Abdel Saïd & Arpege du Ru Ride to Stardom in the $63,000 Welcome Stake CSI 5*-W

By Jumper News on 2024-10-25

Upper Marlboro, Maryland, USA – October 24, 2024 – The 2024 Washington International Horse Show (WIHS), presented by MARS Equestrian™ on Thursday, October 24, welcomed riders from around the world to the Show Place Arena for the start of the Fédération Equestre International (FEI) division for international show jumpers. Abdel Saïd (BEL) and Arpege du Ru, owned by AS Trading, took top honors in the $63,000 FEI Welcome Stake CSI 5*-W, presented by ClipMyHorse.TV.

Among the 34 riders competing in the international jumper division at WIHS, there are 13 countries represented and 14 Olympians, including U.S. team silver medalists McLain Ward (USA) and Laura Kraut (USA) from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Course designer Nick Granat (USA) set the tracks for the night’s class and 33 horse-and-rider combinations competed in the opening round. Eleven were clear and continued to the jump-off.

**Conor Swail** (IRL) & **Vital Chance de La Roque**

Riding sixth in the order over the shortened course, Saïd and Arpege du Ru were following a quick time of 34.01 seconds set by Conor Swail (IRL) and Vital Chance de La Roque, owned by Mannon Farm, which held up for third place. They set the time to beat at 31.61 seconds, which couldn’t be caught.

Coming closest was Mark Bluman (COL) on Ubiluc, owned by Daniel Bluman and Over The Top Stables LLC, in 33.20 seconds for second place.

“Tonight’s class was very winding with a lot of turns,” said Saïd. “I thought the turn to the FEI jump I took a lot of risk because I knew that would be easy for her. She’s really brave and smart to a vertical. I think one to two was also very fast, and that’s where we won it.”

“Arpege” has been an “extremely competitive” horse for Saïd. In their seven-year partnership, the pair has won five-star grand prix classes and speed classes. “She’s just an amazing winner,” he said. “She doesn’t give you so much feel over the jump; she’s not strong but she’s also not light, and her balance is quite low. Her biggest quality is her heart, and she’s so smart. She really knows where the jumps are.”

This is Saïd’s first time competing at WIHS, but after making the decision to base a business in the U.S., he has added more shows in North America to his schedule. “Washington is an incredible horse show,” he expressed. “I wanted to try the indoor shows. I’ve heard so much about them and about their history, so I really wanted to come to Washington.”