ISRAEL’s Ashlee Bond took the final honours of the 2022 Winter Equestrian Festival when landing victory in the five-star $500,000 Rolex Grand Prix held on the grass on Saturday afternoon.

Brought forward due to threat of incoming bad weather, Guilherme Jorge set a big and technical track for the final Grand Prix of the 13-week circuit at the newly named Wellington International venue. From 40 of the world’s best riders, just five managed to keep a clean sheet and progress to the jump-off against the clock.

Among them was Daniel Coyle with Ariel Grange’s Legacy. The pair was coming off the back of a win in the same value class at Ocala six days earlier. Coyle was joined in the jump-off by Spencer Smith and Chloe Reid for the USA, and Daniel Bluman and Ashlee Bond representing Israel.

As a late addition to the starting order, Smith and Quibelle were first into the ring for both the opening round and the jump-off. Over the shortened course, they had an unfortunate four faults in 45.68 seconds, which would leave them in fifth place at the end of the class.

Second

Reid was second to take it on with the 11-year-old mare Souper Shuttle and she set the standard with the first clear round in 47.63 seconds.

Coyle was next with the 12-year-old Legacy (Chippendale Z x Bon Ami) and he looked miles ahead on the clock from the outset and survived an early scare, but their luck ran out when the penultimate fence fell. Their time of 43.88 was the fastest of the day but the four faults meant they finished in fourth place to earn $50,000.

Second last to go was Bond with Karoline Of Ballmore, who she added to her string just five weeks ago, and it was the pair’s first jump-off together. The 12-year-old mare oozed class throughout and was quick without ever looking like she would touch a pole. She crossed the line in 44.09 to take over the lead.

Last to go, only Bond’s compatriot Daniel Bluman could deny her the title. A winner of this Grand Prix 10 years ago, Bluman gave it his all with the 14-year-old gelding Ladriano Z, but the time of 44.29 was only good enough for the runner-up position on this occasion.

“In the short time I’ve known her, I don’t think I’ve ever sat on a horse so brave,” said Bond of the 12-year-old mare Karoline Of Ballmore who was previously ridden up to four-star level by Belgium’s Nicola Philippaerts.

“I jumped almost at the tops of the standards in the warm-up, adding so many strides and going so slow, and she jumps a foot over it. She’s like a rocket, like a ball of power. You can just pull her together and go so slow and so up and down, and then she just explodes. She makes my job really easy; I’m very blessed to have her.”

Surreal

Bond felt her win was “super surreal” but was validation for her team for “all of the hard times and all of the times you’re unsure of what you are doing. You just keep plugging along and trusting in your team and believing you will come out of the other side better. I think it really showed that our perseverance through the circuit, coming together, and fighting through the hard times really works towards the good. Today really proved that.”