Two FEI ranking classes were held on Friday, February 23, during the seventh week of the 2018 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, FL. Kristen Vanderveen (USA) and Bull Run’s Faustino de Tili were the winners of the $35,000 Bainbridge 1.45m Jumpers CSI5*, while Francisco Jose Mesquita Musa (BRA) and Sharapova Imperio Egipicio won the $35,000 The Dutta Corp. in association with Guido Klatte 1.45m Jumpers CSI2*.

In the $35,000 Bainbridge 1.45m Jumpers CSI5*, 64 entries in the class competed over a speed course designed by Anthony D’Ambrosio of Red Hook, NY. There were 12 clear rounds, and the fastest of those was Vanderveen on Bull Run’s Faustino de Tili, a 13-year-old Belgian Warmblood stallion by Berlin x Darco owned by Bull Run Jumpers Five LLC, in 63.88 seconds.

Second place went to fellow American rider Andrew Kocher and Kahlua, owned by Top Line Sporthorse International LLC. They stopped the clock in 64.48 seconds. Finishing in 66.88 seconds, Eduardo Menezes (BRA) and Caruschka 2 placed third.

Vanderveen and her impressive grey stallion have now won ten FEI ranking classes since last year’s Winter Equestrian Festival.

“He has been really consistent, especially as my speed horse – which you wouldn’t guess because of how big he is,” she said. “He really likes to have fun, so I find that in the speed classes, he doesn’t fight with me. He’s really game on. He’s looking for the next jump, and it keeps it new and interesting and exciting for him.”

Speaking of the course and how her horse handled it, Vanderveen said, “It’s a long gallop to these verticals. It’s almost with him, the more that you challenge him, the harder that he tries. So I let him kind of run all the way down there. He looked back at it and was like ‘Whoa!’ He got real careful. Near the end of the course, with his big stride – which is unique in a speed horse – he was able to leave out a lot of strides in the last few lines. He’s really good at things like that.”

Vanderveen will aim for the next five-star competition at WEF 9 with this horse. “With him I try and play it a little bit week by week. I think if we do too much with him, then he gets a little bit bored, so we’ll just see how he keeps holding on,” she said.

Source: Press release from Equestrian Sport Productions // Picture © Sportfot