Press release from Jump Media / Washington International Horse Show

The 2024 Washington International Horse Show (WIHS), presented by MARS Equestrian™ had a full day of competition on Friday, October 25, from junior hunters and equitation to five-star show jumping.

The highlight class of Friday’s schedule was the $63,000 FEI Speed Final, and it came down to one of the last entries in the class to show the fastest track over the course set by Nick Granat (USA). Conor Swail and his veteran campaigner Count Me In, owned by Mannon Farm and Sandy Lupton, squeaked into the winner’s spot with a time of 61.24 seconds, less than two-tenths of a second faster than McLain Ward (USA) and First Lady, owned by Robin Cleary Parsky, who recorded a time of 61.40 seconds. Simon McCarthy (IRL) and Narcotique v/h Dingeshof, owned by Ilan Ferder, had the fastest time of the night, but with one rail down converted to three extra seconds, they finished third in a total time of 62.23 seconds.

“I was lucky enough I was able to see most of the riders,” explained Swail. “I saw McLain and Simon going, and I thought Laura actually had a great round early on. I was very lucky I rode ‘Crosby’ today. He's very careful and a serial winner, so it's very nice to know that if I give him a good opportunity to do everything right, he normally repays me.”

Swail has been riding Crosby, a Hanoverian gelding by Count Grannus x Sherlock Holmes, for more than three years, and the pair has won 26 FEI classes together. Along with Crosby at WIHS, Swail also has Vital Chance de la Roque, aka “Vinny.”

“They are kind of my two old timers; one is 17 and the other is 15, so they are getting to the twilight of their career, but they are still competing at a very high level for me,” said Swail, who won the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Washington CSI5*-W in 2022 with Crosby. “They are all healthy and jumping very well for me, so I’m enjoying life at the moment.”

Swail noted that WIHS is on his calendar every year, thanks to the fantastic prize money and the opportunity to earn World Cup qualifying points. “If you win here, you deserve it,” he remarked. “It's nice we have a good group of riders here, a lot of top riders. It's always nice to compete against the best.”

WIHS donated $25,000 to its military partner, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, thanks to clear rounds over the TAPS jump.

In a new class added to the FEI division for international jumpers at WIHS, the $32,000 Two Phase presented by Nissan of Bowie hosted 21 entries in a format that brings speed into the equation halfway through the course. Finding the clear ride in the fastest second-half time was Jessica Mendoza (GBR) on her own In the Air, who sped through in 32.32 seconds. Just behind them in 32.79 seconds were Jordan Coyle (IRL) and King Kannan GP, owned by Elan Farm. Carly Anthony (USA) and Jet Blue, owned by Portfolio Horses LLC, finished third with a time of 32.47 seconds.

“The two phase actually worked in my favor today because I rode her in the costume class yesterday,” said Mendoza, who placed third in the Accumulator class. “She went fast, so it was nice to get the first seven or eight jumps just getting her back and not rushing. Then getting to do the last few jumps fast is always fun with her.”

Mendoza found “Fly,” an 11-year-old KWPN mare by Air Jordan x Indoctro, in Holland and ended up also purchasing her half brother out of the same dam from their breeder. “She's incredible,” said Mendoza, who is competing at WIHS for the first time. “She's so athletic; she's like a little cat when she jumps. She's been great because I can use her for all of the speed classes, and she can be used for a big class. She's very useful to me and so careful and wonderful.”