Thermal, Calif. – As Ali Ramsay came down to the final fence of the $32,000 Frontier Farms CSI3* Welcome Speed, the Canadian rider decided to leave nothing to chance. With an extra stride left out, she and Bonita VH Keizershof Z flew over the finish in 61.85 seconds to take the win on Wednesday, March 4, at Desert International Horse Park.
Ramsay and “Bonita” were the 30th of 31 entries to tackle the featured class on day one of CSI3* competition at Desert Circuit 9, presented by Marshall+Sterling. For the vast majority of the class, Camilo Rueda and Indus van het Keysereyck sat atop the leaderboard with a time of 65.43 seconds, but as it came down to the final seven riders to jump, the lead changed three times in rather rapid succession.
The Netherlands’ Mathijs van Asten and Vedet DK Z, owned by Van Shadow Stables LLC, were the first pair to shave off just enough time to take over Rueda’s lead, stopping the clock in 65.31 seconds.
Then, just four trips later, it was Conor Swail and Theo 160’s turn. The notoriously fast duo made besting Vedet DK Z’s time look easy, cruising through the timers in 62.41 seconds. Their lead would not last for long, however, as Ramsay was the next in the ring, and she saw Swail’s significantly faster time as an opportunity to rise to the challenge.
“I pretty much rode my plan. The only ad lib that I did was that I initially thought maybe I would stay safe and do the 10 to the last jump,” said Ramsay. “Then, I don’t know, I guess I watched Conor go. I knew he was fast, and I guess it changed my mind. The way that the line rode before it, I just kind of saw the opportunity and thought that I should do one less stride there!”
It proved to be the right decision as it ultimately secured the win for Ramsay and her longtime partner, the 15-year-old Zangersheide mare, Bonita. Swail and Theo 160, owned by Mannon Farm, held on to second place, and van Asten rounded out the top three.
Now, Ramsay will turn her attention with Bonita to Saturday morning’s $117,000 Marshall+Sterling CSI3* Grand Prix, one of the highlight events of Desert Circuit 9. To view the week’s full schedule, head to deserthorsepark.com/events, and to find the complete results from Wednesday’s $32,000 Frontier Farms CSI3* Welcome Speed, click here.