James Chawke piloted the 8-year-old Nandos S to victory in the Bradon Equestrian National Grand Prix at Thunderbird Show Park’ Summer Fort Welcome. The win marks a milestone for the promising gelding, who moved up to the 1.40m height for the very first time this week.
Eight combinations cracked the code to course designer Peter Holmes’ track to advance to the jump-off. Chawke and Nandos S (Van Gogh x Numero Uno), owned by Vanessa Mannix, delivered the fastest double-clear performance, crossing the timers in 47.62 seconds—it was the only sub-50 second time of the day. USA’s Laina Summers and Greannanstown Max A Million finished as runners-up, with a time of 50.94. Canada’s Laura Jane Tidball rounded out the podium in third place aboard MacGyver in 51.62.
“He’s only eight, he’s just learning to jump this height, but he is naturally very quick, so I just tried to keep it smooth and be efficient,” said Chawke of his jump-off strategy. “I thought he was pretty quick everywhere. He followed me really well.”
The victory is the product of a carefully managed development program for the young horse. Chawke explained, “We bought him sometime in October. He’s for Vanessa, so we’re producing him a little bit. I rode him in the desert, January, February, March, then Conor Swail had him at Spruce Meadows [over the summer].”
With Swail now in Europe, Nandos is back under Chawke’s saddle and moving up the ranks.
“He jumped his first 1.40m this week,” Chawke noted. “Then I decided to put him in this class. I thought it’s a good course, there’s a bit more to it, and he has to learn how to jump these kind of tracks.”
Chawke was full of praise for the horse’s natural ability. “As a jumper, he’s incredible. He’s very athletic, the feeling’s very good, he’s really smart. He’s got to learn his rideability a little bit more, but I’d say that in terms of the height and that, it’s very easy. He’s quite quick to figure it out once he does it.”
International show jumping continues next week at tbird with the Summer Fort Classic.
| Rank | Horse | Rider | Nation | Owners | Faults | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NANDOS S | JAMES CHAWKE | IRL | VANESSA MANNIX | 0/0 | 47.62 |
| 2 | GREANNANSTOWN MAX A MILLION | LAINA SUMMERS | USA | BAYVIEW FARM | 0/0 | 50.94 |
| 3 | MACGYVER | LAURA JANE TIDBALL | CAN | THUNDERBIRD/ATTACHE STABLES | 0/0 | 51.62 |
| 4 | DON DIEGO DE LA VEGA Z | LISA CARLSEN | CAN | GERARD DEVELOPMENTS | 0/4 | 52.60 |
| 5 | MORICE F Z | KARRIE RUFER | USA | MORNING STAR SPORTHORSES LLC | 0/8 | 50.52 |
| 6 | CALLOWAY | AYLA MARTINOFF | CAN | AYLA MARTINOFF | 0/8 | 51.05 |
| 7 | CAPONERHALL | KAYLIE MARTINOFF | CAN | INGA MARTINOFF | 0/16 | 98.40 |
| 8 | ITOT DU ROUET | LAUREN CROOKS | USA | CROOKS SHOW JUMPING LLC | 1 | 79.29 |
| 9 | THE STATESMAN | JAMES BRENNAN | IRL | JAMES BRENNAN | 3 | 81.02 |
| 10 | EARTHQUAKE MXL Z | JAMIE GORNALL | GBR | CHEROKEE SHOW HORSES INC | 3 | 81.84 |
Photo credit: Kim Gaudry Photography
