Thermal, Calif. – Jamie Sailor wrapped up a successful season at Desert International Horse Park with one final victory in the $10,000 1.40m Open Speed Stake on Sunday, March 29. Sailor and her winning mount, Jaguar Fighter Go, were the first to go and the best to go in the class held on the concluding day of Desert Spring Fling 2.
“Always when I go first in the order, I say in my head, ‘Go first, get first!’ That’s my little saying,” said Sailor. “Don’t hold back, put the pressure on everyone else that’s going to be behind me. There were 27 in the class, and I knew there were some fast riders behind me. I said, ‘I’ve got nothing to lose. It’s the last day of Spring Fling 2 and the whole Circuit, so let’s go for it, buddy!’ [Jaguar Fighter Go] was right there with me the whole way, and I’m super proud of that.”
With strides left out throughout the Steffen Bühling-designed course in the Grand Prix Stadium, Sailor and Jaguar Fighter Go set the time to beat at a quick 62.464 seconds. Throughout the remainder of the class, no one would come within even a second of that time. Coming the closest and taking second place with a time of 63.826 seconds were Simon Schroeder and NKH Cento Blue, owned by The Bridgeport Group LLC. Britt Scheifele and her own Querido van het Geinsteinde finished in third with a time of 63.928 seconds.
“During the course walk, I definitely thought one more stride than I ended up doing throughout basically the entire course,” said Sailor. “As he started to relax and open up the canter, we did one less over to the double, one or two less over to the oxer, two less over to the vertical…and then the rollback I was quite tidy, and he really trusted me there. It was a little bold. Then I said, ‘Okay, we got one less to the last!’ He’s quite fast so it’s fun to feel. Even though he’s a big horse, I can trust his foot speed, and we won today by leaving out a lot of strides.”
Sailor has only been partnered with Jaguar Fighter Go, owned by Arturo Parada Vallejo, for a few weeks, but she has already thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding.
“He’s a big guy, but he’s a bit sensitive. So, I have been trying to find the right amount of tension that he wants on the rein contact and the right leg pressure,” explained Sailor. “I’m just trying to be a little bit more delicate. It’s been fun getting to know him and where he wants to be placed at the jump.”
Sailor concluded, “I don’t what the future really holds for us, but we’ll see! I’m happy with the whole circuit here. It’s been an amazing circuit, this week in particular. All the clients rode well. It’s always so much fun in the desert. It’s beautiful weather today. I couldn’t ask for more!”
To view full results from the $10,000 1.40m Open Speed Stake, click here.