For Immediate Release
Kate Pettersen and Jennifer Wood for Jennifer Wood Media, Inc.
Wellington, FL – March 3, 2021 – As the week eight CSIO4* gets underway at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF), it was Adrienne Sternlicht (USA) and Lafayette Van Overis, owned by Starlight Farms 1, LLC, who scored a victory in the $5,000 Premier Equestrian Welcome Stake CSIO4* daytime class on Wednesday, March 3, at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC).
WEF 8 sponsored by Premier Equestrian, continues through March 7 and features the $150,000 Nations Cup, presented by Premier Equestrian on Friday, March 5, the $50,000 CaptiveOne Advisors 1.50m National Grand Prix and $37,000 Hermès Under 25 Semi-Final Grand Prix under the lights on Saturday, March 6, and the $214,000 Grand Prix CSIO4*, presented by JTWG, Inc., on Sunday, February 7. All feature classes will be available live and on-demand on the livestream.
A total of 65 combinations challenged the 1.40m track set by Steve Stephens (USA) and Nick Granat (USA), which featured 13 jumping efforts in a speed format. Sternlicht and the 10-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding by Kashmir Van Schuttershof x Tauber van het Kapelhof, made swift work of the course, with a double-clear effort in 58.54 seconds. The pair has only been together for five months, but the partnership is progressing well.
“Lafyette is a very competitive horse,” said Sternlicht. “Bertram Allen won a ton on him before, so I think immediately when you have a horse like that, you feel a bit of pressure for it to go well right off the bat. It has been a little bit up and down; he’s quite a different ride. Bertram has quite a different riding style than I do but I have to give credit to him; he has helped me within the past week, and everything seemed very easy today, so I was happy.”
It was an all-female podium as Jessica Mendoza (GBR) and Windsor Farms’ Dublin, a 14-year-old German Sport Horse gelding by Cobra x Calido, stopped the clock just behind the American rider in 58.75 seconds. © McDermott (USA) and Entano, a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Namelus R x Numero Uno, owned by Over The Top Stables, LLC, took home third place in a time of 58.78 seconds.
Sternlicht’s plan heading into the ring was just to jump a smooth round and rely on her horse’s natural speed to do the rest.
“By nature, myself and my coach McLain Ward are real planners,” said Sternlicht. “Bertram told me the less I counted [strides], the better. It’s definitely an adjustment but everything came up really nicely today, and we’re all scratching our heads because it seemed very easy.”
Sternlicht, who made her Nations Cup debut for the United States in Xalapa, Mexico, in 2017, is looking forward to watching her fellow American riders when they jump on Friday night under the lights in the International Arena in the $150,000 Nations Cup.
“I think that competing on a CSIO team is very prestigious and an honor,” she said. “Because we’re at a home venue for the United States and you have so many of your peers here, the experience of riding amongst your peers and the feeling that you have the whole Wellington community behind you is a special feeling. I’m excited to watch the team.”
Full Results: $5,000 Premier Equestrian Welcome Stake CSIO4*
1. LAFAYETTE VAN OVERIS: 2011 BWP gelding by Kashmir Van Schuttershof x Tauber An Het Kapelhof
ADRIENNE STERNLICHT (USA), Starlight Farms 1, LLC: 0/58.54
2. DUBLIN: 2007 Deusches Reitpferd gelding by Cobra x Calido
JESSICA MENDOZA (GBR), Windsor Farms: 0/58.75
3. ENTANO: 2009 KWPN gelding by Namelus R x Numero Uno
MEGAN MCDERMOTT (USA), Over the Top Stables LLC: 0/58.78
4. GERDINIEKE: 2011 KWPN mare by Bacardi VDL x Cornieke
JOHN PEREZ (COL), Daniel Rihan Salum: 0/59.84
5. ELDORADO V: 2009 KWPN gelding by Z x Epilot
CAMILA MAZZA DE BENEDICTO (BRA), Yuri Mansur: 0/59.86
6. I&H BOOGY WOOGY: 2006 gelding by Faldo x Ginus
ABIGAIL MCARDLE (USA): Samuel Parot Jr: 0/60.42
7. ABSOLUTE DU MIO: 2010 gelding by Mylord Carthago*hn x Cylverado D’inxent
ALESSANDRA VOLPI (USA), Alessandra Volpi: 0/61.02
8. AL CAPONE: 2006 Deutsches Sportferd stallion by Candillo 3 x Argentinus
ANDRES AZCARRAGA (MEX), Jaime Azcarraga & Family: 0/61.53
9. LINCOURT GINO: 2003 Irish Sport Horse gelding by Gino III x Graf Magna
ALEJANDRO KAROLYI (VEN), Monica Carrera: 0/61.83
10. TREVITA: 2012 Hanovarian stallion by Graf Top x Stakkato
LIUBOV KOCHETOVA (RUS), Liubov Kochetova: 0/66.29
11. FIFTY SHADES: 2008 Westphalian gelding by Call Me Number One x Sheltana
ANDREA TORRES GUERREIRO (COL), Andrea Torres Guerreiro:
12. MIKE WAZOWSKI: 2012 Hanovarian stallion by Balou Du Reventon x Centadel
NICOLAS PIZARRO (MEX), Nicolas Pizarro & Alberto Lavalle: 0/69.61
Canada’s Amy Millar and Christiano Top $5,000 Premier Equestrian Welcome Stake CSIO4* Night Class
A field of 30 top horse-and-rider combinations contested the track set in the International Arena on Wednesday evening in preparation for the upcoming $150,000 Nations Cup. Riders slated to compete in the upcoming event on Friday were given the opportunity to use the $5,000 FEI Premier Equestrian CSIO Welcome stake as an opportunity to guide their mounts around the stadium in a night-class setting. The course designed by Steve Stephens(USA) and Nick Granat (USA) played out as a single round speed class with just less than half of the original entries making it through fault-free.
A number of competitors were seen raising their hand to signal an early retirement as a way of testing their mount’s comfort level under the lights without over-using them. A handful of others used it as an opportunity to school difficult or unique fences that would likely once again be used in the Nation’s Cup. Great Britain’s Jessica Mendoza held the leading time of 57.89 seconds for a long period of the class until Canada’s Amy Millar and Christiano, owned by Future Adventures, took over the lead.
Millar, the daughter of veteran show jumper Ian Millar, expertly guided the 11-year-old German Sport Horse gelding (Canoso x Compliment) to the top of the podium with an efficient time of 56.78 seconds.
“Christiano was my dad’s horse for a few years, and he did very well with him,” she explained. “It was his first time under the lights which I purposefully entered him in because he is not competing in the Nation’s Cup, but this extra night class is a great opportunity to ride in a night class with a horse you are bringing along.”
Millar’s family is well-versed in the Nation’s Cup events and it is a situation she experienced growing up watching her father as well as a rider in more recent years, including representing Canada at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
“It’s so amazing to be the one now representing my country in this event,” added Millar. “The whole Nation’s Cup situation is something very special to my family; my dad was such an involved team member for so long that it’s just ingrained in me that it is one of the most important competitions. We Canadians tend to really take it seriously and band together to put it at the top of our priority list.”
Mendoza and the 10-year-old Holsteiner mare (Clarimo x Contender) Casanova 499, owned by Carly Day, held their ground with the second place position while Martin Fuchs (SUI) and Adolfo Juri’s nine-year-old KWPN gelding Leone Jei (Baltic VDL x Corland) slid into third place after crossing the timers in 58.95 seconds.
Competition at the 2021 Winter Equestrian Festival will resume Thursday, March 4, featuring the eighth round of the Adequan® WEF Challenge Cup Series as well as the $10,000 Hermès U25 Welcome.
Final Results: $5,000 Premier Equestrian Welcome CSIO4*
1. CHRISTIANO: 2010 German Sport Horse gelding by Canoso x Compliment
AMY MILLAR (CAN), Future Adventures: 0/56.78
2. CASANOVA 499: 2011 Holsteiner mare by Clarimo x Contender
JESSICA MENDOZA (GBR), Carly Day: 0/57.89
3. LEONE JEI: 2012 KWPN gelding by Baltic VDL x Corland)
MARTIN FUCHS (SUI), Adolfo Juri: 0/58.95
4. LAZY: 2011 BWP mare by Hickstead II x Cruising
ASHLEE BOND (ISR), Aurora Farms LLC: 0/61.89
5. VERLANO: 2010 Mecklenburg gelding by Verdi TN x Chellano
JUAN ORTIZ (VEN), Stransky’s Mission Farms, Inc.: 0/62.73
6. VOLNAY DU BOISDEVILLE: 2009 Selle Français stallion by Winningmood x Copacabana II
TEDDY VLOCK (ISR), Vlock Show Stables, LLC: 0/64.16
7. WINNING GOOD: 2009 NRPS gelding by Winningmood van de Arenberg x Sir Corland
BEN MAHER (GBR), Poden Farms: 0/64.26
8. CON PLEASURE 5: 2009 Westphalian gelding by Contendro 1 x Funny Fasion
FLO NORRIS (GBR), Cisca Norris: 0/64.57
9. DARQUITO: 2011 Hanoverian gelding by D’inzeo 6 x Contefino 2
ANDREW BOURNS (IRL), Andrew Bourns: 0/66.71
10. FABRICE DN: 2010 KWPN gelding by Gelha’s VDL Emilion Bloubet du Rouet
NICOLAS PIZARRO (MEX), Luis Alejandro Plascencia: 0/67.69
11. FREAKY LIEFHEBBER: 2010 Dutch Warmblood by Darco x Litho x
JACQUELINE STEFFENS (CAN) Double C Stables: 0/68.48
12. TIC TAC: 2003 SBS stallion by Clinton x Panama Du Seigneur
BEN MAHER (GBR), Jane Forbes Clark: 0/68.66