Thermal, Calif. – Melody Liu has seen great results on the Grass Field at Desert International Horse Park this season, and that proved to be the case again on Sunday, March 15. Liu and her newest mount, Helwell du Chabus, concluded Desert Circuit 2026 with victory in the $40,000 FarmVet 1.45m Open Classic.
Liu and Helwell du Chabus have only been partnered for a few short months and are still working to get to know one another, but it all came together for them in Sunday’s jump-off. Liu and the 13-year-old Belgian Sport Horse mare, owned by Corsari Equestrian LLC, were the final of four entries to jump-off, and they flew to the win in 46.33 seconds.
Taking home a close second place on 46.84 seconds was Kyle King aboard Ninja BF, owned by Richard Kirby. Third place went to Megan Garcia and her own Bentlis with a time of 48.821 seconds, and Alexandra Biederman and Nicky van de Start Z took fourth with just one rail down in the jump-off.
“I’ve only had this horse for three-ish months, and I’ve only ridden her for about a month,” said Liu, who explained that the mare colicked not long after Liu got her. “We ended up giving her about a month and a half off.
“She’s a very nervous horse,” said Liu of Helwell du Chabus, who was previously competed up to the CSI5* level with Germany’s Sophie Hinners and Jur Vrieling of the Netherlands. “She did all the big stuff…but I got her, and she’s just a little bit anxious. A month ago, I couldn’t hack her around without her running off with me. At home it’s a lot of lunging and groundwork, not a whole lot of riding. So, I really don’t get to practice with her. Which I mean, how much practice was I going to really get in one month? We’ve just been kind of winging it at the horse show, and she’s really starting to trust me and her personality is coming out. I’m really excited. She’s so talented and so careful, and then she was amazing in the jump-off today.”
For complete results from the $40,000 FarmVet 1.45m Open Classic, click here.
Sunday, March 15, marked the conclusion of the 10-week 2026 Desert Circuit, but the Desert International Horse Park season continues through March 29 with two weeks of Desert Spring Fling. To learn more and to view full schedules, click here.