I LOVE riding on grass rings, it just has this nostalgic feel to it as if this is the way jumping is meant to be. While many shows have ditched their grass rings for more modern footing, several venues maintain large, grassy derby fields for big-money classes such as yesterday’s WEF Challenge Cup. Kevin Babington originally aimed to compete a different horse in yesterday’s class, but took into account how much his 17-year-old gelding Mark Q loved the grass and made a mount switch. That decision played off as the duo delivered a fantastic final round and came in on top a whopping four seconds faster than the original leading rider.

When you watch Babington and the big, bay Irish Sport Horse gallop across the field you can’t help but get excited. The pair look perfectly aligned as they work their way around the course. Check their winning round out for yourself and let us know your thoughts in the comments! You can watch it HERE.

Go Jumping!