Arturo Parada Vallejo & Fellow van't Moerven are presented as winners of the $200,000 CSIO4* Grand Prix, presented by JTWG, Inc. by William “Bubba” Harvey, Jacqui and Travis Gould with JTWG, Inc. joined by their family. Photo ©Sportfot.
Press release from Wellington International
Arturo Parada Vallejo (MEX) had a great day Sunday to wrap up his time in Wellington, winning the $200,000 CSIO4* Grand Prix, presented by JTWG, Inc., aboard Fellow van't Moerven during Nations Cup Week at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF). Highlighted by 12 weeks of international competition, WEF runs through March 30 in Wellington, FL.
Parada and David Bustillos’ 15-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (VDL Zirocco Blue x Farmer) were the sole double-clear effort over Nick Granat and Steve Stephens’ (USA) courses. One of four to jump clear over the first track, Parada showed that a clear round was attainable, but he didn’t leave anything to chance come jump-off time.
“My plan is always the same: go as fast as I can,” Parada joked, especially considering he was second of four to jump, so he wasn’t sure how much it would take to win. “Since I know [Fellow] is a big horse with a big stride, I tried to do one less in every line.”
Mark Bluman & S&L Maracana. Photo ©Sportfot.
Both of the final riders were indeed faster, but each one brought one rail down, finishing on fast 4-fault scores. Mark Bluman (COL) captured the second-place position aboard S&L Maracana' (Lucky de Revendy x Pronto), owned by S & L Farms, and Charlie Jones (GBR) was third with Capitale 6 (Cassini I x For Pleasure), owned by Morning Star Sporthorses.
It was luck that brought Fellow van’t Moerven into Parada’s string. Based in Guadalajara, Mexico, Parada works closely with Bustillos in California, splitting his time between top shows in his home country and top shows in the United States.
“This horse came through [Bustillos’ program] and I thought, ‘Yeah I’ll ride it,’” he shared. “It came out of nowhere and it was with an amateur rider. She sent the horse to [Bustillos] and we figured we’d try it.”
Charlie Jones & Capitale 6. Photo ©Sportfot.
There were two reasons the horse stood out: “A: he was available,” Parada continued. “B: it has a lot of strength, it’s really brave, and really straightforward. I like those kinds of horses.”
The pieces fell into place quickly, and a win at the four-star level proves this pair—only matched together last fall—do suit one another. “[The horse] responds well every time a question is asked,” he went on about the horse’s way of going. “We understood each other really quickly and even though he’s not the fastest horse, he’s responding well to one stride less or a quick turn.”
The week was already a good one for Parada, who jumped for Mexico in Saturday night’s CSIO4* Nations Cup, presented by Florida Coast Equipment, on the same horse. But the result Sunday pushed it into truly special territory.
“Winning any grand prix is really nice, but this is especially nice but this is great because it’s a top start list of riders,” he remarked about his win. “The course was not built to be an easy win, and giving a win to Mexico outside of Mexico is always really special so I’m really emotional.”
Arturo Parada Vallejo & Fellow van't Moerven. Photo ©Sportfot.
Among other winners were Lillie Keenan (USA), who was honored as the Martha Jolicoeur, Douglas Elliman Leading Lady Rider for her brilliant performances across international classes for the week. Cian O’Connor was awarded the Niall Grimes “Cheers” Perpetual Trophy as the top money-earning Irish competitor during CSIO week at WEF.
Parada's grooms, Edgar Ramiro Minero and Gerson Ramos, were presented with the $500 Double H Farm Grooms Award after the win in recognition of their care of Fellow van't Moerven.
Then