The high-flying and speedy jumping horses took center stage on Saturday at the World Equestrian Center in Wilmington, Ohio, as the $10,000 Futures Prix 1.30m and $30,000 WEC Prix crowned their first champions of the 2022 show year.
ERP and Katia Manuel-Adams Win Futures Prix
Katia Manuel-Adams and her 13 year old stallion ERP Van WWW.Olland.Biz saw a clean first go and a speedy jump off, stopping the clock at 34.322, just a tenth of a second faster than reserve champions Vegas H and David Beisel, whose jump off time was 34.332. David also showed the third place finisher, Ecuador for owner Lori Taylor.
“ERP and I have been together for quite some time,” Katie said. “He had a break last year, and this is his first show back. I’m super happy because apparently he is in great form! My plan was just to get him fit again, to have a nice, smooth track and a nice, smooth jump off. I know David (Beisel) is super fast, and I was a little bit worried. I can’t believe I beat him.
“My barn is in New Jersey, and we come to WEC quite often both at Wilmington and Ocala. In fact, ERP won the Futures Prix in WEC-Ocala last year. We are here for two weeks and then we go to Ocala. We brought six horses to Wilmington.”
Catch A Star HSS and Kevin McCarthy Win $30,000 WEC Prix
Kevin McCarthy guided his swift mare, Catch A Star HSS, to the win in the $30,000 WEC Prix, with a clean first run and a jump off time of 40.769.
“It was an excellent course design, and a great jump-off track,” Kevin said. “Of course we always go to win, but this class had a lot of great riders in it, and you had to be on your A game tonight. It’s a great start to the new year.
“Casey just turned 11 and I’ve had her for three years now. She was bred in Sweden by a dear lady who loves her, and she follows her wins here. She’s a little fire rocket. She’s naturally quick, and she’s quick over the fence and the ground. Sometimes I even have to slow things down a bit, because she’s naturally fast, and I have to take a second myself. She always answers my call and we have a great partnership.”
Kevin, who is originally from Ireland, has been coming to WEC-Wilmington from its very first Hunter Jumper shows. “We’ve been in Lexington for about two years, but I used to live in upstate New York, and I’ve been coming to Wilmington from Day 1,” he said. “I’ve lived in the states for about 15 years.”
The Winter In The Midwest's first show weekend continues through Sunday, January 9.
To view complete show results from the first weekend of the Winter In The Midwest circuit, please visit www.horseshowing.com. To learn more about the World Equestrian Center, please go to worldequestriancenter.com.
WEC Prix photos courtesy of Winslow Photography.
