January 9, 2021 – Wellington, Florida, USA – Erynn Ballard (CAN) captured her second major win of the week on Saturday, January 9, in the $25,000 CaptiveOne Advisors Classic at the 2021 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF). Ballard and Ilan Ferder’s Harvester were the fastest of seven in the jump-off for victory.

The WEF Premiere week concludes on Sunday, January 10, at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) and is sponsored by The Bainbridge Companies. It features national-level competition for hunters, jumpers, and equitation. International jumper classes will begin at WEF 1 on January 13-17 with a CSI3*. Sunday’s $75,000 Bainbridge Companies Grand Prix will be livestreamed at 2 p.m. EST.

There were 23 entries in the $25,000 CaptiveOne Advisors Classic, and they competed over a course designed by Eric Hasbrouck (USA). Seven clear rounds advanced to the jump-off. Riding out of the fourth spot in the jump-off, Ballard and Harvester were able to speed through the short course to end up double clear in 35.765 seconds for the top place.

Liza Finsness (USA) and her own Shiver, a 16-year-old Hanoverian gelding (Stakkato x Grannus), placed second with a clear round in 36.562 seconds. Rounding out an all-female top three was Amy Millar (CAN) riding Christiano, an 11-year-old German Sport Horse gelding (Canoso x Compliment), owned by Future Adventures. They were the final double clear in the class with a time of 37.450 seconds.

In contrast to Ballard’s winning ride on Thursday, Walter White – a horse she had only ridden twice – Ballard has worked with Harvester, a nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Dakar VDL x Labor’s VDL) Indorado, for two years and knows him well.

“I have a nice history with him,” she confirmed. “He’s always been one of my favorites.”

With two major wins in a week, Ballard’s confidence is high. She noted, “Things are going my way. I seem to be able to go fast right now, and everything’s falling into place. You definitely have to ride that way when you have the opportunity to.”

In the jump-off, Ballard took advantage of Harvester’s better turning to the left and blazed across a bending line of three fences that went the width of the International Arena.

“He’s got a cool canter. I know I had him where I wanted him, and if I put him in the right spot, he was going to do it,” she said. “The maturity in him from eight to nine [years old] is [that] he’s much more consistent. He was third in the 1.40m, third in the 1.45m. You can just feel that every day you have the same horse, and not so much a young horse where every day it’s a little bit different.”

Ballard will finish her week in tomorrow’s $75,000 Bainbridge Grand Prix with one of her top horses, Kamilla D.

Source: Press release from ESP – Equestrian Sports Productions

Photos: © Sportfot

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