Thermal, California, USA – December 01, 2023 – The Desert International Horse Park (DIHP) Roadrunners kept hope alive under the lights on Friday night. Their win on home soil in the $268,100 Premier Equestrian Team Competition CSI 5* left them in the hunt for the overall season championship. The Trelawny Trailblazers still lead the overall standings, but the gap closed slightly this week.
Three speed specialists in McLain Ward (USA), Cathleen Driscoll (USA) and Amanda Derbyshire (GBR) carried the flag for the Roadrunners this week and were the only team to post a fault-free night, which kicked off with a triple-clear in the opening round.
Derbyshire, aboard Otto BH, and Driscoll on Flotylla then set Ward up for a gold-medal jump-off against his student Lillie Keenan (USA) of the Trailblazers.
Again, no rails fell for Ward riding First Lady, and he crossed the final timers with the fastest time of the evening in 40.41 seconds for the win.
“I think this team has rallied brilliantly the second half of the season,” said Ward, currently ranked at world no. 6. “We’ve had some injuries and Cathleen came into the group a little later in the season. We were really behind the eight-ball in August. Looking forward, it’s a strong team. I’m proud to be part of it and I thought all the horses performed great the last couple of weeks.”
Keenan (USA) and the pair of Irishmen – Darragh Kenny (IRL) and Conor Swail (IRL) – settled the Trailblazers with second while Eye Candy capped the podium in the bronze-medal position for Amy Millar (CAN), Paul O’Shea (IRL) and Richie Moloney (IRL).
All attention now turns to the season finale next week at Desert International Horse Park.
“These guys are great; you throw them a chance and next week we’re going to do the same thing,” said Steve Hankin, President and CEO of DIHP and Roadrunners team manager. “We went in this to help revitalize the sport and nothing makes me prouder than to see what it’s all about. In every regard, everyone’s been thrilled with the way the place looks. Most importantly, the ring rides amazingly. They can go as fast as they can and not worry about anything. It’s been an amazing week so far here and tomorrow night will be a big event. We’re really excited about it and couldn’t feel better about where we are.”
MLSJ action continues at Desert International Horse Park on Saturday with the richest grand prix in the U.S., the $1 Million Coachella Cup 5* Grand Prix, presented by Brown Advisory. Action begins at 6 p.m. PST on MLSJ TV. To view a complete schedule, click HERE.
Final Results – $268,100 Premier Equestrian Team Competition CSI 5*
1) Roadrunners – 0 – 216.98
2) Trelawny Trailblazers – 4 – 220.87
3) Eye Candy – 4 – 221.85
Source: Press Releases from Major League Show Jumping & Desert International Horse Park
Photos: © / MLSJ / Ashley Neuhof / Atalya Boytner
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Categories: CSI 5*, English, Jumper News USA
