Wellington, Fla.—Jan. 31
For Marie Hecart it was a night of firsts. The $372,000 Grand Prix CSI-W***** marked her first ever five-star victory, and it was also the first Saturday night class she’s topped at the Winter Equestrian Festival.
“Always something would happen, I’d have a rail down in the jump-off, or we were not fast enough,” said Hecart, who rides for France. “I don’t know why it happened tonight, but my horse was amazing. This day is really important to me. We’ve always been close, but we couldn’t win.”
Hecart and her partner for the win, Myself de Breve, had to fight their way to the top of the leaderboard in a 10-horse jump-off. No one had gone clear by the time they took a turn, sixth in the short course order of go, but they still had speed demons Eric Lamaze on Fine Lady 5, Kent Farrington on Willow, and Ben Maher on Diva III to come.
“I said, ‘I can’t go over my speed because then she gets really excited, and I could have a rail down,” said Hecart. “I wasn’t so fast in the beginning, and then I took a chance at the last one. It wasn’t really fast, so it was good that Eric had a rail.”
Lamaze, who’s been riding a hot winning streak, had a fence down early in his jump-off round, and Maher elected not to try and run for victory. Hecart’s time of 38.61 seconds bested Maher’s by nearly two seconds (40.55).
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“It was one of those jump-offs where the horses come back for the jump-off not necessarily tired, but maybe they’re not jumping quite as well,” said Great Britain’s Maher. “It was big money, a lot of people making mistakes. It’s not in my nature to play it a bit safe, but I decided to play it a bit safe and take home a check.”
Canada’s Lamaze would have had the win on his time (36.54 seconds), but his rail relegated him to third this time. Kent Farrington and Willow also had the time (36.79), but they pulled one rail, the final fence, as well to finish fourth.
“I wasn’t unhappy to be behind Marie and Ben,” Lamaze said. “When you go at speed, you need a little luck, and that’s the way it goes. There’s no shame in being third on this circuit.”
Hecart’s ridden the now 15-year-old Selle Francais (Quidam de Revel—Arpege de Coudre, Grand Veneur) since the mare was 4.
“We know each other really well now, and she’s been more and more consistent,” said Hecart. “The older she gets, the better she gets. It’s really nice to have her out competing.
“It’s always really nice to ride here on Saturday,” she continued. “She loves it here, and she loves the noise, and the crowd and the night. She jumps even better at night.”
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This class marked the first of four five-stars here at WEF, and tonight’s track was designed by Guilherme Jorge. There were some surprises in the field, with experienced pairs pulling multiple rails. Laura Kraut and Cedric seemed to misjudge a distance, and Kraut tumbled over the gelding’s head as he stopped. Kelsey Thatcher also popped off Athena at the final line, fence 14ab, on the first course.
“I walked the course, and I thought it was quite big, to be honest,” said Maher. “I thought it was long, and I thought the horses would get tired, and it was a little twisty here and there. I thought it was a great course. The jump-off was quite simple—really straight lines but a little angle here and there. The combinations jumped really well.”
A double of verticals set at the end of the first track fell multiple times, but otherwise rails were spread throughout.
“I didn’t think 10 would be clear,” said Hecart. “I thought many more people would jump clear. I really think Guilherme’s courses are really good for horses. He always finds a way to make horses have some rails, but the combinations aren’t too hard for the horses. He finds a way to have a nice number in the jump-off. I really liked it.”
