Lillie Keenan wins CSI4* Grand Prix in Wellington

Because what are you when you ride Fast(h)er? Lillie Keenan. And what else? Faster. After all, eleven of the 43 starters in the Grand Prix under floodlights made it into the jump-off. There were names like Cian O’Connor (abandoned with Canbella Blue PS), Jessica Mendoza with In the Air (12 faults), McLain Ward on I Know (8 faults), Nina Mallevaey with My Clementine (8 faults) or Nicola Philippaerts on Cornethagos PS (4 faults), who did not make it into the second round.

But in addition to Lillie Keenan, Christian Kukuk and Just be Gentle as well as Richard Vogel on the nine-year-old Abou-Chaker, who was taken over by his partner Sophie Hinners, were also among them.

Kukuk and Just be Gentle were already the first pair in the normal course and showed how it’s done. They also remained clear in the jump-off. The time (41.96) seconds was enough for sixth place in the end.

Richard Vogel was faster with the Alaba son Abou-Chaker, bred by Katrin Eckermann’s father Otmar Eckermann (41.52), but had one down. For the former Bundeschampionat finalist, this was by far the most difficult jumping competition of his career to date.

Keenan’s “heart horse”

Lillie Keenan and her 16-year-old KWPN gelding Fasther by Vigo d’Arsouilles are a completely different story. The two have been a couple for seven years and have already experienced a lot together. This paid off yesterday when they jumped to victory in a clear 40.56 seconds with some courage to take risks.

The Irish Olympic rider Shane Sweetnam on his nine-year-old hope for the future Rural Juror SCF (40.87) was the runner-up, followed by the Australian Olympic pair from Paris, Thaisa Erwin with Hialita B (41.28).

Keenan later raved about her horse in particular: “He is the horse of my heart. He has a fire in him. He loves jumping, but he loves galloping even more,” she described. That didn’t always make it easy for her. “We had a lot of trouble with his rideability at first. But I have grown with him. I trust him completely and he tries everything for me.”

What does that mean? “There are moments when I get to a jump and think, I should have ridden that better, and he stands on his head to get over. He does that for me – I don’t think he would do that for anyone.”

Fasther was the first horse that her trainer McLain Ward chose for her. In this respect, he also represents how important Ward is to her as a mentor.

This was Lillie Keenan’s third win in four weeks in Wellington after the Grand Prix with newcomer Highway and another 1.50 triumph with Chagrin d’Amour. Keenan: “I am in the incredibly fortunate position of having several horses that can jump at this level. But this is no coincidence. I’ve planned this for a long time and worked towards it,” said the 29-year-old, who had already competed as a pony rider in Wellington. “I have some older, very experienced horses and some younger ones on the way up. You build that up over years and I want to make the most of this moment.”

You can find all the results here.