GP win for Mckayla Langmeier thanks to clear strategy
The last of three to go in the jump off of the $75,000 Grand Prix at Wellington International, Mckayla Langmeier and Jiselle NS only needed a faultless round to secure victory. But as she said about producing a clear: “It’s never a given.”
The pair, under the guidance of McLain Ward, rode strategically against the clock. “For the jump off, [McLain] said just to ride the track I planned, and then if I was clear, go and take a second to the last.” Mckayla took the advice, exercising caution in her approach to the final fence. The strategy saw her finish on the only double clear of the class, ahead of runner up Jacqueline Ruyle and Cyramo Z, and Lillie Keenan and Happy Time in third, after both US riders had a rail, setting the stage for Mckayla to claim the win.
Mckayla, 26, has had the 12-year old Dutch Warmblood mare, bred by the Jacobs family’s North Star Sport Horses, since she was six, bringing her up through the levels. “We’ve kind of grown up together a little bit doing this height,” she said. “So to me and to my family and to North Star, I think it means a lot to go and see her perform that well.”
Horses were in Mckayla’s genes from her equestrian parents Linda and Kent Langmeier, who run Kelianda Farm and who were both on hand to watch their daughter claim the first Grand Prix win of the 2026 Winter Equestrian Festival [WEF] to close out Premiere week. “I thought the horse jumped fabulous and I thought the pilot did a fabulous job,” Linda said.
Linda and Mckayla share a record as the only mother and daughter to have won the ASPCA Maclay Horsemanship Class aka Maclay Medal – a prestigious national equitation contest for young riders.
To help along her daughter’s increasingly successful show jumping career, Linda knew what was needed. She had a long history with McLain. “I actually used to help him on his ponies and I knew his mom and dad really well,” she said. Mckayla started to train with the six-time Olympic medalist two years ago. “I had a few horses doing five-star level,” Mckayla said. “And I just maybe needed an extra person on the ground to tell me what I was doing wrong and kind of help me a little bit with the confidence and the game plan going in the ring and stuff like that. He is an extraordinary human being and it’s a pleasure to be able to work with him.”
Mckayla described this as a “developing year” as she continues to produce horses as well as build her career. “It’s taken a lot of patience and a lot of time putting into the horses,” she said. “But I think that’s what makes these relationships like with this horse today possible, and it’s truly rewarding when you have a horse that you bring up to win a grand prix like this.”
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