Thermal, CA – December 6, 2024 – Only one more week remains in the 2024 Major League Show Jumping season, and the Trelawny Trailblazers are ready to battle for the top spot in the team standings.
On Friday night, December 6, the Trailblazers team of Natalie Dean, Lillie Keenan and Conor Swail topped the $200,000 MLSJ 5* Team Competition, presented by ClipMyHorse.TV, earning them not only the night’s gold medals but also enough points to move up to third in the MLSJ team standings.
The Trelawny Trailblazers topped the podium in Friday night’s CSI5* MLSJ Team Competition. Photo by High Desert Sport Photo
“It was a very important night for us,” said Swail of the MLSJ team competition held as part of Desert Holiday 1, presented by Brown Advisory, at the Desert International Horse Park. “It is quite exciting as a spectator. There are at least four teams that are capable of winning next week. We do have a very, very strong team.”
On their way to Friday’s win, that team was one of four to stay above the “cutline,” qualifying them to advance out of the first, eight-team opening round to the four-team second round.
“The first round maybe didn’t go the way that we planned,” said Swail, referencing the fact that both he and Keenan had one rail down apiece. “I thought Lillie’s horse [Kick On] jumped great. She was a wee bit unlucky. I made a mistake on that rollback, so it put us on the back foot a little bit. Thankfully, Natalie was super all night, and she kept us in it for that first round. Thankfully, we hung on, and we got into the second phase. Then, it was all good!”
Conor Swail and Casturano. Photo by High Desert Sport Photo
Once they’d made it into the second phase, Dean on Oasis van de Bucxtale, Keenan on Kick On and Swail on Casturano cranked out the clear rounds.
In phase two, Keenan and Swail represented the Trailblazers, with their clear rounds securing a spot for Dean in the gold medal jump-off against Vanessa Hood of Maccabi United.
“I really stepped up my horse this year,” said Keenan of Kick On, owned by Chansonette Farm LLC. “He’d never jumped above a two-star grand prix before I got him…[Now], he’s had some major results, and the team is important for us. So, I had planned to save him for the Trailblazers these two weeks. He’s a super horse, and it’s a lot of fun to be able to gain experience at this level, at this height, with the jump offs.”
Lillie Keenan and Kick On. Photo by High Desert Sport Photo
Following Keenan and Swail, Dean soon turned in the fastest clear, clinching the win for the Trelawny Trailblazers and giving second place to Maccabi United. Finishing in the bronze-medal position were the Northern Lights.
“We really thought that all three horses were in great shape, and we’re all pretty fast riders,” said Dean, in speaking of the decision to utilize her and Oasis van de Bucxtale, owned by Marigold Sporthorses LLC, as the gold-medal anchor riders for the team. “I think I felt a little more confident that, if I had a rail down, I could be quick. I think we had a good strategy there. I really trust Oasis to go fast. I actually felt that I could have been quite a bit faster; I felt like I got stuck in a few of the turns, but she’s naturally such a quick horse I think I put enough pressure on Vanessa that it worked out!”
Natalie Dean and Oasis van de Bucxtale. Photo by High Desert Sport Photo
The result on Saturday night marked the conclusion to an exemplary day for Dean, who also topped the $62,500 CSI2* Hermès Grand Prix aboard Dotcom d’Authuit.
Now, the Trailblazers will focus on Desert Holiday 2’s $1,00,000 CSI5* MLSJ Team Final, presented by Cabana Coast. There, the class is worth double the points of all other team classes held this year – so the overall win, and the generous team bonus prize money, is largely anyone’s game.
At present, Maccabi United leads the way on 107 points, but the DIHP Roadrunners are in a close second with 106 points. The Trailblazers hold third place with 97 points, and the Northern Lights are not far behind them with 94 points. To view the full MLSJ team standings, click here.