Wellington, Fla. – Feb. 3, 2018 – Saturday concluded competition on the grass for Week Four of the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) with the $205,000 NetJets Grand Prix CSI4*, held on the derby field at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival facility. Israel’s 27-year-old Daniel Bluman rode Sancha LS to the top of the leaderboard ahead of seasoned American athletes, Beezie Madden and Margie Engle.
Anderson Lima (BRA) tested 45 riders across his expansive 16-effort track, resulting in nine horse-and-rider combinations advancing to the jump-off, where riders continued to improve with each round. The top spot changed hands consecutively as Engle, Madden and Bluman each bested their predecessor’s time. With the final ride, Ireland’s Richie Moloney delivered a clear round, but was unable to catch the trio’s top times and finished in sixth place.
Now in his eighth season with Sancha LS, Bluman knew he had the opportunity to take more risks than Madden and her younger mount, Con Taggio. He captured the finish just slightly ahead of Madden in 43.39 seconds to take the victory with the 14-year-old mare, owned by Daniel and Steven Bluman andnd Camilo Robayo. Bluman has proved the turf is no test after recently claiming three consecutive FEI wins on the grand prix field at the 2017Hampton Classic Horse Show including the $300,000 Hampton Classic Grand Prix CSI4*.
Madden rode Abigail Wexner’s 8-year-old Con Taggio to a double-clear round in 43.48 seconds, finishing the gelding’s biggest competition to date in second place. The top-ranked woman in the Longines Rankings, Madden, and the Oldenburg gelding have been partnered together for less than a year but have collected impressive international results thus far with top finishes throughout 2017 at Spruce Meadows and a victory in the Silverspoon 1.45m CSI5* at the Brussels Stephex Masters in Belgium.
At 18 years old, Gladewinds Farm Inc.’s Indigo, a Dutch Warmblood stallion, proved that he isn’t one to be forgotten as he jumped a double-clear performance in 44.30 seconds to finish in third place. The veteran duo share eight years of partnership and a long list of top international placings over the years between them with no signs of slowing down after Saturday’s third place finish.
Competition will return to Palm Beach International Equestrian Center on Saturday evening, highlighting the Great Charity Challenge beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the International Arena. WEF Week Five begins Feb. 7 and welcomes CSI5* competition with the $384,000 Fidelity Investments® Grand Prix CSI5* on Saturday, Feb. 10.
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