Thermal, Calif. – James Chawke picked up at Desert Spring Fling 2 right where he left off at Desert Spring Fling 1. The Irish rider closed out the first week of spring shows at Desert International Horse Park with a win, and he returned to the Grand Prix Stadium on Wednesday, March 25, to do it again. This time, Chawke took the top honor in the $7,500 Horseflight 1.30m Welcome Speed aboard Kazelli VDL, owned by Chandler Meadows.
“That was actually the first time I’ve ever shown the horse,” said Chawke of Kazelli VDL. “I’m just jumping it in a couple of classes for Conor [Swail] [and owner Chandler Meadows]. I thought the course all came up nicely and rode well. There were nice inside turns, and you could kind of do one less in a bunch of the lines.”
As the 26th of 39 entries to take on Wednesday morning’s speed track, Chawke took advantage of the inside turns and leave-outs to take over the lead in a time of 55.507 seconds. The notably fast rider made it look easy, as though he and Kazelli VDL had been partnered far longer than their first ride together just a day prior. That was, at least, until the final fence on course.
“We parted ways, but thankfully it was after the timers!” said Chawke. “When she came to the last, she twisted a wee bit, and I lost my stirrup. Then I realized we were parting ways, so I held on until after the timers and tried to fall off gracefully.”
With Chawke successfully hanging on through the finish, he and the 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare secured the win. Second place with a time of 55.993 seconds went to Justin Prather and Grazie, owned by Bradon Equestrian LTD. Tammy Chipko finished in third place with a time of 56.492 seconds aboard her own Hesmee.
Second place went to Justin Prather and Grazie.
For complete results of the $7,500 Horseflight 1.30m Welcome Speed, click here.
Competition at Desert Spring Fling 2 – the final week of the 2025-2026 Desert International Horse Park season – continues through Sunday, with highlights including Friday night’s $75,000 Platinum Performance Grand Prix. To learn more and to view a complete schedule, visit deserthorsepark.com.