Edited Press Release
Israel’s Ashlee Bond and Donatello 141 were lightning fast during the $78,000 CSI5* Adequan® WEF Challenge Cup Round 7 in the International Arena on Thursday during the Winter Equestrian Festival’s (WEF) Week 7, sponsored by Lugano Diamonds.
Fifty contenders tackled the Steve Stephens (USA) track where some of the easy favorites fell victim to a testing course. Fourteen advanced to the tie-breaking jump-off, including Bond and her trusted partner, “Donnie”.
Small in stature and stride but massive in heart, Donatello 141, a 12-year-old Westphalian gelding (Diarado x Lamoureux I) stopped the short course timers at 32.62 seconds. The seasoned partnership between Bond and Donatello 141 was obvious as they pipped Jessica Mendoza’s more than respectable time of 33.39 seconds. Mendoza (GBR) and her own Play settled for second while Belgium’s Jos Verlooy and Igor finished third on a time of 33.89 seconds for owners Eurohorse BVBA.
“He always gives me one hundred and ten percent,” said Bond of her 2020 Olympic games mount. “I brought him out [after some time off] a couple weeks ago and he felt a little bit rusty, but I think we knocked the rust off today. I said coming out of the ring, ‘he’s back in form,’ so it was just reassuring for him to go out there and do so well. He was actually running today. Normally I’m kicking him, but today he was pulling me, so I just kept pushing.”
Bond was leaving nothing to chance from the first fence in the jump-off and left out valuable strides thanks to Donatello’s scope and speed, “It’s almost not fair because he’s so agile,” said Bond with a smile. “I did seven strides from one to two where people were doing eight or nine, and he probably has the smallest stride out of the field.”
Bond now calls Wellington home after making a move from California last year. “It’s taken a bit for this to feel like home because I’ve been coming back and forth since 2010 and it always felt like WEF had this grandiose feeling attached to it,” she admitted. “Now it feels like I’m in my backyard, and maybe that also gives me an advantage; my horses are comfortable here and they love it and thrive in this environment. It’s home now.”
Earlier in the day on Thursday, Chloe Reid (USA) claimed the Ethel M CSI2* 1.45m as two-star competition runs alongside five-star events this week. Reid piloted Chelsea 179, a 2015 Oldenburg mare (Cador 5 x Laudabilis) owned by Live Oak Plantation, LLC, to the blue.
Original press release from https://wellingtoninternational.com.
This Post is Brought to You by:
Subzero equine therapy uses pressurized CO2 to target very specific areas such as joints, including the hock, stifle, pastern and fetlock, resulting in optimized range of motion and reduced pain.
- Initial results visible within just 60 seconds
- Infrared temperature and distance sensors for real-time control
- Rapid attachment systems for faster setup and storage
- Long-lasting battery and 15’ polyurethane-shielded cord
- Backlit, interactive LCD screen shows treatment data
- Treatment protocols for different conditions
Vets, trainers and physiotherapists report rapid pain relief and overall faster recovery from equine injuries through targeted cold therapy. This versatile and easy-to-use device treats numerous regions of the sports horse’s body for effective maintenance and injury prevention.
