Thermal, Calif. – November 7, 2026 – Shawn Casady and Cool Quarz galloped away with the first FEI grand prix win of the 2026-2027 Desert International Horse Park season on Saturday, November 7. For the first time, National Sunshine Series 2, presented by Frank & Eileen, hosted CSI3* competition, and it all culminated on Saturday night with a thrilling victory for Casady in the $117,000 CSI3* Frank & Eileen Grand Prix.
The results of the class came down to a nine-horse jump-off over a track set in the Grand Prix Stadium by course designer Colm Quinn. Ireland’s James Chawke and One Edition were the fourth pair to return, and they set the early time to beat at a quick 39.66 seconds. Zazou Hoffman and Bloom du Plessis were the very next duo in the ring, and they kept things interesting by stopping the clock at 39.68 seconds – just two hundredths of a second off Chawke’s time.
Shawn Casady and Cool Quarz. Photo by High Desert Sport Photo
Two entries later, Casady and Cool Quarz, owned by Morning Star Sporthorses, cruised through the timers and straight to the top of the leaderboard with a time of 38.72 seconds. That time held up for the win, while second place with a time of 39.29 seconds went to the penultimate pair to jump, Kaitlin Campbell and Cosm Questa VD Heffinck, owned by Mirasol Equestrian. Chawke and One Edition, owned by Vanessa Mannix, held on to third place, and Hoffman and Bloom du Plessis took home fourth.
“[Cool Quarz]’s foot speed naturally isn’t really the fastest, but he has a big stride,” said Casady. “I have to be really tight. I just try to stay inside everybody else’s footprints.”
Shawn Casady, Kaitlin Campbell and James Chawke topped the podium. Photo by High Desert Sport Photo
In speaking of the 14-year-old Holsteiner gelding, known as “Frank” in the barn, Casady continued, “Frank has a really, really high sense of empathy. He really listens to your breathing, your mood; he’s sensitive. He’s a finesse ride, and he has a massive stride, so I can do all the leave-outs. He has 1.60m scope all day long, and he’s just a little guy. I’m not a big guy either. So, I think we have a good match together.”
Casady first got the ride on Frank in the fall of 2023, riding the horse for Karrie Rufer while Rufer was out of the saddle for the birth of her first child. After some time apart, Casady and Cool Quarz reunited again, and Casady said, “We just kind of spent the summer getting back to where we left off, and it feels good! We have a couple of CSI5*s coming up. It’s a lot of jumping to try to do all of them; so, I’ll pick and choose over the next couple months. Hopefully by then I’ll have an idea of what we’ll want to shoot for in the summer, and then I’ll use the end of circuit to project toward that.”
Shawn Casady and Cool Quarz topped the $117,000 CSI3* Frank & Eileen Grand Prix. Photo by High Desert Sport Photo
For now though, Casady is happy to be back at Desert International Horse Park for the start of the new season.
“It’s like a big reunion,” concluded Casady, “Everybody gets to hang out, and it’s always fun. What I’ve noticed is everybody’s happy to be here. Everybody was looking forward to it, and I think everybody’s having a good time.”
For complete results from the $117,000 CSI3* Frank & Eileen Grand Prix, click here, and head to DesertHorsePark.com to learn more about all competition at Desert International Horse Park.