Calgary, Alberta, Canada – September 16, 2021 – Ashlee Bond (ISR) cantered out of the International Ring a winner today, for the second day in a row of the Spruce Meadows ‘North American’ CSI 5*, presented by Rolex. After her victory yesterday in the Trimac Cup, Bond returned to the ring today with another first place finish, this time aboard the 10-year old Westphalian gelding, Donatello 141.
The 1.55m course, designed by Peter Grant (CAN), featured 13 obstacles over a 560m track, and a time allowed of 84 seconds. This was another challenging course put forward today by Grant, which only saw 6 riders go clear into the jump-off out of a starting field of 34.
“(Grant)’s usually not as tough as (Leopoldo Palacios),” Bond commented about today’s course. “I thought (Grant) did a really good job…I was really impressed with his courses today, and I’m excited for Saturday.” Bond was referring to the ATCO Queen Elizabeth II Cup, which takes place on Saturday, September 18.
Bond also spoke to reporters more about her partner, Donatello 141, who she also recently took the Tokyo Olympics. “We’ve had him since he was just turning six (years old), so I know him extremely well,” she said. “He’s just super game! He knows the job, he gets it…and he loves it here. He’s just a really special guy.”
Bond had some company in the jump-off, including McLain Ward (USA) and HH Azur, and Mario Deslauriers (CAN) with Uris De La Roque. It was Bond’s time of 41.63 seconds that put her ahead of the other clear rounds, edging out Zoe Konter (BEL) and Davidoff De Lassus in second place by over 3 seconds.
Final Results – $72,900 Pepsi Challenge CSI 5*
1) Ashlee Bond (ISR) & Donatello 141 – 0 / 0 – 41.44
2) Zoe Konter (BEL) & Davidoff De Lassus – 0 / 0 – 44.90
3) McLain Ward (USA) & HH Azur – 0 / 4 – 41.63
Source: Press Release from Spruce Meadows
Photo: © Spruce Meadows Media / Mike Sturk
Categories: CSI 5*, English, Jumper News Israel
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