Thermal, CA – December 11, 2024 – A field of 80 entries took on Wednesday, December 11’s $10,000 City of La Quinta Welcome Speed, but no one could catch Mexico’s Patricio Pasquel and Mazatlan PS as they kicked off Desert Holiday 2 with a win.
Patricio Pasquel and Mazatlan PS. Photo by High Desert Sport Photo
After finishing third in the same class last week, Pasquel returned to the Desert International Horse Park’s Grand Prix Stadium motivated to win – and with a slight advantage this time around.
“Last week, I went early in the class,” said Pasquel. “Today, I got to be a bit later in the class, so I saw what they were doing, and we were lucky enough to win.”
When Pasquel and Mazatlan PS entered the ring as the 61st in the order, the time to beat over the Alan Wade and Colm Quinn-designed course had been set at 60.420 seconds by Kyle King and Diamond.
Patricio Pasquel and Mazatlan PS. Photo by High Desert Sport Photo
While no one else would break under 61 seconds, Pasquel managed to make shaving more than a second off King’s time look easy. He and his own Mazatlan PS breezed through the timers in 58.995 seconds to take home the win. King and Diamond, owned by Strasburg Morin Inc., held onto second place, and third place went to Germany’s Steffen Hauter aboard his own Dubai Dreams.
“I think from one to two, I dropped out a stride,” explained Pasquel. “Then, I was really fast to two. [Mazatlan PS] is pretty fast just all around, across the ground, so I was lucky enough to leave them up and then win today.”
Pasquel has had the 8-year-old Hanoverian for the past two years and will next point the gelding at Friday’s $25,000 1.40m Open Classic. While at Desert Holiday 2, Pasquel will also be contesting the Major League Show Jumping Team Final on Saturday and Friday’s $200,000 CSI5* BRAINJAVA Grand Prix.
“I ride for the Archers team,” said Pasquel. “We have a pretty good team and a solid team [showing] this week. So, I hope we win that, and I have a pretty good chance in the $200,000 Classic on Friday, so we’re going to give it a go!”
Second place went to Kyle King and Diamond. Photo by High Desert Sport Photo
For full results of Wednesday’s $10,000 City of La Quinta Welcome Speed, click here.
Jumper highlights of Desert Holiday 2 include Friday’s $200,000 CSI5* BRAINJAVA Grand Prix beginning at 6 p.m and Saturday’s $425,000 MLSJ CSI5* Team Final, which will get underway at 6:30 p.m. To learn more about all that the Desert International Horse Park has to offer, visit deserthorsepark.com.