Ali Wolff and Casall. © Sportfot.
Wellington, FL – February 18, 2022 – The 2022 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) continued on Friday, February 18, with international show jumping on the grass Derby Field at Equestrian Village. Out of a field of 102 entries and in a California split, Ali Wolff (USA) with Blacklick Bend Farm’s Casall and Karl Cook (USA) riding Fecybelle, owned by Helen Signe Ostby, came away with victory in the $37,000 Adequan® WEF Challenge Cup Round VI CSI3*.
As the only class on the Derby Field on Friday, the Adequan® WEF Challenge Cup Round VI featured a challenging course from designer Ana Catalina Cruz Harris (MEX), who was able to narrow the field down to 16 for the jump-off with nine countries represented. Of those, three chose not to return.
In the fifth spot of 13 in the returning order, Cook and Fecybelle took to the field for their jump-off round. They were chasing a time of 40.52 with a clear round set by Samuel Hutton (GBR) on H&C Kirlo van den Bosrand, owned by Abdel Saïd. They finished second in Section B.
Cook was able to lower the leading time to 39.22 seconds, which would hold up for the Section B victory.
It was a welcome return to the show ring for Cook and Fecybelle, a horse he has ridden since May 2019. After the mare’s injury at her first show in the winter of 2021, Cook brought her back slowly and only competed in one 1.45m class in December 2021.
Second to last to go in the jump-off, Wolff guided her veteran partner Casall through the jump-off to record the fastest time of 39.15 seconds for the Section A victory.
John Ingram and Koala Capture Victory in the $5,000 WCHR Amateur-Owner Hunter 3’3” Classic
Thirty-six top combinations of the Amateur-Owner 3’3” division decided to try their luck under the lights as the day concluded with the $5,000 WCHR Amateur-Owner Hunter 3’3” Classic. The event ran as a two-round format as all competitors were asked to contest the first round, and the top 12 entries with the highest scores were invited to return. Andy Christiansen, Jr. set a flowing track to challenge the mounts.
As the first into the arena, Kelly Sims took no chances setting the tone early and went straight to the top of the leaderboard with a score of 90 aboard her own Private I. Nearing the class’s first-round end, many had tried but none were able to rise to the bar that Sims had set. John Ingram and Koala put forth the closest effort and produced a round earning a score of 89, but as the second track was set it was Sims that remained on top.
The lineup changed throughout the second round and Nashville, TN native John Ingram emerged as the victor aboard the 14-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding Koala (Carmargue x Falma Hastak). Ingram paired his original score of 89 with an almost identical 88.5 for a total of 177.5.
The partnership of Callie Seaman, of New York City, NY, and her own 13-year-old Zangersheide gelding Prolific (Cassini II x Alette) earned the runner-up title with a second-round score of 90 and a combined overall score of 177, just half a point shy of the winning combination. Division champion of the Amateur-Owner Hunter 3’3” 36 and Over, Brad Wolf, of Memphis, TN, and his 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding Sebastian (Cancara x Luna XVII) rose to the third position on a total score of 167.
For more information and results, please visit www.PBIEC.com.