The ESP October Show opened up the Fall Series at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center on Thursday October 1-4. The highlight of the week was Sunday’s $24,999 Palm Beach Equine Clinic Grand Prix on the Derby Field. After several competitive rounds, Santiago Lambre of Wellington, FL captured the win aboard his entry Cetano Van Aspergem Z with a 36.47-second jump-off. Very close behind with a jump-off time of 36.576 seconds was Kent Farrington of Wellington, FL and Kaprice, owned by Haity McNerney. Farrington also claimed the third-place ribbon with Jasper, owned by Tanma Corp and Farrington, after they crossed through the timers in 36.917 seconds.
Santiago Lambre on Cetano Van Aspergem Z. Photo by Anne Gittins Photography.
A total of 23 combinations tried the course on the field, designed by Guilherme Jorge. Lambre, who was one of the final trips to compete, was able to secure the lead with the fastest track: “Cetano is one of my best horses. We won earlier this year at WEF during week 3, and then he was second in the four star [at WEF]. He’s a good horse, very fast.”
Lambre said he plans to give Cetano some time off before returning to top competition. “We’ll jump a few National [Grand Prixs] before competing in some of the FEI competitions here in November.” When asked about the close times in today’s class Lambre commented, “For me, PBIEC is a great place to prep for the other shows because the competition is not easy. If you can win here, I think you can win anywhere.”
For full class results, click here. The ESP Fall Series will continue at the Equestrian Village grounds through Sunday, October 25.