Gregory Bodo’s testing 1.45m track asked some tough questions, and one pair came up with all the right answers.
Conor Swail produced the only double-clear round of the day to capture victory in the 2* Qualifier 1.45m at Thunderbird Show Park’s Canadian Premier on Thursday, piloting the talented Kazelli VDL to the top of the leaderboard in 44.31 seconds.
“It was quite a difficult track today,” said Swail. “It was quite technical. There were 13 jumps, a triple combination, the double combination, a plank and a skinny were two out of last three jumps—it was hard to jump around and definitely a testing track.”
Four pairs found a clear path to advance to the jump off, but only Swail and the 11-year-old KWPN mare (Arezzo VDL x Indoctro) produced a faultless second round.
Gavin Moylan (CAN) and Memphis secured second place with a single time fault, stopping the clock at 49.09 seconds. Karrie Rufer (USA) and Stern dei Folletti rounded out the podium in third, finishing with four faults in a time of 45.1 seconds.
For Swail, the win marks continued progress with Kazelli VDL, a relatively new ride he began competing earlier this year.
“Ellie was very good today. She had a lovely round yesterday to start the week off—she’s never been [to Thunderbird] before. We just continued on from yesterday, jumped a very smooth round in the first round. She is owned by Chandler Meadows and was initially bought for her, but she is a bit sharp. She’s very good in the ring and not spooky, but she’s very aware of everything.”
Swail added that patience is beginning to pay off with the promising mare.
“I started riding her just at the beginning of this year in Desert Horse Park and gradually built her up. Now we’re competing in some 1.45m classes and we’re getting a better partnership and trying to get that better consistency, which is starting to happen.”
The 2* division continues with Saturday’s feature event, the 2* Grand Prix at 3:00pm.
$31,100 CSI2* Qualifier 1.45m
Horse / Rider / Nationality / Owner / Faults / Time
- Kazelli VDL / Conor Swail / IRL / Johnjoe Gallagher / 0/0 44.31
- Memphis / Gavin Moylan / CAN / Gavin Moylan / 0/1 49.09
- Stern dei Folletti / Karrie Rufer / USA / Morning Star Sporthorses LLC / 0/4 45.1
- Havana / Kassidy Keith / CAN / Kassidy Keith / 0/8 52.75
- Pina Lotta T / Juan Pablo Gaspar Albanez / MEX / Juan Pablo Gaspar Albanez / 4 74.08
- Billy Hound Dog / Rowan Willis / AUS / Senary Sport Horses / 4 74.73
- Avianna / Laura Hazlett /USA / Laura Hazlett / 4 75.86
- Caipirinha de Reve / Guihaume Henaut / BEL / Alicia Gadban-Henaut / 4 75.86
- Dominka van de Lucashoeve / Susan Horn / CAN / Kingsfield Farm / 4 76.19
- Steadfast / Tiffany Foster / CAN / Artisan Farms / 4 77.97
