Mark Watring and Green Sleeps Vioco have been competitive since their partnership began in July, but a grand prix win had eluded them until Feb. 26, when they took top honors in the $50,000 Purina Mills Grand Prix CSI-W.

Watring, who represents Puerto Rico, guided the Belgian Warmblood gelding owned by Horseworks Etc. Inc. to the win at HITS Desert Circuit IV in Ther-mal, Calif.

“He’s been knocking on the door for a while, and he finally broke through,” said Watring, of Hidden Valley, Calif.

The field of 30 faced a challenging course in the indoor arena at the HITS Desert Horse Park. Only four horses made it to the jump-off, where Watring and Green Sleeps Vioco (Nabab De Reve—Redgia) rose to the occasion. Watring even claimed to enjoy the demanding course.

“It was a tough track, but I liked the course. When there are too many clears, it turns into a speed class,” he said.

Susie Hutchison and Cantano led off the jump-off with a four-fault effort, setting the pace with a time of 36.38 seconds. Watring went second and also had a rail but posted a time of 35.32 seconds.

“Susie is always quick, so I knew I needed to go fairly fast. Once I had a rail down, I really went for it,” Watring said said. His 13-year-old gelding was game, galloping down the diagonal line, designed to be 11 strides, in nine.

“The crowd got pretty excited,” Watring added.

The last oxer of Marina Azevedo’s course proved to be the downfall for the final two riders. Michelle Vandal on Divina Diva rode a conservative round in 40.77 seconds, and after they pulled a rail at the last fence, they finished fourth. Rich Fellers and Flexible, fresh off of their win in Thursday’s $31,000 HITS Welcome Classic, had a quick time of 35.63 but also accrued 4 faults at the last fence. Their time put them second above Hutchison.
Watring helped his chances of qualifying for the Rolex FEI World Cup Final in Leipzig (Germany) with this win.
He was in fifth in the World Cup standings for the North American West Coast League before this class, and he believes this win moved him into the fourth-placed spot, although, as of press time, FEI standings hadn’t been updated.

“[The win] gears us up for the World Cup because you know those courses will be tough,” he said.

Watring attributed some of his gutsy riding to his past career in eventing. When talking about his daring riding in the jump-off, he simply said, “That’s the event rider coming back out in me.”

Watring has dual citizenship in his native Puerto Rico and the United States. He rode for the U.S. eventing team from 1979 to 1984 and was the alternate for the 1982 World Championships (Germany). In 1984, Watring started representing Puerto Rico in international competition, and he competed in eventing for their Olympic
team in Los Angeles (Calif.) that year.

Watring eventually decided to switch careers from eventing to show jumping and won the individual gold medal in show jumping at the 2003 Pan American Games in the Dominican Republic. He competed in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, this time as a member of the show jumping team.

He and Green Sleeps Vioco have qualified for the Pan American Games (Mexico), which will be held in October. There he hopes to qualify to represent Puerto Rico at the 2012 London Olympics.

For Kelsey Maloney, Horses Are A Family Affair

Kelsey Maloney and Southern Blues had only competed junior hunters twice, but that didn’t stop them from topping the large junior, 15 and under, division at HITS Desert Circuit IV.

After a dominant career in the children’s, 13 and under, division in 2010, the pair was ready to move up to the higher height. “It was nerve wracking the first day, but once I got over the height difference, I was riding like normal,” said Kelsey, 14, of Cardiff By The Sea, Calif. In their first outing at Desert Circuit II, she and “Bruce” earned the reserve championship.

Kelsey and Bruce battled some difficult conditions at the Desert Circuit IV show. Though the wind was gusting, Bruce maintained his calm demeanor and allowed Kelsey to pilot him to the win. “It was pretty windy, so it was difficult to deal with the elements. But he went really well,” she said.

Kelsey and her parents have a shared love of riding. Her father Chris plays polo and sponsors two polo teams, and her mother Laura competes at the Prix St. Georges level in dressage. Kelsey appreciates the support she gets from them and said that her mother is always ringside, watching her ride.

“She’s always there supporting me and helping me before I go in to show,” said Kelsey, who attributes her love of horses to her parents but was determined to make her own path. Though her mother probably would have liked her to do dressage, Kelsey had other plans. “I always wanted to jump,” she said.

Her parents were thrilled when she showed an interest in horses.

“It might be easier logistically if we all rode in the same discipline, but it’s also very cool that we each have our own ‘thing’ and support each other,” said Laura.

Laura even finds that she can apply some of her daughter’s riding practices to her own, though their riding styles differ.

“I can relate to the focus and dedication it takes for Kelsey to compete. It’s fun to share the ups and downs of competition. I’ve learned a lot from watching her train and compete,” she said.

Kelsey has owned Bruce, a 10-year-old Westphalian gelding, for three years.

“He’s a great mover and an awesome jumper. He has a sweet personality, and he’s really cuddly,” said Kelsey.

Grasshopper Hops Back Into The Ring

Bridget Twomey and Grasshopper returned to the show ring in style by winning the adult amateur, 36-45, division at Desert Circuit IV. Both horse and rider recently began showing again after a hiatus from competition.
Twomey purchased Grasshopper (Corland—Gulanda) while he was taking time off to recover from an injury in-curred with his previous owner. The Dutch Warmblood underwent rehab and was able to make a full recovery.
Twomey, 43, had also taken some time off from competition, but she didn’t show any evidence of nerves as she rode for the win in Thermal. The pair won two of the three over fences classes and the adult hunter, 36-45, stakes.

Twomey attributed her win to her 12-year-old gelding. “He was wonderful. The jumps were so colorful, so he paid attention,” said Twomey, Petaluma, Calif.

She also credited her trainer, Beverly Jorvais. “She gives me all the confidence in the world,” Twomey said.
Twomey plans to continue riding in the adult amateur division, but she also likes to compete in some equitation classes. Mainly, she wants to enjoy her horse as much as possible. “He lives on the farm with us, and he’s spoiled rotten,” she said.