Wellington, FL – January 22, 2014 – The 2014 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF) began its third week of competition, sponsored by Fidelity Investments®, on Wednesday, January 22, with a win for Shane Sweetnam (IRL) and Spy Coast Farm LLC’s Cyklon 1083 in the $34,000 G&C Farm 1.45m FEI world ranking class.
Week three continues through Sunday, January 26. The week will feature the $34,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup Round 3 on Thursday, the $34,000 Spy Coast Farm 1.45m on Friday, the highlight $125,000 Fidelity Investments® Grand Prix CSI 3* on Saturday night, and the $34,000 Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic on Sunday. The FTI WEF, held at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) in Wellington, FL, features 12 weeks of world-class competition through March 30, awarding $8 million in prize money.
Brazil’s Guilherme Jorge is the course designer in the International Arena at PBIEC for week three’s competition. Jorge set the course for 46 entries in Wednesday afternoon’s $34,000 G&C Farm 1.45m speed class and had 14 clear rounds. Shane Sweetnam and Cyklon 1083 went early in the order and completed the course in 57.10 seconds to earn top honors.
Scott Brash (GBR) and Hello Annie, owned by Lord and Lady Harris and Lord and Lady Kirkham, finished second, exactly one second slower in 58.10 seconds. Third place honors went to Ian Millar (CAN) and Ariel and Susan Grange’s Dixson in 59.03 seconds. Quentin Judge (USA) and Double H Farm’s HH Dark de la Hart earned the fourth place prize in 59.67 seconds.
Shane Sweetnam and Cyklon 1083
Cyklon 1083, a 13-year-old Swedish Warmblood stallion by Cardento x Cortus, had a great 2013 season under the guidance of rider Shane Sweetnam and looks to continue that success in 2014. The pair won a ranking class during week 12 of FTI WEF competition in March last year, topped a class in Göteborg, Sweden, in April, won in La Baule, France, in May, and earned another win at Spruce Meadows in July, among many other top finishes.
“Everywhere he goes, he is very competitive,” Sweetnam noted. “He had a great year. He placed at nearly every show. He has always been very competitive and he likes to go fast, so that is important.”
Commenting on Wednesday’s class, Sweetnam stated, “I thought Guilherme did a good job. It was a quick enough class and I was early to go, so I had my plan going in and I stuck to my plan. I thought it was a nice course, and it definitely suited my horse.”
“He is a good boy,” Sweetnam added. “He is not a difficult stallion. He enjoys attention, and he gets a lot of it. He is lovely to flat and then when he starts jumping he really wants to win, so he is a great horse.”
Cyklon will continue to be aimed at the FEI world ranking classes throughout the FTI WEF circuit, showing again this week in Friday’s $34,000 Spy Coast Farm 1.45m class.
Shane Sweetnam (pictured aboard borrow mount, Ashley Baker’s HH Carotino) in his winning presentation with ringmaster Gustavo Murcia
Wednesday’s competition started in the International Arena in the morning with 123 entries jumping in the $6,000 Spy Coast Farm 1.40m jump-off class. Only eleven combinations were able to clear the course without fault to jump-off, and seven double clear rounds were completed. With the large number of entries, the class was held as a “California Split” with two sets of prize money awarded.
Canada’s Eric Lamaze and Wang Chung M2S, owned by Morningside Stud and Torrey Pines Stable, had the fastest jump-off time of 31.977 seconds to earn top prize in Section A. Laura Chapot and Mary Chapot’s Zealous jumped off in 32.457 seconds to top Section B.
Week three of the 2014 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival will continue on Thursday with the $34,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup Round 3 in the International Arena and the presentation of championship honors to the Equine Tack & Nutritionals Second Year Green Working Hunters in the E.R. Mische Grand Hunter Ring. For full results, go to www.showgroundslive.com.
Final Results: $34,000 G&C Farm 1.45m
1. CYKLON 1083: 2001 Swedish Warmblood stallion by Cardento x Cortus
SHANE SWEETNAM (IRL), Spy Coast Farm LLC: 0/57.10
2. HELLO ANNIE: 2004 Hanoverian mare by Contender x For Pleasure
SCOTT BRASH (GBR), Lord & Lady Harris/Lord & Lady Kirkham: 0/58.10
3. DIXSON: 2003 Belgian Warmblood gelding by Vigo d’Arsouilles x Olisco
IAN MILLAR (CAN), Ariel and Susan Grange: 0/59.03
4. HH DARK DE LA HART: 2003 Belgian Warmblood stallion by Kashmir Van Schuttershof X Nonstop
QUENTIN JUDGE (USA), Double H Farm: 0/59.67
5. APARDI: 2005 KWPN stallion by Corland x Kannan
DANIEL BLUMAN (COL), Daniel Bluman: 0/59.98
6. ALPHA VDL: 2005 KWPN gelding by Corland x Emilion
DARRAGH KENNY (IRL), Eva Castegren: 0/61.27
7. AD ARGOS: 2005 KWPN gelding by Padinus x Concorde
ALVARO DE MIRANDA (BRA), Victory Equestrian Sport BV & Alvaro de Miranda: 0/61.84
8. LA CENTA: 2002 Oldenburg mare by Cento x Silvio I
LAUREN TISBO (USA), Tequestrian Farms, LLC: 0/62.02
9. BROOKLYN BLUES: 2004 Oldenburg mare by Balou du Rouet x Fruhlingsball
YANN CANDELE (CAN), Carol Sollak: 0/62.22
10. MARK Q: 2002 Irish Sport Horse gelding by Obos Quality 004 x Positively
KEVIN BABINGTON (IRL), Kevin Babington: 0/62.75
11. FLECU: 2004 Swedish Warmblood gelding by Hip Hop x Flamingo
ALEXANDER ZETTERMAN (SWE), Alexander Zetterman: 0/63.16
12. Z CANTA: 2004 KWPN mare by Casantos x Abantos
CATHERINE PASMORE (USA), Pasmore Stables LLC: 0/63.19
Photo Credit: Photos © Sportfot, An Official Photographer of the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival, us.sportfot.com. This photo may be used only in relation to this press release and must include photo credit.