DAY TWO: FEI CSI3* Gold, Silver, and Bronze Tours – Cook, Ekeroth, and Fellers Conquer
Karl Cook with Caillou 24, Mattias Ekeroth and Dacarlos, Christopher Fellers aboard Wordsworth II
San Juan Capistrano, CA – The second leg of the FEI CSI3* Gold, Silver, and Bronze Tours competed for speed on Friday in the Blenheim EquiSports Derby Field. Karl Cook and Signe Ostby’s 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding, Caillou 24, topped the field in the 1.45m Gold Tour Speed Stake.
In the 1.40m Silver Tour Speed Stake, Mattias Ekeroth and Dacarlos, the 11-year-old Dutch gelding, led the victory gallop. Following in his father’s hoofsteps, Christopher Fellers took the win with Kimberly Bruce’s 14-year-old Scottish Sport Horse gelding Wordsworth II In the 1.35m Bronze Tour Speed Stake.
The classes commenced with the Bronze Tour, where eighteen horse and rider combinations took the track created by internationally-renowned course designer Leopoldo Palacios. As the class progressed, the top position continued to change as competitors put in faster and faster rounds. Ultimately, Christopher Fellers (USA) and Kimberly Bruce’s big-strided Wordsworth II galloped through the timers in 55.56 seconds, taking the lead and the win away from the second-place finisher, Hillary Ridland (USA) and Wonder Kid, by more than three seconds.
In the FEI CSI3* Silver Tour, twenty-one competitors took the track for the afternoon’s speed competition. The tenth to go in the order, Mattias Ekeroth (SWE), completed the course in an unbeatable time of 59.00 seconds to take the win. The second-to-last in the order, Lindsay Archer (USA) and Jarpur, owned by Rhys Farms, came close to catching Ekeroth, stopping the clock just under two-tenths of a second slower in 59.18 for a second place finish.
The afternoon concluded with thirty horse and riders galloping on the grass in the Gold Tour Speed Stake. Eighteenth in the order, Karl Cook (USA) took advantage of Caillou 24’s giant stride. The pair covered the ground, sailed over the open water, made tidy turns, and had a solid pace throughout to cross the timers in 65.65 seconds. Next in the ring was Cassio Rivetti (BRA) aboard Neil Jones Equestrian’s Kaiser Van Het Lambroeck, who crossed the timers in 67.58 seconds, ultimately earning second place. None of the remaining riders could catch Cook or Rivetti.
The FEI competition continues Friday through Sunday this week. Speed is the name of the game in the second leg of the Bronze, Silver, and Gold Tours on Friday. On Saturday, the Bronze and Silver Tours will conclude with the $10,000 1.40m Bronze Tour Classic and $25,000 1.45m Silver Tour Classic. The $100,000 1.50m Gold Tour Grand Prix will wrap up the FEI CSI3* week on Sunday.
And if you’re not able to attend in person, you can catch the action with a free live stream on the USEF Network.
Karl Cook and Caillou 24 win the $40,000 1.45m Gold Tour Welcome Speed Stake
Click the images below for downloadable results from each class:
Blenheim EquiSports, an equestrian event management company based in San Juan Capistrano, CA, produces events in three locations: San Juan Capistrano, Del Mar and Las Vegas, NV. The events include 19 USEF “Premier” rated hunter-jumper shows featuring five FEI CSI events, including a Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ North American League event; the Markel Insurance 1.45m Jumper Series & Final, Developing Jumper Qualifiers & Championships, USHJA International & National Hunter Derbies, Pony Derby Finals, the Whitethorne Equitation Challenge, Medal Finals and more.