DAVID O’Brien had an incredible show at Wellington International last week, as the ESP Spring Series continued at the Florida venue. The Galway rider scored a spectacular hat-trick of wins, including the $140,000 three-star Grand Prix on Sunday.
In a fitting conclusion to an amazing show, the Grand Prix saw four Irish men finishing in the top 10, two of whom were riding Irish-bred horses. From a start list of 45, there were 16 clear first rounds over the course built by Ana Catalina ‘Catsy’ Cruz (MEX), 10 of whom jumped clear again against the clock. O’Brien on El Balou OLD jumped a speedy round in 37.17 seconds, which proved unbeatable and was just over half a second ahead of runner-up Luis Fernando Larrazabal (VEN) on Belle de Muze (37.68). Hannah Selleck (USA) and Cloud 39 placed third in 38.53 seconds.
The win secured the first prize of $46,300 for O’Brien and his 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding partner, El Balou OLD (Eldorado vd Zeshoek x Balou du Rouet), owned by O’Brien and his wife, Sarah, and Keenan’s Chansonette Farm.
Fellow Irishman Max Wachman on 12-year-old gelding Kilkenny (ISH), bred by Sinead Brennan in Co Kilkenny, placed fourth; Dermot Lennon on 10-year-old gelding Millview Cicero (ISH), bred by Harry Marshall from Co Antrim, were sixth and Christian Coyle on Extravaganza Semilly were 10th.
“Weeks like this are very rare to come by,” said O’Brien, 35, who is now based in the US with his wife, Sarah. “We tried very hard to not overuse the horses this winter and you can see that they’re now coming into themselves. Hopefully that carries throughout the summer now.”
O’Brien may have had a careful strategy over the winter, but it didn’t stop him winning. In fact, Sunday saw his sixth international podium finish so far in 2024 in Wellington, including leading the Irish team to victory in the CSIO4* Nations Cup, during the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF).
“I’m still wondering if that even happened,” said O’Brien, when asked about his hat-trick on Sunday. “To get a week like this really shows how good the horses are and how good the team is. I’m lucky to have the team at Leap Year Farm and Postage Stamp Farm behind me every step of the way. I’m also really lucky to have Balou.
“He is the horse that you get on when you’re having a bad day and it all changes,” continued O’Brien. “He’s a workaholic, so we never overdo it, even in the warmup. Keeping him happy and not too excited is the big thing, because when he gets over-excited, he tries too hard.”
O’Brien was last in for the jump-off and noted: “All I wanted to do was get a good start. I got the nine to the second [fence] and after that I had him rolling. I did eight again after that when most did nine and felt like I could have left out again after the double, but I didn’t want to risk too much.”
O’Brien has been based in the United States for 13 years, after starting off at his parents’ Galway Equestrian Centre. He established a talent for developing young horses at Hyperion Stud and Spy Coast Farm, before setting up his own Leap Year Farm.
O’Brien credits El Balou OLD with getting his international career started: “Because of him, I know I can compete against the big guys, I just need to go out and do it.
“He’s really the reason I was able to start my own business and I’m forever grateful to the Keenans for trusting me with him, supporting me in the beginning and allowing me to buy a share of this horse as well,” said O’Brien. “Without them and obviously my wife, I wouldn’t get all these chances. I think this horse knows he’s my number-one and that’s why he tries so hard for me.”
Winning streak
O’Brien and El Balou OLD had won the $32,000 Freejump CSI3* Grand Prix Qualifier on Friday, when they were best of 52 starters. The pair were among 14 first round clears, 11 of whom proceeded to the jump-off. Just six combinations managed to keep all the poles intact second time out, with O’Brien’s time of 40.89 seconds being the fastest – more than a second quicker than runner-up Andrew Welles (USA) on Idol H&H (42.22). Lebanon’s Jad Dana was third riding Caro W, with a jump-off time of 42.57 seconds. Ireland’s James Brennan placed sixth on Reemah O L and Jordan Coyle was 10th on Ariso.
O’Brien had opened the second week of the 2024 ESP Spring Series with a win in the $32,000 BrainJuice CIS3* 1.45m class on Thursday riding Estoril Delle Roane, a 10-year-old Italian Sport Horse (Cristallo I x Hattrick) owned by Postage Stamp Farm; Ireland had four of the top six in the class.
The class welcomed 54 combinations to take on a two-phase course, where less than a second separated the top-three finishers.
O’Brien jumped double clear in 29.97 over the jump-off phase to win the class, with fellow Irishman Paul O’Shea riding Hellcat into second in 30.46. Lebanon’s Dana on Fleur de-Lis’ Cherie rounded out the podium in 30.67. Philip McGuane on Linguini de la Pomme were fifth and Max Wachman on Quintini were sixth.
“I’m headed to Spruce Meadows soon, so I wanted to get as much time out here on the grass as I could and get the horses accustomed to the different atmosphere,” said O’Brien. “I was probably the first one to do the six into the double and, with his scope, it’s very easy for him. It’s such a big field as well; you can stay rolling.”
Philip McGuane and Linguini de la Pomme the $32,000 ProElite CSI3* 1.45m Speed Class at Wellington International \ Sportfot
Run of form
Meanwhile, McGuane’s excellent run of recent form continued at Wellington, with a win in the $32,000 ProElite CSI3* 1.45m Speed class on Saturday, riding Linguini de la Pomme. The 13-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare (Marius Claudius x Tinka’s Boy) won the same class last year, with fellow Evergate Stables rider, Nayel Nassar (EGY) on board. McGuane took the ride in February, when the mare had been with the Evergate string for a year.
“I’m lucky that he let me borrow her for a few weeks,” said McGuane. “All the horses in the barn are a bit family horses, but she’s super fun, careful and really competitive.”
There were 57 combinations on the start list, with 14 jumping clear to proceed to the jump-off. McGuane and his mount stopped the clock in 65.67 seconds to secure the win. Max Wachman finished third in the class on Coolmore Showjumping’s Quintini.
“She’s quick at whatever she does; these classes are definitely her specialty because she’s fast, quick at the jumps and has a big stride,” said McGuane. “She’s super easy, though. Every day is the same and she always tries her hardest.
“It took a bit of jumping [to win today],” continued McGuane. “It was a careful enough track, with a lot of right rollbacks. Both doubles needed the horses to be very honest. I got lucky today that she was great and jumping her best.”
Former world champion Dermott Lennon was among the winners at Wellington last Thursday night, when he and the appropriately named King Kannan GP, owned by Elan Farm, won the $6,000 FEI CSI3* 1.40m class. Lennon clocked a time of 34.71 seconds, just 0.24 seconds ahead of Chilean runner-up Samuel Parot and Chrystal Blue (34.95).
Placings
Show jumping classes at week two of the Spring Series commenced last Thursday, April 11th, with Lennon on Cordiamo finishing second in the 1.35m Open Jumper class, followed by Robert Blanchette on Carnlea Premier Balou in third, while in the 1.15m Open Jumper class, Brennan on Caletto Cool PS came fourth. Brennan was also a joint winner in the day’s Five-year-old Young Jumper class riding CSJ Sunny Side; the rider also won the Six-year-old class with Inka Malpic and placed third in the Seven-year-old class with More Special.
Michael Hutchinson on Labaomi W placed second in the 1.30m Open Jumper class, while Brennan on Cacherel KWD Z placed fourth in the 1.20m Open Jumper.
Friday saw Blanchette ride Carnlea Premier Balou into third place in the 1.35m Open Jumper class, with Hutchinson on Labaomi W in fifth. Brennan and Keystone VDL placed fifth in the 1.30m Open Jumper class.
On Saturday, Brennan took third and fifth in the 1.25m Open Jumper class on Calle Cool 14 and Quasibelle VD Barre Hoogte Z respectively. He then placed third in the 1.15m Open Jumper class on board Caletto Cool PS, while Kevin Mealiff on Okky Blue S was third in the 1.30m Open Jumper class.
Brennan was runner-up in the 1.20m Open Jumper class with Cacharel KWD Z. Daniel Geaney on Sade de Rialfo Z were runners up in the $5,000 1.35m Open Jumper Stake.