Laura Kraut and Calgary Tame Blaze to Speed Victory at 2022 WIHS

Olympic gold medalist Laura Kraut (USA) headlined the feature class on Friday, October 28, at the 2022 Washington International Horse Show, presented by MARS Equestrian^TM. She and Calgary Tame, owned by Eugenie Angot and Stars and Stripes, outraced the field to win the $75,000 Speed Final CSI5*. To finish the exciting Military Night, presented by Boeing, competition, McLain Ward, Daniel Coyle, and Jordan Coyle tied for the win in the $25,000 Defender Puissance by clearing 2.10m. Augusta Iwasaki and Bond took home the Grand Junior Hunter Championship, while Ellie Ferrigno and Queen Elizabeth topped the $7,500 Low Junior/Amateur Jumper Classic.

Kraut and Calgary Tame sped through the course, designed by Bernardo Cabral (POR), in the faults-converted format. They left all the jumps up, adding no time to their finish in 57.13 seconds. Fellow U.S. Olympic team gold medalist McLain Ward rode his speed specialist Catoki, owned by Ward, Bob Russell, and Marilla Van Beuren, to a faster initial time of 56.40 seconds, but four faults left them with a final time of 59.40 seconds for second place. Shane Sweetnam (IRL) and Out of the Blue SCF, owned by Spy Coast Farm LLC, were third in 59.85 seconds.

Kraut credited Calgary Tame’s natural speed and sticking to the plan that was best for her horse.

“McLain probably has the faster horse, but I didn’t really leave too many doors open,” conceded Kraut. “Maybe when I got launched over the plank, in that turn is probably the only place where someone could have gotten me. I think McLain did. He was faster, but just had one down.”

Kraut was not only excited to get her first win with Calgary Tame, but for the prizes that come along with a win at WIHS.

“I’m dying for these Georgetown Cupcakes; it’s why I wanted to win here!” she laughed. For her win, Kraut was presented with the General Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Perpetual Trophy, donated by the late Arthur J. Morris.

“He’s a new horse for me this year,” she said of the 10-year-old Selle Francais gelding by Old Chap Tame x Kashmir van’t Schuttershof. “He’s been a fantastic horse for me so far but this is the first class that I’ve won with him, so I’m excited. The funny thing about this horse is that I’ve had a little bit of steering issues along the way. Tonight you definitely needed all of your power steering. I thought, ‘I have nothing to lose, and I’m going to have to give it a go. He’s super brave, and he was just right on it for me.”

Kraut, who won the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Washington Grand Prix at the 2019 WIHS with Fleurette, was excited to return to the show.

“I’m just thrilled that the Washington International Horse Show is back in the Washington area,” she remarked. “I think that they’ve done a magnificent job of making it feel really special. I’ve never been to this venue before, so I’m really impressed. I know how hard everyone works for the show, and I really hope that it will continue to grow here.”

Final Results: $75,000 International Jumper Speed Final

1 CALGARY TAME: 2012 Selle Francis gelding by Old Chap Tame x Kashmir van’t Schuttershof
LAURA KRAUT (USA), Eugenie Angot, Stars and Stripes: 57.13

2 CATOKI: 2009 Westphalian gelding by Catoki x Caretello B
MCLAIN WARD (USA), Marilla van Beuren, Bob Russell & McLain Ward: 59.40

3 OUT OF THE BLUE SCF: 2014 Belgian Warmblood mare by Verdi TN x Cassini I
SHANE SWEETNAM (IRL), Spy Coast Farm LLC: 59.85

4 VENICE BEACH: 2009 Hanoverian mare by Voltaire x Escudo 19
RODRIGO PESSOA (BRA), Artemis Equestrian Farm LLC: 61.42

5 ZARINA DE VIDAU: 2011 Spanish Sport Horse mare by Diamant de Semilly x Coeur de Nuit
GRACE DEBNEY (USA), Temple Equestrian LLC: 61.51

6 AUSTRIA 2: 2008 Holsteiner mare by Casall x San Patrignano Corrado
KENT FARRINGTON (USA), Take The High Road LLC: 61.91

7 PRESCOTT: 2012 Holsteiner gelding by Lordanos x BB Carvallo
AARON VALE (USA), Thinkslikeahorse: 61.94

8 ATIKA DES HAUTS VENTS: 2010 Selle Français mare by Rock’N Roll Semilly x Scherif D’Elle
KATIE DINAN (USA), Grant Road Partners LLC: 61.99

9 UBILUC: 2012 Mecklenburg gelding by Ubiko x Lucian
DANIEL BLUMAN (ISR), Blue Star Investments, Over the Top Stables LLC: 62.48

10 THEO: 2012 Holsteiner gelding by Christian 25 x Calando IV
CONOR SWAIL (IRL), Conor Swail, Team Philippaerts: 62.55

11 IVORY TCS: 2013 KWPN mare by Falaise de Muze x Ukato
DANIEL COYLE (IRL), Ariel Grange, Daniel Coyle: 62.92

12 HANGOVER: 2012 KWPN gelding by Action-Breaker x Oklund
DEVIN RYAN (USA), Sascha Abramson: 63.72

Three-Way Tie for Coyle Bros. and Ward in $25,000 Defender Puissance

Showcasing the power and courage of show jumpers, the $25,000 Defender Puissance honored three horses and riders with the joint victory. Competing through five rounds of increasing height of the puissance wall, Daniel Coyle (IRL), Jordan Coyle (IRL), and McLain Ward (USA) all cleared 2.10m (six feet, 10 inches) for the win. Devin Ryan (USA) and Hangover placed second after they faulted at the wall in the final round.

Having tied for the win at last year’s WIHS in the Puissance as well with his mighty mini Catoki – who stands at just 15 hands high – Ward brought the speed specialist this week just to compete in the high jump class. This was the tenth time that Ward has won or tied for the win in the Puissance at WIHS.

“I knew he was always brave, but he’s barely bigger than a pony,” laughed Ward. “He did the speed class earlier today and was brilliant in that, almost won that, and then did his planned class. It’s incredible. I have barely any spur and the horse pulls you down there like a lion, and I think he enjoys it. He’s an incredible winner.”

Daniel Coyle was also a co-winner of last year’s Puissance and is experienced in the specialty class. His horse Oak Grove’s Carlyle, a 14-year-old Holsteiner gelding by Casall x San Patrignano Corrado owned by Ariel Grange, is one of his top horses. After a slow start on Thursday, Daniel made the decision to enter the Puissance.

“He was just not in the zone, not in the rhythm,” he said. “I decided to jump him in the puissance and see if that would give him bit of heart, and for sure he jumped great every round. And that’s him; he’s one or the other. He’s either frantic, or he just goes and does it very simply. Thankfully tonight it was very simple.”

Daniel’s older brother Jordan was the third co-winner with Eristov, a 13-year-old KWPN gelding by Cicero Z van Paemel x Concorde he owns with Elan Farm. Eristov is Jordan’s veteran mount and a World Cup qualifier winner.

“He was my first big time horse,” acknowledged Jordan. “I’m thankful for everything that he’s done for me. Everything was my first with him. We gave him a break, planning to wind down and retire him, but he didn’t love that so much.”

Coming back into competition this year, Eristov was fifth in the Hickstead Derby and made it to the final round of the Dublin Puissance but didn’t get the win. Jordan was eager to correct that result, and Eristov delivered once again.

“Tonight the first few rounds, he wasn’t quite so sure, but by the end it felt like I could have jumped anything,” said Jordan.

Daniel added about his brother, “We’ve competed our whole lives together. We’re brothers, but when the helmet goes on, you become a competitor and that’s how it is. It’s great we’ve learned a lot from each other over the years, and it’s great now to be at the top of the sport together.”

For their victory, the three riders shared in being presented with The Armed Forces Cup, presented by Land Rover. The three horses shared The Sweet ‘N Low Trophy honors, donated by Mr. And Mrs. Donald G. Tober. The owners of the horses won the Congressman’s Challenge Trophy, donated by the Late Honorable Rogers C.B. Morton and the Late Honorable F. Robert Watkins.


Iwasaki and Bond Share the Grand Junior Hunter Championship

Junior hunter divisions wrapped up on Friday with Augusta Iwasaki of Calabasas, California, capturing the Grand Junior Hunter Championship with Shadowfax Equestrian LLC’s Bond. For the victory, they were presented with the Ides of March Trophy, sponsored by the Maryland Horse Industry Board. The pair was awarded the title after receiving champion in the Small Junior Hunter 16-17 division.

Iwasaki and Bond notched a clean sweep of the over fences classes, receiving scores of 90, 92 in the handy class, and another 90 in the stake from judges Linda Andrisani and Peter Lombardo.

“He felt amazing,” said Iwasaki of the 10-year-old Warmblood gelding by Clarimo. “He perked up a little bit for the stake today, so I thought he was really in the groove and had his game face on. His canter and his jump are both amazing. His canter is super rangy. I feel like I have a million miles of stride, which is so cool.”

From their lights-out performance, one would guess Iwasaki and Bond would have been partnered together for quite some time, but that’s not the case. Iwasaki showed Bond in just one class over the summer before showing him last week at the Pennsylvania National, where they were also champions of the same division.

“I’ve always wanted to ride him,” shared Iwasaki of her mount who has also had success with owners Isha and Raina Swani. “I watched him and competed against him for years. I’ve always been a big fan, so it was so fun to get to ride him. I think he rides a lot like he looks going around, so that was an advantage for me. I just love him. I think we get along so well.”

With her win, Iwasaki was very appreciative of the opportunity.

“I just want to say thank you to the Swanis and [trainers] Brendan Williams and Geoffrey Hesslink for letting me ride Bond. It’s been amazing,” she said.

Iwasaki was also named the Best Child Rider on a Horse and was presented with the DiVecchia Perpetual Trophy.

The reserve championship in the Small Junior Hunter 16-17 division went to Blue Mountain LLC’s Axel and Henry Healey.

In the younger Small Junior division, Ariana Marnell rode her own Babylon to the championship title. As the high score junior hunter owner-rider, she was presented with the Georgetown Trophy. The reserve champion was Clara Propp and Inquisitive, owned by Aquitaine Equine.

In the Large Junior Hunter 16-17 division, the champion was Blythe Goguen aboard Belhaven Stables LLC’s Style. She was presented with The Chance Step Memorial Trophy for her victory. Joey Roman rode his own Cascatero to the reserve championship.

Jordan Gibbs and Five Star, owned by Dana Vollbracht, were Large Junior Hunter 15 & Under champions. Kat Fuqua rode her own Grand Remo to the reserve honors.
 

Ferrigno Is Fast and Furious in Low Junior/Amateur Jumper Classic Victory

In the first jumper class of the day, Ellie Ferrigno and Queen Elizabeth turned on the afterburners for the win in the $7,500 Low Junior/Amateur Jumper Classic. For their triumph they were presented with the Senator's Cup and Swan Lake Perpetual Trophy. The result also boosted them to the division championship, for which they earned the Foxbrook Perpetual Trophy.

“I’ve shown at Washington since I was eight years old, and it’s always been incredibly special to me,” stated Ferrigno. “I had actually never won a class here until today. It’s always been something I wanted. I really wanted to get my blue ribbon at Washington, because it’s such an important horse show to me. Of course, I could count on ‘Queenie’ to do that for me. She’s incredible.”

Queenie was jumping grands prix in Europe when she was imported for Ferrigno to try as a High Junior Jumper candidate. Unfortunately, through the final years of Ferrigno’s junior career, Queenie struggled with injury, so they were unable to realize the potential of their partnership. A year and a half ago Molly Ohrstrom called up Ferrigno to let her know the now 13-year-old Swedish Warmblood mare was ready for one more comeback but at the low amateur level.

“With her record of injuries, I thought she might only stay sound for a summer,” explained Ferrigno. “It was our fairytale that she stayed sound for a year and a half and she’s still perfectly sound to this day. I told Molly all along that after today we would retire and breed her, so this is my last class on her today. I just tried to stay calm and let it happen, but when we came out of the ring, we all cried knowing it was her last class.”

It was a fitting send off for Queenie who bested a 14-horse jump-off and raced through the timers in 25.949 seconds, one second faster than the second-place finisher.

“That’s Queenie’s thing,” smiled Ferrigno. “She is the most incredible horse, and I can always, always count on her to just fly with me. I’m always able to pick up this giant gallop, and I know that if I leave the jumps up no one can beat her.”

In an emotional victory, Ferrigno emphasized her appreciation for her parents, her trainer Val Renihan, and Molly Ohrstrom.

“Molly and I have partnered together on a lot of horses, and her giving this horse to me was just the biggest gift anyone could have ever given me, so I owe her a big ‘thank you,’” she expressed. “Val [Renihan] has been my coach through everything and has always been helping me along with my parents, so it was so great to have them all here for our last hurrah.”

Second place in the classic went to Abigail Gordon and her own Toy Soldier, who won the Best Turned Out Horse of the Day, presented by the Clothes Horse on Thursday with their groom Luis Rodriguez. Their top finish also helped them earn the reserve championship honors. Rounding out the top three was Jaime Auletto with her own Dynamite.

The Delta Trip of the Day went to Luke Jensen and Jamaica in the Washington Equitation Championship Hunter Phase.

Competition at the 2022 WIHS continues Saturday, October 29, with the start of the pony divisions, followed by the Medium and High Junior/Amateur Jumper Classics. Nighttime competition brings the highly anticipated marquee event, the $406,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Washington CSI5*-W for the President’s Cup presented by Experience Prince George’s.