Thermal, California, USA – January 25, 2025 – There was no confusion as to Saturday night’s winner, as Jos Verlooy piloted FTS Killossery Konfusion to victory in the $200,000 American Wild Horse Conservation Grand Prix CSI 4* by a margin of nearly three seconds on January 25 at the Desert International Horse Park in Thermal, California, USA.
Course designer Bernardo Costa Cabral (POR) set the track for the featured event of Desert Circuit 3, presented by American Wild Horse Conservation, and his course ultimately resulted in seven clear rounds and an exhilarating Saturday-night jump-off.
Verlooy was the fifth of those seven to return to the Grand Prix Arena for the short course, and while he felt the jump-off rides had not been overly fast up until that point, he knew he likely needed to be.
“My plan was to put as much pressure on Gregory [Wathelet] as I could,” said Verlooy of his jump-off strategy. “I said, ‘I’m just going to give it a chance.’ I tried to do as fast as I can and put as much pressure on Gregory because I know Gregory’s just really, really fast. I was just putting pressure on him that he hopefully would have a fault and pull a rail. It worked, my strategy!”
With a rail down for fourth place for Belgium’s Gregory Wathelet (BEL) and Ace of Hearts, it was the penultimate pair to return that gave Verlooy the greatest run for his money.
As one of the final two to jump, Kaitlin Campbell (USA) stopped the clock in 40.23 seconds for second place aboard Armentos, owned by SWS Training & Sales.
Rounding out the top three with a jump-off time of 44.85 seconds were Chandler Meadows (USA) and her own Calciet EB Z.
Of his winning mount, FTS Killossery Konfusion, Verlooy said, “He’s been an amazing horse for me. I think I’ve been riding him now for three and a half, four years. He’s always been very competitive. If he’s in the jump-off, I always have a chance to win. He’s just so fast.
“He’s special,” continued Verlooy in speaking of the 15-year-old grey Irish Sport Horse gelding, owned by Euro Horse BVPA. “He’s so careful. He has just done so many good things for me during the few years that I’ve had him, and I’m really happy I can give him this win tonight.”
Now, the Belgian rider plans to spend the remainder of the 10-week Desert Circuit based out of the Desert International Horse Park, while still doing a bit of travel back and forth to Europe.
“I’ll go home to do some shows,” concluded Verlooy, who will soon contest the Nations Cup in Abu Dhabi, among other upcoming events. “I have still some horses at home, but I heard a lot of good things of this show, and I thought it was a very good plan to come over here!”
Final Results – $200,000 American Wild Horse Conservation Grand Prix CSI 4*
1) Jos Verlooy (BEL) & FTS Killosery Kofusion – 0 / 0 – 37.86
2) Kaitlin Campbell (USA) & Armentos – 0 / 0 – 40.23
3) Chandler Meadows (USA) & Calciet EB Z – 0 / 0 – 44.85
Source: Press Release from Desert International Horse Park
Photos: © DIHP / High Desert Photo / MG Photography
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Categories: CSI 4*, English, Jumper News Belgie
