Waverly Ernst of Douglas Elliman Real Estate and daughter with Lorenzo De Luca. Photo © Sportfot.
Edited press release from Equestrian Sport Productions
A whopping 77 elite entries closed out Friday in the International Arena for the $37,000 Douglas Elliman Real Estate 1.45m CSI4*. Vaillancourt produced one final large track which pinned competitors against the time-allowed of 77 seconds and was designed as a single-round speed class. The day’s only international event featured some of the best athletes, as representatives from 17 individual nations vied for the podium position.
Italy’s Lorenzo De Luca took the early lead in the class as one of the first 10 competitors to cross under the PBIEC bridge, setting an intense challenge for the rest of the field from the start. Each combination from then on out did their best to match or best De Luca’s time with Dirka De Blondel, but even the closest pair added almost an entire second to the clock from their time of 57.60 seconds.
Lorenzo De Luca and Dirka De Blondel win again. Photo © Sportfot.
“She is very, very fast,” De Luca said of the Poden Farms’ nine-year-old Selle Francais mare (Very Berlin De Castel x Lauterbach). “Last week I tried to override her a few times, and I had a rail down. Today, I just let her be a bit more, and everything went quite smooth and also fast, so I was very happy with her.”
Since acquiring the mare at the beginning of the 2022 WEF season, De Luca has already had several wins credited to his name including a top finish in the $1,000 Bainbridge Companies 1.40m CSI4* during WEF 3 and in the $37,000 Bainbridge Companies 1.45m CSI5* during WEF 7.
“She is a work in progress but everything she is doing, she is doing amazingly well,” he added. “She is definitely a winner, and we are all very excited for her future. I thought today’s course was technical, but I can’t complain because it seemed pretty perfect for us.”
Young rider Natalie Dean (USA) overcame the large field to take the second-place honors aboard the Marigold Sporthorses, LLC’s entry Kamilla D. Dean also went early in the class and produced a top performance in 58.51 seconds on the 11-year-old SCSL mare (Kashmir Van Schuttershof x Canturo*bois Margot). Jumping into third was Jiminy Cricket of Evergate Stables, LLC, with Nayel Nassar (EGY). Nassar and the 11-year-old Westphalian gelding (Colestus x Cornet Obolensky) were just a hair slower than Dean with their finishing time of 58.67 seconds.
Final Results: $37,000 Douglas Elliman Real Estate 1.45m CSI4*
1. DIRKA DE BLONDEL: 2013 Selle Francais mare by Very Berlin De Castel x Lauterbach
LORENZO DE LUCA (ITA), Poden Farms: 0/57.60
2. KAMILLA D: 2011 SCSL mare by Kashmir Van Schuttershof x Canturo*bois Margot
NATALIE DEAN (USA), Marigold Sporthorses, LLC: 0/58.51
3. JIMINY CRICKET: 2011 Westphalian gelding by Colestus x Cornet Obolensky
NAYEL NASSAR (EGY), Evergate Stables, LLC: 0/58.67
4. FECYBELLE: 2010 KWPN mare by Carambole x Sjapoo
KARL COOK (USA), Helen Signe Ostby: 0/58.87
5. ATOUT DES TRAMBLES: 2010 Selle Francais gelding by Nectar Des Forets*hn x Apache D’Adriers
NICOLE WALKER (CAN), Nicole Walker: 0/58.99
6. THEO 160: 2012 Holsteiner gelding by Christian 25 x Calando IV
CONOR SWAIL (IRL), Team Philippaerts: 0/58.99
7. CASSINA Z: 2010 Zangersheide mare by Casado v’t Gelutt Z x Lux
PETRONELLA ANDERSSON (SWE), Stephex Stables: 0/59.41
8. NADAL HERO & DB: 2013 BWP stallion by Kannan x Polydor
CONOR SWAIL (IRL), Conor Swail: 0/58.99
9. FIESTAMUNDE: 2010 KWPN mare
JULIAN COURNANE (IRL), Julian Cournane: 0/61.43
10. NICKEL DE LA ROQUE: 2013 BWP gelding by Elvis Ter Putte x Kannan*GFE
MARIE HECART (FRA), Normandie Connection: 0/62.15
11. CLAPTONN MOUCHE: 2012 Selle Francais gelding by Conrad x Elan de la Cour
PETRONELLA ANDERSSON (SWE), Stephex Stables: 0/62.51
12. EL BALOU OLD: 2012 OS stallion by Eldorado vd Zeshoek x Balou Du Rouet
DAVID O’BRIEN (IRL), Chansonette Farm LLC: 0/62.87
Then