Edited press release from Kentucky Horse Shows

It was all about speed and accuracy on Saturday night during the Kentucky Spring Horse Show’s main event, the $125,000 Hagyard Lexington Grand Prix CSI3*. A field of international athletes was narrowed down to five combinations for the jump-off, where only the fastest had shot at the podium. As the final pair on course, Venezuela’s Luis Larrazabal galloped home with the winning prize aboard Quick Chick 3 (Quo Vados x Capitol I). They narrowly edged out Germany’s Rene Dittmer and Cody 139 (Casall x Quidam de Revel), beating them by just one second. Savannah Jenkins and Sanella 6 (Solid Gold Z x All Pleasur) took home third place as one of the first to turn in a second clear effort.

“Every time you win a class, it’s an amazing feeling,” expressed Larrazabal after leading the lap of honor. “I’m so grateful for my horses, my team. Without them, this wouldn’t be possible. Quick Chick 3 is very clever and smart and she just wants to win!”

The Bernardo Costa Cabral-designed course tested riders from start to finish with a long bending line to start, a vertical-vertical double combination as the fifth obstacle, and a tight rollback before turning home and finishing over an oxer-vertical-oxer triple combination going towards the gate. Five athletes were able to complete the first round without error, and the tiebreaker asked new questions, beginning with a new vertical and new oxer. It also featured the second half of the triple combination and a long gallop away from the gate over a final delicate vertical.

Four horses turned in a second clear round, with Joao Eduardo Ferreira De Carvalho and Saido (Skill Z x Gottwald) setting the early time to beat with a fault-free effort in 41.83 seconds. He was soon bested by Jenkins and Sanella 6 as they left a stride out to the final vertical and stopped the clock in 41.08 seconds, which would hold up for third. Dittmer and Cody 139 were even faster across the track, edging up the challenge as they cleared the course in 39.55 seconds. Larrazabal was the last to return with Quick Chick 3, and with a quick gallop to the third oxer and an even faster turn to the combination he was able to shave a second off the time while also leaving the fences intact, dashing across the finish line in 38.62 to claim the top prize.

“I was lucky to go at the end, the jump off – that gives you a little bit of advantage,” noted Larrazabal. “I didn’t watch much because I normally try to go too fast, but I know this mare is fast. I took the first distance to the double and I was very fast, so I thought that is where I got the time.”

Quick Chick 3 is a 10-year-old Holsteiner mare who was purchased by owner Victoria Heurtematte last summer. “It’s kind of new for us, but it’s an incredible mare,” he said. “She wants you to just let her do the job. The less you get in the middle the better she jumps, and she knows her job.”

Larrazabal has been showing at the Kentucky Horse Shows for over 15 years and was thrilled to be back at the venue this spring. “I love Kentucky,” he concluded. “When the horses get here they are so peaceful. This place is amazing, and having a chance to win a Grand Prix here on Saturday is just a little extra!”