Darragh Kenny and Chaccossini Dominate Hermès CSI3* 1.50m Classic
Darragh Kenny & Chaccossini. Photo © Sportfot
Darragh Kenny (IRL) has wasted no time getting to know Chaccossini. The pair scored their second FEI victory Sunday in just their third show together, topping the $32,000 Hermès CSI3* 1.50m Classic to close week one of the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF).
Kenny pilots the 2012 Hanoverian gelding (Chacco-Blue x Cassini II) for owner Andrzej Oplatek, and the Irish Olympian knew the horse was something special right out of the gate.
“Straight away we clicked,” he said about their partnership, having taken over the ride from Martin Fuchs (SUI). “Our first show we won a ranking show already, second show I took him to London – he was clear in a 1.55m and won a big 1.50m class – and this is my third show with him. He’s a cool horse. He’s unbelievably fun and competitive. He also has this huge stride which makes him fast against the clock.”
Nick Granat’s (USA) jump-off course on Sunday almost seemed like it was designed specifically for Chaccossini. He and Kenny were one of 10 to jump clear, but Kenny knew the odds were in his favor with the short course.
“I knew the jump-off class was going to suit him because I could do two things that nobody else could do: [from fences] one to two we were all going to do the same number, but I could do five in that next line which nobody else could do,” Kenny explained of his strategy to rise to the top. “I think one other person maybe did six to the last, so that’s where his stride is just so fast.”
Michael Baum and Sincerely Take Championship Honors in Ringside Health Adult Amateur Hunters
New partnerships were the theme of Sunday during week one WEF, with debut victories extending to the E. R. Mische Grand Hunter Ring. Michael Baum of New York, NY took championship honors aboard Sincerely in the Ringside Health Adult Amateur Hunter 36-49 division. Despite their obvious chemistry, the partnership was quite fresh.
“It started two days ago,” Baum joked about his relationship with Sincerely. “I met her on Friday. I rode her around 3pm and then showed her Saturday. She knows her job, and I’m a little rusty so I wanted to get in the ring on a horse that knew its job better than most.
“She jumps really high,” he shared about the 11-year-old Warmblood mare, owned by Presley Wade. “I don’t think she touched one jump. She’s a great mover, she has an easy lead change, and she’s pretty much perfect. Once you pick up the canter, you’re done. Presley told me she has done the 3’6” so I didn’t feel nervous to do the 3’ since it was easy for her.”
Baum was able to get some extra time in the ring aboard Sincerely, or “Jazzie”, thanks to a friendship between his trainer Jennifer Hannon and Jazzie’s trainer Halie Robinson.
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