Joie Gatlin Grabs the Blue in $2,500 CWD 1.35m Welcome Speed During Desert Holiday II

Thermal, Calif. – Week II of Desert Holiday kicked off on Wednesday at the Desert International Horse Park. The feature class of the day in the Grand Prix Arena was the $2,500 CWD 1.35m Welcome Speed, set over an Alan Wade-designed track. Twenty-eight entries came forward to take on the single-round speed format, focusing on keeping fences up but not wasting any time between obstacles in order to secure the fastest clear round. In the end, it was California’s own Joie Gatlin who claimed the win aboard Cruz.
The course featured 12 numbered obstacles with 14 jumping efforts total, including an oxer-vertical double combination and a vertical-oxer double combination, plus rollback turns and lines that cut across the expanse of the Grand Prix Arena. In an attempt to shave valuable seconds off their times, riders jumped directly from fence one, a single oxer, to the line from two to three, then sped around the corners at the far end of the arena to both combinations, taking as few strides as possible along the way.
First to set the pace with a clear round was Allison Kroff with T-Quick Hurricane Z in a time of 68.519 seconds. Only a few rounds later, Gatlin and Cruz, an 11-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding owned by Kate Hovland, crushed her time, clicking in at 62.071 seconds and setting the pace much faster for anyone following looking to claim the lead. Trying to catch Gatlin, several competitors tried to race through the course but at the expense of rails down.
Cassio Rivetti was the next to give Gatlin a run for her money, but he and Cristal De Menardiere, a 9-year-old mare owned by Delaney Batter, were still off the pace, clocking in at 65.250 seconds and slotting into second at the halfway point in the order. Shortly after Rivetti, who would eventually place third, Kevin Winkel piloted the 15-year-old Warmblood mare Osophia to a competitive time of 63.992 and took second place as the class came to a close.
National show jumping athletes will return on Saturday at 8:00 a.m. for the $25,000 FarmVet Grand Prix. FEI competition kicks off on Thursday with the FEI $1,000 1.40m Two Phase CSI5*, sponsored by Sun Air Jets, followed by the FEI $9,100 1.45m Two Phase CSI2*, sponsored by Marshall & Sterling. Finishing the day on Thursday will be the FEI $72,900 1.50m Welcome Jump-Off CSI5*, sponsored by TALUS.
RESULTS
$2,500 CWD 1.35m Welcome Speed
    Cruz / Joie Gatlin / Kate Hovland / 0 | 62.071
    Osophia / Kevin Winkel / Maplewood, Inc. / 0 | 63.992
    Cristal De Menardiere / Cassio Rivetti / Delaney Batter / 0 | 65.250
    T-Quick Hurricane Z / Allison Kroff / TC Sporthorses, LLC / 0 | 68.519
    Hannibal V / Nicki Willcox / Marjorie Martin / 0 | 68.705
    Chaccrobat / Mitch Endicott / Bridgeport Farms, LLC / 0 | 68.642
    Kingston VH Akenhof / Tyler H. Stewart / Tyler H. Stewart / 0 | 70.114
    Mr. Balue BR Z / Kyle King / Liliah Nakatani / 0 | 70.555
    Imara M / Allison Kroff / TC Sporthorses LLC / 0 | 71.271
    HHA Paden / Kristen Holwick / Kristen Holwick / 0 | 72.548
    Sanvano / Julia Nagler / Kenilworth Sport Horses, LLC / 0 | 72.645
    Connor 69 / Olivia Cliver / On the Mark Equestrian / 0 | 74.545
www.deserthorsepark.com | Photo Joie Gatlin and Cruz (c) Phelps Tori Bilas