Darragh Kenny & Eddy Blue. Photo © Sportfot.
Press release from Wellington International, edited by World of Showjumping
Irish Olympian Darragh Kenny took to the International Arena with Eddy Blue (Eldorado vd Zeshoek x Chacco-Blue) to stake their claim on the CSI5* $116,100 Adequan® WEF Challenge Cup Round 7 on Thursday to open Week 7 at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF). Hosting 12 weeks of international competition, WEF runs at Wellington International through March 29 in Wellington, FL.
Eleven advanced to the tiebreaker, and not a stride was out of place for Kenny aboard his 2025 European Championships partner Eddy Blue, a 14-year-old Oldenburg gelding owned by Carol A. Sollak. Over course designer Andy Christiansen’s (ECU) jump-off track, the pair stopped the clock at 37.90 seconds with fellow countryman Bertram Allen (IRL) right behind in 39.12 seconds riding Conquest de Rigo (Fantomas de Muze x Indoctro), a 10-year-old Belgian Warmblood owned by Aloga Stables. Taking third was Charlotte Jacobs (USA) in a time of 40.01 seconds riding North Star’s Playboy JT Z (Presley Boy x Plot Blue), an 11-year-old Zangersheide gelding.
Darragh Kenny and Eddy Blue are presented as winners of the $116,100 Adequan® CSI5* WEF Challenge Cup Round 7 by Chelsea Sinkbeil, Manager of Sponsorship and Events for American Regent™ Animal Health. Photo © Sportfot.
“I knew Bertram's horse has a massive stride; he did seven [strides] from one to two. I wasn't sure if I could do that, but it showed up for me. I think my horse is more experienced than his in jump-offs, so that's probably where it got him,” said Kenny of his jump-off round.
“This is my first week back—Bertram rode Eddy for me recently and did a fantastic job on him,” said the Tokyo Olympian. “The horse feels ready to go, and he was amazing today as he always is. I’m very lucky to have such a fantastic group of owners and staff who kept the horses in great shape. I was lucky Bertram was able to ride them for me—I’m very thankful to everybody who was involved in that.”
With a qualifier win in hand, Kenny will next point Eddy Blue to Saturday Night Lights when five-star action comes to a peak during WEF 7 in the $500,000 Modon CSI5* Grand Prix on February 21 at 7 p.m. ET.
Further down the line, Kenny has his eyes set on the $1M Rolex US Equestrian Open Grand Prix, a Rolex Series event, during the finale week of the 2026 WEF season. “The World Equestrian Games [in Aachen] is also one of our goals this year,” continued Kenny. “But, I’m taking it day by day for now, getting back into the groove of things.”
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