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Beezie Madden and Breitling LS Are Best at Washington International Horse Show

Beezie Madden. Photo by Shawn McMillen Photography.

Washington, D.C. – October 27, 2018 – The 60th Anniversary Washington International Horse Show (WIHS) came to a peak on Saturday, October 27, with a victory for reigning FEI Jumping World Cup™ champions Beezie Madden (USA) and Breitling LS in the $135,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Washington, presented by Events DC. Earlier in the evening, 16-year-old Elli Yeager claimed the coveted Lindsay Maxwell Charitable Fund WIHS Equitation Finals riding Copperfield 39.

A four-time U.S. Olympian, Madden topped a 24-horse field by more than two seconds in 30.74 seconds for owner Abigail Wexner over courses built by Olaf Petersen, Jr. of Germany. From a four-horse jump-off, she edged out Katherine Dinan (USA) riding Dougie Douglas, owned by Grant Road Partners, LLC, who sat on a leading time of 32.93 seconds.

Madden’s silver medal teammate from the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, Lucy Davis (USA), rounded out an all-female podium in 33.44 seconds riding Caracho 14, owned by Old Oak Farm.

Ireland’s Shane Sweetnam rounded out the jump-off with a four-fault performance for fourth place riding Don’t Touch Du Bois, owned by Sweet Oak Farm, Spy Coast Farm, and Paul Tracy. A 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games team gold medalist, Laura Kraut (USA) finished fifth with the fastest four-fault ride from the opening round aboard Confu, owned by St. Bride’s Farm.

“This was his first indoor event of the year, so it’s nice to see that he’s in form. It shows why he was good at the World Cup [Final]; he walked right in here and was clever, rideable, adjustable, careful, and he can handle tight spaces like this.” – Beezie Madden

A quick horse by nature, Madden relied on Breitling’s foot speed to shave significant time off the clock, saying, “I thought one to two was a little bit of a tough turn to a big jump, so I didn’t think that was really the place to win it. I feel like I was a touch slow there, but then I knew my horse has some speed, and he’s quite good at turning, so I think I made it up at the turns on both ends, particularly the last turn.”

Madden has set her sights on the 2019 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final in Göteborg (SWE) with a solid string of horses to choose from.

Elli Yeager Earns 2018 Lindsay Maxwell Charitable Fund WIHS Equitation Finals Victory

Elli Yeager, 16, of Wellington, FL, bested a field of 40 of the nation’s top junior riders to win the 2018 Lindsay Maxwell Charitable Fund WIHS Equitation Finals on Saturday.

In order to win the competitive, year-end equitation final, Yeager had to earn the highest cumulative score over three phases of competition: a hunter phase held on Friday, a jumper phase held on Saturday afternoon, and a final work-off held during Saturday night’s featured session. Riders’ average scores from the first two rounds were combined, with the 10 top-ranked competitors then swapping horses in the work-off.

Yeager and her longtime partner, Copperfield 39, topped the hunter phase with a score of 92.50 and finished fourth in the jumper phase with a score of 91.25 for a 183.75 total going into the final round.

The win in the jumper phase went to Coco Fath of Fairfield, CT on a score of 94.50. With a fourth-place finish and a score of 89.25 in the hunter phase, Fath’s cumulative total also sat on 183.75, putting she and her Beacon Hill Show Stables barn mate, Yeager, in a tie going into the final round.

For the work-off, the two front-runners swapped mounts, with Fath taking over the ride aboard Copperfield 39, and Yeager taking the reins on Fath’s mount, equitation championship veteran Class Action, who won the Finals in 2008 with Katherine Newman.

While both delivered seamless rounds, a well-executed inside turn by Yeager, which Fath elected to forego, would give Yeager the slight, tie-breaking advantage and ultimately the 2018 WIHS Equitation Finals victory.

For the win, Yeager was presented with the WIHS Equitation Classic Trophy, donated by Mr. & Mrs. G. Ralph Ours III, and as the winning horse, Copperfield 39 was awarded the Lugano Memorial Trophy, donated by Stoney Hill.

“This is my favorite horse show, and it went better than I ever could have imagined! I didn’t think this was ever going to happen to be honest – especially just being 16. But it happened, and I’m just elated that it happened here at my favorite horse show with my favorite horse who is the best partner that I could ask for.” – Elli Yeager

Yeager has been riding her winning mount, a 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding, for nearly six years.

“Over the years, I’ve grown about 10 inches, but he’s always been the same,” said Yeager. “He always has his game face on. He’s never let me down. He’s been the best horse I could have ever asked for.”

For more information on WIHS, please visit www.wihs.org.

Contact: Jennifer Wood
jwood@jumpmediallc.com

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