Horse & Hound
Trending: Credit: @ SPORTFOT
Molly Ashe Cawley flew to the top of the podium aboard Berdien, a mare who endured a serious illness last year, in the $37,000 CaptiveOne Advisors 1.50m Jumper Classic on Friday, January 15, at the 2021 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF), held at Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC).
Cawley has had Berdien since she was a six-year-old and brought her over from Europe shortly after that. The pair have experienced success from day one, but the mare was forced to sit out last year’s WEF after coming down with an illness while shipping south for the winter. Friday’s win was just one of many positive steps during her recovery and return to the show ring.
Horse & Hound
Trending: Lillie Keenan and Agana Van Het Gerendal Z at WEF Credit: SPORTFOT
Lillie Keenan (USA) won the $37,000 Adequan® WEF Challenge Cup Round 1 CSI3 at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) during Week 1 at the 2021 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) with a stallion she has had since he was six years old.
But their journey to Thursday’s win (January 14) has been anything but ordinary. If it weren’t for her mom, Pam Keenan, the successful pair would likely have never ended up together.
Speaking about the 10-year-old Agana Van Het Gerendal Z, with whom she bested a field of 73 combinations, Keenan said: “Honestly, when I tried him, I didn’t want him.
Canada’s Erynn Ballard rounded out a great opening week at the 2021 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) when winning the Martha Jolicoeur Leading Lady Rider award on Sunday, January 10 in Wellington, FL.
Ballard accumulated the highest number of points among her fellow female riders in Thursday’s $35,000 Adequan® WEF Challenge Premiere Round and the $75,000 Bainbridge Companies Grand Prix held on Sunday, January 10. She claimed victory on Thursday riding Walter White, a 10-year-old Belgian Sport Horse gelding (Baloubet du Rouet x Bon Ami) owned by Ilan Ferder, before securing the Leading Lady Rider title with a second-place finish in Sunday’s Grand Prix aboard Kamilla D, a 10-year-old Luxembourg mare (Kashmir von Schuttershof x Canturo) that she owns in partnership with Ferder.
Horse & Hound
Trending: Erynn Ballard and Harvester Credit: @ SPORTFOT
Erynn Ballard captured her second major win of the week on Saturday, January 9, in the $25,000 CaptiveOne Advisors Classic at the 2021 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF).
In contrast to Ballard’s winning ride on Thursday, Walter White – a horse she had only ridden twice – Ballard has worked with Harvester, a nine-year-old KWPN gelding by Dakar VDL x Labor’s VDL Indorado, for two years and knows him well.
“I have a nice history with him,” she confirmed. “He’s always been one of my favorites.”
There were 23 entries in the $25,000 CaptiveOne Advisors Classic during the Premiere Week of WEF at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC), and they competed over a course designed by Eric Hasbrouck (USA). Seven clear rounds advanced to the jump-off. Riding out of the fourth spot in the jump-off, Ballard and Harvester were able to speed through the short course to end up doub