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McLain Ward and Galant Return to the Winners Circle in 1.45m Win at the 2005 Winter Equestrian Festival
48 starters went to the post in Wednesday morning’s featured event, the $7500 1.45m Jumpers. The class was scored under Table II sec 2(b), Time First Jump-Off. 16 of the 48 horse and rider combinations produced fault free first rounds and eight of those went on to be double clear. At the midway point of the class, Canadian Ainsley Vince on Trinity Farm’s Uno took over the lead and looked unbeatable, finishing in 41.782 seconds, a time that would hold up all the way until the very end of the class. Vince’s lead lasted until Olympic Team Silver Medalist McLain Ward, riding out of the 46th spot in the order, crossed the finish line with Galant. When the dust settled Ward had knocked an astounding 2.77 seconds off of Vince’s top time, touring the jump-off course in a blistering 39.012 seconds. Molly Ashe, a two time winner at WEF this season, gave Ward and Galant a run for their money aboard King Louie, owned by Rosewood Glen. Ashe, riding right after Ward in the order, fell just short of the mark when she tripped the timers in 40.490 seconds to finish in second place. Galant’s win today marked a successful return to the winners circle following a two year long rehabilitation and was a comeback that Ward thought might never happen. “Galant’s comeback is a really nice story,” explained Ward. “He was injured two years ago at the Ox Ridge Horse Show and we thought his career was over. We never thought he’d be able to make a comeback,” Ward conceded. “He injured his stifle. It was literally a career ending injury. Everyone, including me, wrote him off.” Ward said that two years in the pastures of New York worked wonders. “We put him in a field at Blue Chip Farm in Wallkill, NY, for two years and let Mother Nature and the people there at Blue Chip work their magic,” said Ward. “They did a wonderful job rehabbing him and getting him back to the show ring. He was third on Saturday and now the win today. I couldn’t be more excited about him returning,” Ward said, smiling. Ward said that he might have won on Saturday and wanted to make sure there was no doubt today. “He’s a winner, but he’s a little hard to ride. He’s a really fast horse,” Ward said. “I went third in the jump-off on Saturday and was a little slow to the last fence and was a little upset with myself for that, so I wanted to make sure that today I didn’t let that happen.” Anne Kursinski and Robin Hill Farm’s Faldo finished fourth with a clean round in 42.727 seconds. Ward’s Athens teammate, Silver Medalist Beezie Madden, brought her Olympic mount, Authentic, owned by Team Authentic, out for the first time this season and finished fifth with a clear go in 43.052 seconds. Thursday’s main event is the $25,000 WEF Challenge Cup Series-Round Three, scheduled for a 1:00pm lift off at the Internationale Arena. Official Results - #1003 - $7500 1.45m Jumpers – Table II Sec 2(b) – 2-9-05 – Internationale Arena
PHOTO CREDIT: McLain Ward and Galant win $7500 1.45m Jumpers on Wednesday. Photo by Randi Muster. |
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Wellington,
FL – February 9, 2005 – It was a victory two years in the
making but McLain Ward and Galant finally returned to the winners circle
as week three of the 2005 Winter Equestrian Festival got underway on
Wednesday at the Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club in Wellington, Florida.
The festival, the nations largest and longest running equestrian extravaganza,
features exciting show jumping action Wednesday through Sunday, continuing
until March 13th. Great
Britain’s Robert Ellis is the course designer this week in the
Internationale Arena.
