Katie Laurie (AUS) and Shawn Casady (USA) Emerge Victorious During Desert Circuit VI
Photo © ESI Photography
For Immediate Release
THERMAL, Calif. – March 4, 2021 – Show jumping competition resumed during Week VI of Desert Circuit with the $25,000 Farmvet Grand Prix and the $5,000 FEI 1.40m CSI3*, sponsored by Premiere Equine Center, held in the Grand Prix Stadium. After her win in Wednesday’s Welcome Speed, Katie Laurie (AUS) and McCaw MNVZ claimed another victory in the $25,000 Farmvet Grand Prix. Shawn Casady (USA) and Lyranta Van’t Gebroekt (Lord Chin x Gyranta) captured the win in the $5,000 FEI 1.40m CSI3*.
The Grand Prix welcomed thirty horse and rider combinations to challenge course designer Alan Wade’s (IRL) twelve obstacle track. Featuring three combinations and creative turns, riders were tested on their efficiency and accuracy while racing against the clock to put up the best time. Fifth in the order of go, Alexis Sokolov and her own mount Fasole Du Seigneur were first to go clear and set the Roeckl Gloves Time to Beat at 68.248 seconds.
Photo © ESI Photography
Only two riders would best Sokolovs time, Kyle King and Coffee To Go stopped the clock at 65.475 seconds to take over the first place position. The pair held the lead until the seventeenth in the order, Laurie and McCaw MNVZ. The pair was able to leave out a stride and stop the timers at 65.391, just tenths of a second faster than King.
“It was a really nice speed course, I thought. I watched Kyle [King] go and he is always really fast. I just made sure I took one out down the first line and then I could keep going from there,” narrated Laurie. “I actually got my whip tangled going to the liverpool so I was a tiny bit slow but I tried to make it up by the end.”
Owned by Carissa McCall, Laurie’s mount McCaw MVNZ is a twelve-year-old New Zealand Warmblood gelding. The pair have been partnered for some time now and have had numerous successes. “He is just really competitive, really careful, and super brave. When you watch him go it doesn’t seem like he knows where he is going but when he gets there, he is so sharp and fast. He is a super cool horse,” said Laurie.
King and Coffee To Go were awarded second place for their efforts. Coffee to Go is a twelve-year-old Westphalian gelding owned by Spruce Meadows LTD. Finishing off the top three was Sokolov and her mount Fasole Du Seigneur, a ten-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding, for their time.
Photo © ESI Photography
The FEI competition consisted of thirty athletes who contested the 1.40m course built by Wade. The class was formatted as a two phase special; phase one had obstacles from one through six with a time allowed of forty seconds. After fence six, riders continued directly onto phase two. With a thirty-four second time allowed, riders jumped fences seven through eleven and officials used phase two’s time to determine the winner.
Casady was tenth in the order of go on his first mount Captain Jack and mastered the course with a phase two time of 33.75 seconds. He bested his original time with his second mount Lyranta Van’t Gebroekt. The pair conquered the field with a quick time of 25.28 seconds to claim the winning title.
Photo © ESI Photography
“I rode some of the tracks earlier in the day. I was thinking I could get four strides off the double combination. I went for two strides and realized I need to fit in three more strides. She fit it in well. I watched a bunch of people do seven strides in the last line. I asked a few people who rode the course and they said I could probably do six strides. I know the horse, so I was confident in riding in six,” recounted Casady. “I didn’t want to be seconds not trying my best. I got a little bit lucky; I was a little sharp off the ground with my hand and she rubbed the front rail. It was a nailbiter.”
Casady’s mount Lyranta Van’t Gebroekt is a ten-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare owned by Stephex Stables. The pair were just recently matched in October of 2020 and Casady has enjoyed his time getting to know her.
Photo © ESI Photography
“She has a crazy amount of scope, loves to be careful, and is as brave as it gets. When I first started riding her I thought she was a bigger and slower type of horse, but she keeps beating second place by multiple seconds,” expressed Casady. “She always has the time. She covers so much ground; you can leave out strides. I’m just having a really great time working with her.”
Second place in the FEI competition was awarded to Mavis Spencer (USA) aboard Georgy Maskrey-Segesman’s Castelissimo for their phase two time of 27.61 seconds. Castelissimo is a ten-year-old Holsteiner gelding by Castelan 3 out of T-clintissma. Completing the podium was USA’s Susan Artes and California Sunshine (Captain Future Z x Nashville), an eight-year-old mare owned by Alix Fargo, with a speedy time of 27.77 seconds in phase two.
Show jumping competition will continue Friday in the Grand Prix Stadium with the $36,600 FEI 1.50m CSI3*.
For full results of the $25,000 Farmvet Grand Prix, please visit Showgrounds Live.
For full results of the $5,000 FEI 1.40m CSI3*, please visit Showgrounds Live.
About the Desert International Horse Park
With nearly 1.3 million square feet of competition and riding space, the Desert International Horse Park is one of the largest equestrian facilities in North America. Offering multiple weeks of world-class equestrian competition from October through March, the facility is a destination location for thousands of equestrians, their horses, family and friends for several months annually. Competitors from all over the world travel to Thermal, CA to not only compete but to enjoy everything the desert has to offer.