James Chawke Back on Top at the Blenheim Spring Classic CSI 2*

By Jumper News on 2024-04-09

San Juan Capistrano, California, USA – April 06, 2024 – Not even his famously fast barn mate Conor Swail (IRL) could catch James Chawke (IRL) on Saturday, April 6, at the Blenheim Spring Classic I in San Juan Capistrano, CA.

Chawke kicked off the day at the Rancho Mission Viejo Riding Park with victory in the $15,000 1.40m Markel Open Jumper Classic, and in quick succession, followed up that win with the top spot in the $32,000 1.45m Winning Round Classic CSI 2*.

With Nacara, Chawke was one of four entries to produce a clear round in the $15,000 1.40m Markel Open Jumper Classic, and their jump-off time of 33.581 seconds shot them straight to the top of the leaderboard. Finishing in second with a time of 35.523 seconds was Brazil’s Cassio Rivetti (BRA) riding Gotico Di Ca’San Giorgio, and third went to Kyle King (USA) aboard Diamond.

“I’ve had [Nacara] for I think about two years,” said Chawke of the 11-year-old Zangersheide gelding. “He hadn’t jumped so big when I got him. So, I’ve just been building him up a little bit to this. This winter is kind of the first time he started jumping 1.40m, and he’s been really competitive and won quite a few classes. I’m actually going to jog him next week and do the three-star, hopefully do a ranking class, see how he handles that. That was kind of my plan this week – get him in the ring, jump in a few classes and see how he is feeling.”