Weekend in Wellington – Equestrian stars are back in town
Saturday Night Lights – Eddy Blue and Darragh Kenny are reunited and on course for $500,000 Grand Prix
A second week of five-star level competition at the Winter Equestrian Festival climaxes with Saturday Night Lights and the $500,000 Grand Prix. Mixed in with the 33 entries and among the favorites will be Ireland’s Darragh Kenny and Eddy Blue.
Darragh was officially cleared to return to international competition on February 13 after the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) lifted a provisional suspension issued on October 13 following a positive drug test during the FEI European Championships.
Week 7 sees Darragh’s first full week of showing at WEF this year and he got off to a great start with a win in the WEF Challenge Cup with Eddy Blue. His compatriot Bertram Allen came in second but had played a part in the victory, having kept Darragh’s horses ticking over in his absence and won the WEF Challenge with the 14-year-old gelding himself, in WEF 4-star week 3.
“This is my first week back. Bertram rode Eddy for me recently and did a fantastic job on him,” said Tokyo Olympian, Darragh. “The horse feels ready to go, and he was amazing today as he always is. I’m very lucky to have such a fantastic group of owners and staff who kept the horses in great shape. I was lucky Bertram was able to ride them for me. I’m very thankful to everybody who was involved in that.”
Friday Night Stars – Isabell Werth headlines and event is sold out
Germany’s Isabell Werth – an equestrian legend in her own lifetime – returned to Wellington after a 16-year absence this week at the Global Dressage Festival [GDF] and she will be back to wow the crowds tonight for Friday Night Stars, while hoping to qualify for the FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final in Fort Worth, Texas in April.
The 56-year old, widely recognized as the most successful equestrian of all time, deliberated over which horse to bring to Wellington and selected Special Blend 3 – at 11 years of age, a relatively young contender, previously owned by Andreas Helgstrand, and recently sold to a German Grand Prix rider and client of Isabell’s. “He said, ‘I was the right one,’” she reflected on her decision, after the pair won the FEI Dressage World Cup Grand Prix in their Wellington debut at GDF on Thursday.
Friday Night Stars sees Isabell and Special Blend take on the same field as yesterday. The occasion has been sold out, with General Admission tickets being snapped up in advance, reflecting the anticipated demand for an opportunity to see Isabell perform live. While she was giving little away about the Freestyle – which will be her first CDI level Freestyle test with Special Blend – she said they will perform to a classical soundtrack originally made for Emilio – one of Isabell’s Olympic team gold medal-winning horses.
Sunday Polo – Top billing again for Mia Cambiaso
Last Sunday Mia Cambiaso was on the runners up podium after La Dolfina lost in the finals of the US Open Women’s Polo Championship. This weekend she has a chance to balance the books and take home a win in front of the stadium crowd, playing for Scott Devon’s Catamount.
Fifteen teams entered the second qualifying leg of four prestigious national tournaments (Joe Barry Memorial, Iglehart Cup, Outback Cup) that culminate in the NPC 16-Goal Championship. Sunday Polo sees Scott Devon’s Catamount – the only unbeaten team in the tournament – go up against Zapican BMW who bring a 5-1 win-loss record to the field.
In the Women’s Open Mia was joined by her younger sister, Myla, on the field. This Sunday, it remains to be seen whether her father, the legendary polo great Adolfo Cambiaso, will be in the fray alongside her. An original member of the Catamount team, there have been line up changes during the tournament due to an illness in Scott’s family and as of now, the Catamount line up is TBD – to be determined.
https://www.nationalpolocenter.com/
This could be interesting:
Milly Hine lands third US Open Women’s Polo Championship win in a row