter (USA), riding Tradition de La Roque ((Kannan x Oberon du Moulin) towards a penalty-free jump-off run in 37.071 seconds, a mark which would stand until the final duo crossed the timers.

Kent Farrington (USA) and Gazelle (Kashmir van Schuttershof x Indoctro) were very close to McLain’s time, finishing third only eight-hundredths behind.

Beezie Madden (USA) & Darry Lou

In the end, it was up to Beezie Madden (USA) and Darry Lou to overcome Ward. The American defended her title from last year by guiding Abigail Wexner’s 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Tangelo van de Zuuthoeve x Nabab de Reve) to victory, mainly due to tight turns and a rollback that shaved off precious time, earning the victory flawlessly in 36.806 seconds.

Beezie Madden (USA) & Darry Lou

Winner’s Circle

Beezie Madden:
“It’s always a huge advantage to go last – well, not always, but most of the time – especially when I have Kent and McLain right in front of me,” said Madden. “It was awesome to be able to see them go and know what I had to do to win. I think I probably made it up one to two. I didn’t see how many strides they did, but I was quite quick there. I’m not sure you could do any less there. Then I think I kind of matched them everywhere else probably.”

McLain Ward:
“I was slow one to two,” said Ward, who is ranked number two in the Rolex/USEF Show Jumping List. “She was a little surprised by the inside turn, and I checked up. I knew I left some room there. With [Beezie and Kent], one of them is going to get you if you leave an inch. But I’m thrilled with the mare.”

Kent Farrington:
“I think with her not showing in a while, she was a bit impressed in the jump-off,” said Farrington of Gazelle, who last competed in Geneva, Switzerland, in December. “When I rolled back to number two, she goes super high. Same at the end when I rollback again short, she goes super high. In a class like this with these riders, that takes time, and that’s where I think I got caught today. But I’m very pleased with her performance.

“She’s very reliable on grass so I was confident to bring her out,” continued Farrington of the 13-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare by Kashmir van Schuttershof x Indoctro. “I think the ground is fantastic on these fields, so I try to jump it as much as possible whenever they’re available for us.”

For full results, please click here.

Photos: © Jumper News / Nuno Coelho Vicente