IRISH SHOWJUMPER DARRAGH Kenny won the $500,000 (€432,000) Bainbridge Companies five-star Grand Prix at Wellington International, Florida, on Sunday.
Offaly man Kenny, aboard Eddy Blue, triumphed in a field that included six of the top 10 riders in the world at this prestigious Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) event.
Advertisement
Nine horses — with riders representing five nations — competed in a tie-breaking jump-off, with Irish Olympian Kenny and his 14-year-old gelding setting an uncatchable target of 41.77 seconds in the penultimate slot.
Kenny heaped praise on Eddy Blue afterwards, saying: “He’s been second and third here [at WEF] and placed in a lot of five-stars, but to finally win one here is really deserving for the horse. He’s an incredible athlete. He tries so hard every time he goes in the ring, and I am really proud of him and how he competed tonight.”
Assessing his and Eddy Blue’s victorious performance in the jump-off, in which he left a stride out in the first line, Kenny added: “Eddy Blue is a very careful horse, so I can take a bit of risk with him.
“The relief of winning tonight was quite big. He’s a championship-type horse because he wants to leave the jumps up every day.”
The Florida-based Kenny returned in February after serving a four-month suspension for testing positive for a prohibited substance at the European Championships, which he attributed to prescribed medication for ADHD.
Sunday’s victory was Kenny’s second five-star success of a week that also yielded victories at the four-star event in Vejer de la Frontera, with Niamh McEvoy seeing off Billy Twomey in the Grand Prix, 24 hours after Ciarán Nallon had also earned victory.
James Chawke was a three-star winner in Thermal, while Mark McAuley completed a hat-trick of Grand Prix triumphs for Irish athletes by securing the top spot at the two-star feature at St Tropez Gassin Polo Club.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Irish showjumper Darragh Kenny wins $500,000 Wellington five-star Grand Prix in Florida
IRISH SHOWJUMPER DARRAGH Kenny won the $500,000 (€432,000) Bainbridge Companies five-star Grand Prix at Wellington International, Florida, on Sunday.
Offaly man Kenny, aboard Eddy Blue, triumphed in a field that included six of the top 10 riders in the world at this prestigious Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) event.
Nine horses — with riders representing five nations — competed in a tie-breaking jump-off, with Irish Olympian Kenny and his 14-year-old gelding setting an uncatchable target of 41.77 seconds in the penultimate slot.
Kenny heaped praise on Eddy Blue afterwards, saying: “He’s been second and third here [at WEF] and placed in a lot of five-stars, but to finally win one here is really deserving for the horse. He’s an incredible athlete. He tries so hard every time he goes in the ring, and I am really proud of him and how he competed tonight.”
Assessing his and Eddy Blue’s victorious performance in the jump-off, in which he left a stride out in the first line, Kenny added: “Eddy Blue is a very careful horse, so I can take a bit of risk with him.
“The relief of winning tonight was quite big. He’s a championship-type horse because he wants to leave the jumps up every day.”
The Florida-based Kenny returned in February after serving a four-month suspension for testing positive for a prohibited substance at the European Championships, which he attributed to prescribed medication for ADHD.
Sunday’s victory was Kenny’s second five-star success of a week that also yielded victories at the four-star event in Vejer de la Frontera, with Niamh McEvoy seeing off Billy Twomey in the Grand Prix, 24 hours after Ciarán Nallon had also earned victory.
James Chawke was a three-star winner in Thermal, while Mark McAuley completed a hat-trick of Grand Prix triumphs for Irish athletes by securing the top spot at the two-star feature at St Tropez Gassin Polo Club.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Showjumping