Press release from Traverse City Horse Shows, edited by World of Showjumping

Lillie Keenan (USA) held off a star-studded field on Thursday to win the $32,000 Traverse City Record-Eagle CSI5*-W 1.45m Speed aboard Opium JW van de Moerhoeve TN (Kannan X Nabab De Reve) to open competition during the second week of the Traverse City Tournament of Champions, featuring the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ – Traverse City. 

Keenan and her 11-year-old Belgian-bred stallion stepped into the Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel International Ring seventh in the order and set a time to beat of 59.56 seconds. Fifty more combinations challenged her, but none could catch Opium’s foot speed. 

“When you go early and there’s that many in it, you don’t expect to win at the end, but it was enough today,” Keenan, who has set a goal to qualify for the 2026 FEI World Cup™ Final in Fort Worth, TX, said.  “The final in our home country is absolutely on the list of goals. There are a lot of important things for us next year, but I would love to be in Fort Worth.”

The closest to Keenan’s time was fellow U.S. rider Richard Spooner aboard Lyjanair (Lyjanero x Coriano), stopping the clock at 59.91 seconds. Daniel Bluman (ISR) rounded out the podium in third with Gemma W (Luidam x Unaniem) in a time of 60.82 seconds. 

“If you don’t win the first class, you can’t win them all, so it’s a good way to start the week,” laughed Keenan after pocketing her fifth five-star podium throughout the last month.   

“The course was inviting because Opium doesn’t necessarily have the largest stride, but he has a lot of foot speed,” said Keenan after tackling Guilherme Jorge’s (BRA) one-round speed test. “Typically, if I lose speed it’s because he jumps too high and I waste time in the air. This course had a lot of opportunities to turn back and make up time in a turn, so even though he jumps so high, I could be efficient in the corners.”  

Opium will next contest the qualifier for Sunday’s Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ – Traverse City, in which Keenan will pilot her other stallion, Kick On. “I’ve been going to a lot of shows back-to-back recently, which is a big ask for my team,” said Keenan – currently ranked within the top 30 in the world – of her recent tour that included a summer competing on the European circuit. “They have done a lot to make this possible, so it’s nice to have wins along the way.” 

Back-to-back weeks of five-star competition continues at Traverse City Horse Shows, culminating this week in the $340,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ – Traverse City on Sunday.