Carlos Hank Guerriero and H5 Chacco-San, winners of the $62,500 Hermés CSI5* 1.50m Classic. Photo © Sportfot.
Edited press release from Wellington International
At the 2024 Winter Equestrian Festival, week 7's five-star show jumping came to a close in the International Arena with 55 pairings geared up to race against the clock in the $62,500 Hermés CSI5* 1.50m Classic. Once again, 11 duos did their all to advance on to the jump-off, but none proved to match the time of Carlos Hank Guerriero (MEX) and H5 Chacco-San. The jump-off featured a lineup of heavy hitters including Olympic Champion Ben Maher (GBR), Saturday Nights grand prix victor Richard Vogel (GER) and Canada’s Erynn Ballard (CAN) to name a few. However, Guerriero’s blazing-fast time of 34.22 seconds left him leading the way in the victory gallop.
“Honestly he tried so hard for me out there,” Guerriero gushed. “I have a very, very quick horse and I know normally if I do the same strides as most horses, he's almost always quicker than them. I knew if I tried to do something similar to Ben’s round, I could be faster.”
Carlos Hank Guerriero and H5 Chacco-San are presented as winners of the $62,500 Hermés CSI5* 1.50m Classic by Leah Rogers Meierfeld, Client Development Manager, Equestrian for Hermès. Photo © Sportfot.
Guerriero has been partnered with H5 Sport Horses LLC’s 13-year-old Hannoverian gelding (Chacco-Blue x Sandro Boy) for close to five years and the two have risen together to be incredibly competitive at the five-star level.
“He's such a competitive horse at this level that we are trying to pick and choose what competitions we put him in,” he explained. “If you point him at the jump, he will do his best to clear it. His mentality is amazing; he's so careful but he's almost more brave than careful sometimes. He's a great partner for these classes.”
The ever-impressive Maher and his, Charlotte Rossetter and Pamela Wright’s 14-year-old KWPN stallion, Faltic HB (Baltic VDL x Concorde) trailed just off Guerriero’s time after stopping the clock in 34.74 seconds. Egypt’s Nayel Nassar made it a truly international podium by posting the third-fastest time with Evergate Stables LLC’s nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, ESI Ali (Stakkato Gold).
The 2024 Hermès 1.50m Championship Jumper Series will take place weekly throughout WEF, culminating during Week 11’s Saturday Night Lights with $150,000 in prize money. Riders who consistently compete in the series will accumulate points towards the series’ title, a $10,000 Hermès store credit and a bespoke Hermès horse rug.
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