Rowan Willis galloped through the timers in Saturday’s CSIO4* Table A 1.50m—and grimaced.

First to go in the five-horse jump-off at Thunderbird Show Park’s Odlum Brown BC Open, the Australian rider had just laid down a clear round in 43.67 seconds aboard For Dilando PS. But he didn’t think the time would hold.

“I had three fast riders behind me. I was clear, which was the main thing. He jumped very well,” Willis said. “I didn’t think I’d done enough.”

It was enough.

Willis and the 10-year-old Hanoverian gelding (For Pleasure x Chacco-Blue) held on for the win, besting Uruguay’s Juan Manuel Luzardo on Guizmo du Riou, who finished in second on 44.08 seconds. Mexico’s Gonzalo Azcarraga on Cashstar took third on 47.55 seconds. The Peter Holmes designed track saw five pairs advance to the short course, including Conor Swail—winner of six international classes during tbird’s spring series—who opted not to return for the jump-off aboard Clonterm Oblensky.

The win is For Dilando PS’s career first 1.50m international victory. The pair also won the National Grand Prix at tbird in April’s Spring Festival and are finding their rhythm after taking the winter off from competition.

“We’re working on just getting some experience. This is actually only his third show in six months,” said Willis. “He’s jumped very well in the two four-star Grand Prixs here, and I just wanted to give him a kind of a nicer round to finish off the show.”

Nice is precisely how they wrapped the week. Willis trotted the victory lap in an effort to curb the gelding’s enthusiasm.

“He’s got a lot more energy than I have, that’s for sure,” Willis joked. “[If we cantered,] we’d probably still be going.”

Four star competition wraps with Sunday’s feature event, the FEI Nations Cup 1.55m at 2pm. Willis will be riding Cape Town for the Australian team. Tickets are available exclusively at tbird.ca/tickets.

$31,100 CSIO4* Table A 1.50m