Thermal, Calif. – Skylar Wireman and Tornado took Desert Circuit 2 by storm this week at Desert International Horse Park. The pair kicked off their 2026 season in Thermal, Calif., with three consecutive wins, culminating with a victory in the $75,000 Kubota Grand Prix on January 17.
“I’m feeling fantastic right now!” said Wireman, 21. “[Tornado] feels like he’s just so confident. He’s feeling like he’s ready to rock and roll, and I’m just so happy to be back at the desert.”
Wireman and her 12-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding started the week with wins in the $1,500 1.40m Open Jumpers and the $30,000 FarmVet 1.45m Open Classic before returning to the Grand Prix Stadium on Saturday night to try to make it a hat trick.
After maneuvering the first-round, Cedric Longis-designed course without fault, Wireman and Tornado joined nine additional entries in the jump-off. When Wireman returned to the ring, the time to beat had been set at 37.579 seconds by Belgium’s Gregory Wathelet and his own Argentina de la Marchette.
“I watched Gregory go, and I knew that he was very fast,” said Wireman. “[Argentina] is a very fast mare. She spends no time getting right across the ground. She’s just very efficient. So, I knew that I was going to have to be very fast in order to even potentially catch that.”
With that in mind, Wireman took some risks and trusted the horse that she says, “has the biggest heart in the world.” As she and Tornado left from a long spot and flew over the final vertical, the timers showed 37.435 seconds – a time just fast enough to ultimately clinch them the win.
Wathelet and Argentina de la Marchette held on to second place, and Nicolas Gamboa and Twilight, owned by Ella Heineking, also broke the 38-second mark to take home a close third place on 37.775 seconds.
“Having a horse with a big heart is beyond a gift,” concluded Wireman. “He will try to do everything that I ask. I know that he’s always got me. Like the long one at the last jump tonight: I knew I could trust him there, and he knows that I’m going to keep supporting him…That’s probably the best part about him. It’s the same thing with his mentality on the ground. He’s just so sweet and always wants to please.”
For Wireman and Tornado, Desert Circuit 2, presented by Kubota, served in part as a warm-up for what is to come, including the upcoming week’s CSI5* competition at Desert Circuit 3.
With 10 weeks of top caliber competition, Desert Circuit at Desert International Horse Park continues through March 15, 2026. To view a complete schedule and learn more, visit deserthorsepark.com. To view complete results from Saturday night’s the $75,000 Kubota Grand Prix, click here.