Press release from Desert International Horse Park, edited by World of Showjumping

The first to go was the best to go in the $32,000 BRAINWATER CSI2* 1.45m Speed Stake, with Ireland’s Conor Swail and Theo 160 (Christian x Calando IV) taking home the win on Thursday, January 29, at Desert Circuit 4, presented by La Quinta Resort & Club.

A field of 33 additional entries came after Swail and the 14-year-old Holsteiner gelding, but none of them were able to come within even two seconds of Swail’s 63.19-second leading time. Michelle Berry and Thank You RS (Toulon x Grundsee), owned by Professional Maintenance Systems, came the closest, stopping the clock in 65.98 seconds for second place. Third place with a time of 66.53 seconds went to Karl Cook and Home-Run (Spartacus TN x Concorde), owned by Signe Ostby.

“I thought today Alan [Wade] built a bit of a tougher track,” said Swail of the speed course, set in the Grand Prix Stadium at Desert International Horse Park. “All your sort of turns and rollbacks made it so that the horses saw the jumps a little late. It just made it a little more difficult for the horse to catch the jump and jump it correctly and do everything smoothly.”

Fortunately for Swail, he had his roughly five-year partnership with Theo 160 on his side.

“Myself and Theo have had a great partnership together for many years now,” said Swail. “So, those type of tracks are not maybe as much of a challenge for us because he’s a bit older, and I’m a bit older and wiser. It’s maybe a little less challenging as opposed to a more green horse.”

In speaking of Theo 160, owned by Mannon Farm, Swail continued, “He’s always been a wonderful horse for me. He has jumped CSI5* grand prix when he shouldn’t be, but he does because I asked him to do so. He’s a wonderful little guy. Now I try and aim him at sort of the 1.45m and some 1.50m. You can see he’s still very competitive and great at it. He owes me nothing. He’s been such a great horse for me, it’s great for him to have another win under his belt.”

With 10 weeks of top-caliber competition, Desert Circuit at Desert International Horse Park continues through March 15, 2026.