In the first five star grand prix of the 2018 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) circuit, Daniel Bluman (ISR) and Ladriano Z, owned by Over The Top Stables LLC, rose to the top of the class in the $384,000 Fidelity Investments® Grand Prix on Saturday, February 10, at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. WEF continues through April 1 at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center in Wellington, FL, and offers more than $9 million in prize money.
The fifth week of WEF, sponsored by Fidelity Investments®, features CSI 5* competition that concludes on February 11 with the $70,000 Hollow Creek Farm 1.50m Classic and the $50,000 Equiline Grand Prix CSI 2*. There were 40 entries in the grand prix, contesting a challenging course set by Kelvin Bywater of Great Britain in front of a jam-packed stadium of show jumping fans. Just two were clear to advance to the jump-off.
First into the ring for the second round was FEI World Cup Finals winner and Olympic silver medalist Beat Mändli of Switzerland riding Dsarie, a 10-year-old KWPN mare by Veron x Ahorn owned by Grand Road Partners GmbH. They laid the gauntlet with a clear round in a time of 40.47 seconds, with Dsarie giving her customary bucks after going through the timers.