British teen wins first grand prix
WELLINGTON — Emily Moffitt of Great Britain won the first grand prix of the Winter Equestrian Festival on Sunday at Palm Beach International Equestrian Center.
Moffitt, 19, and her 11-yearold Francaise bay Tipsy du Terral topped a field of 42 riders, including 14 in the jumpoff, to win the $75,000 Rosenbaum PLLC Grand Prix. The duo turned in double clears in a blistering 35.508 seconds in the jump-off after the fastest opening round time of 78.970.
Moffitt, who trains with Olympic gold medalist Ben Maher of Great Britain, competed for the U.S. in the Under-25 Nations Cup but now the dual citizen represents Great Britain with her sights set on the 2020 Summer Olympics. She was coming off a seven-week break.
“Maybe I should take some vacations more often,” Moffitt said. “Last year was a rough year. I had an accident with my horse in Ocala and she had to be put down.
“I’m glad to come back here and immediately start off on the right foot. It means more to me than most people would think. It’s a nice feeling to be back.”
Mattias Tromp and Chicago Hof Eversem Z were second in 37.323. U.S. Olympic team gold medalist McLain Ward and Gigi’s Girl were third in 37.713. Ward and Hija van Strokapelleken were eighth with four faults in 36.184.
“Gigi is a horse we purchased last summer, actually the last horse Hunter Harrison bought for me and named after his wife who was here today,” Ward said. “It was nice that she went so well in the first grand prix after his passing.”
Hunter Harrison, owner of Double H Farm and one of the sport’s biggest supporters, died on Dec. 16 at 73.
Ward and Hija van Strokapelleken, an 11-year-old mare, also won the opening Douglas Elliman Real Estate 1.45-meter Jumpers speed class in 69.938.
The first grand prix of the 12-week WEF season featured more than $9 million in prize money.
The men’s team won the 10th annual $75,000 Battle of the Sexes in the Saturday Night Lights series opener.
The men clinched their first win in the event’s history during the match race, the third and final phase of the event on Spencer Smith’s win over Maggie Jayne. The teams were tied 5-5 after the speed round and the women led 15-10 after the relay race. The men won the final event, 18-9, to finish with a 28-24 victory.
The team consisted of Charlie Jayne, David Blake, Andrew Bourns, Jordan Coyle, Alex Granato, William Hickey, Darragh Kenny, Luis Larrazabal, Spencer Smith and Michael Tokaruk.
“There have been a lot of years where it comes down to the last rider or the second-to-last rider and Spencer really pulled it off for us today,” said Jayne, the team captain.
This weekend’s Saturday Nights Light event is the $70,000 Marshall & Sterling Insurance Grand Prix CSI 2. In other season-opening week events:
■ Ireland’s Jordan Coyle won the opening round of the $35,000 Equinimity WEF Challenge Cup. Coyle and Eristov topped a field of 35 riders to win an 11-rider jump-off in 37.662 seconds.
■ Todd Minikus of Loxahatchee and Carlo won the Hollow Creek Farm 1.50meter Championship Jumper Classic with a clear threerider jump-off round in 36.676.