Luis Fernando Larrazabal Leads Off in the Adequan® WEF Challenge Cup

By Jumper News on 2026-01-03

Wellington, United States – January 01, 2026 – Venezuela’s Luis Fernando Larrazabal (VEN) christened the 2026 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) by winning the $35,000 Adequan® WEF Challenge Cup Premiere Round aboard Ribery on Thursday of opening week at Wellington International in Wellington, Florida.

Over courses designed by Eric Hasbrouck (USA), Larrazabal was pleasantly surprised by the development of his up-and-coming 9-year-old Belgian-bred mare (Aganix du Seigneur X Diamant de Semilly). Ribery, owned by Sabrina Lefebvre, is a success story of the young horse divisions at Wellington International. As a 7-year-old, Ribery won the final qualifier and finished second in the Lövsta Future Challenge 7-Year-Old Jumper Final.

**Luis Fernando Larrazabal** (VEN) & **Ribery**

“Today was more than I expected, so I’ll take it,” said Larrazabal, who calls Wellington, FL, home and was one of 10 to advance to the tie-breaking jump-off in the opening round of the Adequan® WEF Challenge Cup. “Last year as an 8-year-old, we took our time to bring her up to the level. Now, we are pushing to see how we’re doing. It’s a good start for the season.

**Tony Stormanns** (GER) & **Cassius Clay**

Tony Stormanns (GER), 17, finished second for Germany in the irons of Cassius Clay, owned by HS Sportpferde GmbH.

**Heather Caristo-Williams** (USA) & **Contino-Quick MVF**

A second slower than Larrazabal’s winning time of 39.830 seconds, Stormanns stopped the clock at 40.758. Clocking in at 40.900 seconds, USA’s Heather Caristo-Williams (USA) was third riding Contino-Quick MVF for owner Sephanie Bulger.

“We have such a nice series of national grands prix on the grass derby field here in Wellington during the summer, and she was in the spotlight there,” continued Larrazabal, who stepped Ribery up to the FEI two-star level this fall. “She was jumping very well—making some mistakes as a young horse does while stepping into a new level—but she learned a lot from those experiences, because today she was right on.”

Lefebvre purchased Ribery at the Youhorse online auction in 2021 as a 4-year-old and is now focused on moving the mare up to the top level of the sport with Larrazabal. “They bought her on a dream, and let’s hope that the dream comes true,” he said.