Wellington, FL – January 30, 2013 – The fourth week of competition at the 2013 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF) began on Wednesday, January 30, with a win for Olympic gold medalist Nick Skelton (GBR) and his mount Heracross in the $8,000 G&C Farm 1.45m speed class.
Week four, sponsored by Fidelity Investments®, will run January 30-February 3. The week will feature the $33,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup Round 4 on Thursday afternoon, the $100,000 Fidelity Investments® CSI 2* Grand Prix on Saturday evening, and the $25,000 Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic on Sunday afternoon. The 2013 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival features 12 weeks of competition running from January 9-March 31, 2013, and will be awarding almost $7 million in prize money throughout the circuit.
Nick Skelton earned his first victory of the 2013 winter circuit in Wednesday’s $8,000 G&C Farm 1.45m class jumping a speed track set by Olympic course designer Leopoldo Palacios (VEN). Twenty-four entries started the class and 15 completed the course without fault. The fastest time of 58.655 seconds laid down by Skelton and Heracross earned top honors.
Darragh Kenny (IRL) finished second aboard Cavallo Farms’ Twister with a time of 59.219 seconds. Rodrigo Pessoa (BRA) and HH Palouchin, owned by Double H Farm, placed third in 59.528 seconds. Shane Sweetnam (IRL) rode Sweet Oak Farm’s Solerina to fourth place honors in 60.049 seconds.
Nick Skelton and Heracross. Photo © Sportfot.
Class winner, Heracross, is a thirteen-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding by Ramiro B x Clover Hill. Heracross was previously ridden by Irish show jumper Francis Connors as well as Swedish rider Stephanie Finetto. Skelton purchased the gelding at the end of the year, just before Christmas, and showed him at the London International Horse Show at Olympia in December before traveling to Wellington.
Skelton dominated last year’s FTI WEF circuit with his many top horses, but has had a lower profile so far this winter. His Olympic mount, Big Star, will come out for the bigger classes towards the end of the circuit. For these first few weeks, Skelton has been showing several new and younger horses. He was pleased to get a nice win on Heracross in Wednesday’s class and looks forward to moving him up throughout the circuit.
“He is really a nice, easy horse,” Skelton stated after the class. “He turns really well. There were a lot of turns in that course, so I didn’t have to gallop too fast because he is such a quick turner. It was a nice class; it is good to win.”
Skelton spoke about Heracross and his traits, noting, “He is an Irish horse and one thing with the Irish horses is that they go on for a long time. He is quite a cobby horse, but he is very agile. He has a lot of blood, really, for a big horse and he is easy to ride, so I really like him.”
Heracross will now have a short break while Skelton goes home to England for a few days. He will then come back to show during week five and start jumping in some of the grand prix classes. Big Star is currently in quarantine after arriving in the U.S. and will share the grand prix duties with Heracross as he gets into the rotation.
Nick Skelton and Heracross in their winning presentation with ringmaster Cliff Haines and G&C Farm representative Manuel Machillanda. Photo © Sportfot.
Also showing in the International Arena on Wednesday, Italy’s Lorenzo de Luca and Jamaika Z, owned by Neil Jones Equestrian, won the $6,000 Spy Coast Farm 1.40m speed class out of 83 competitors. The $6,000 Spy Coast Farm 1.40m jump-off class went to Laura Chapot and Zealous in a class of 57 entries.
Week four of the FTI WEF will continue on Thursday with the $33,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup Round 4 in the International Arena at 1 p.m. The hunters will also be featured with the presentation of championship honors in The Sanctuary Regular Conformation Hunter division in the E.R. Mische Grand Hunter Ring. For full results, please visit www.showgroundslive.com.
Final Results: $8,000 G&C Farm 1.45m Speed
1. HERACROSS NICK SKELTON NICK SKELTON: 0/58.655
2. TWISTER DARRAGH KENNY CAVALLO FARMS: 0/59.219
3. HH PALOUCHIN RODRIGO PESSOA DOUBLE H FARM: 0/59.528
4. SOLERINA SHANE SWEETNAM SWEET OAK FARM: 0/60.049
5. AVENIR CHRISTINE MCCREA CANDY TRIBBLE: 0/60.307
6. AMADORA BEEZIE MADDEN ABIGAIL WEXNER: 0/60.928
7. UNEX BILLY ON SHOW TIM GREDLEY UNEX COMPETITION YARD: 0/62.457
8. UNICO MARIO GAMBOA STRANSKY’S MISSION FARMS: 0/66.699
9. MARANON LS LAURA KRAUT EQUINVEST: 0/66.966
10. CHANTILLY SLOANE COLES SLOANE COLES: 0/67.431
11. ZABEL D LAUREN HOUGH BELLE GREY FARM: 0/68.002
12. AK’S CLOWNEY PETER WYLDE SOCIETE CIVILE DE L’ECURIE MEUTRY: 0/68.662
Photo Credit: Photos © Sportfot, An Official Photographer of the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival, us.sportfot.com. These photos may be used only in relation to this press release and must include photo credit.
About Fidelity Investments®
Fidelity Investments® is one of the world’s largest providers of financial services, with assets under administration of $3.9 trillion, including managed assets of $1.7 trillion, as of December 31, 2012. Founded in 1946, the firm is a leading provider of investment management, retirement planning, portfolio guidance, brokerage, benefits outsourcing and many other financial products and services to more than 20 million individuals and institutions, as well as through 5,000 financial intermediary firms. For more information about Fidelity Investments, visit www.fidelity.com.