Richard Spooner & Mighty Mouse Take $35k Douglas Elliman 1.45m Speed

Richard Spooner and Mighty Mouse. Photo: Sportfot

Wellington, FL – January 30, 2016 – The $35,000 Douglas Elliman 1.45m speed competition was held Saturday afternoon with a win for Richard Spooner (USA) aboard Gerardo & Alfonso Pasquel’s 10-year-old Zangersheide stallion Mighty Mouse (Quartz Adelheid Z X Codexco). Out of 44 entries, eight cleared the course without fault and another six were clear over the fences but incurred time faults. Spooner and Might Mouse sped through the course in the winning time of 67.70 seconds.

Paris Sellon (USA) and Belle jumped into second place with a time of 71.33 seconds at the end. Cian O’Connor (IRL) and Nicole Walker’s Saphir finished third in 71.90 seconds, and Shane Sweetnam and Spy Coast Farm LLC’s Eregast van’t Kiezelhof placed fourth with a time of 72.18.

Spooner is competing for the entire WEF circuit in Wellington for the first time since 2011. The rider is happy to be back and off to a great start with a promising young mount.
“Mighty Mouse is exciting,” Spooner praised. “I rode him a couple of times last year in Del Mar and he won one class there. Then he went back his owner, Gerardo, who rode him in some shows. He is a very versatile horse. Gerardo is not a professional and he wins a lot with that horse, but he had to have surgery on his knee, so I am lucky enough to get to ride the horse a little bit for the circuit.”

“I have to say, it was a very difficult speed course because he used the triple combination, which is kind of abnormal,” Spooner said of the class. “It was oxer-vertical-vertical, so it was not too scopey or anything, but anytime you put a triple in a speed round it is kind of like speed bumps at Walmart – you have to really hit the brakes.”

Richard Spooner and Mighty Mouse in their winning presentation with ringmaster Christian Craig. Photo: Sportfot

“I think that is why a lot of people had time faults because it wasn’t in the beginning, it was right in the middle of the course, so you can’t go tearing around in the beginning,” Spooner continued. “I tried to go kind of medium in the beginning, and then once I got through the triple I relaxed and let him open up a little bit for the last few lines.”
Spooner has high hopes for Mighty Mouse, stating, “I would say he is a grand prix horse for sure. He can jump 1.50m, 1.55m, I think 1.60m. He has not really done that yet, but he is just 10 years old and he is pretty spectacular. His name is fitting. He is little, but mighty.”

Also competing in the International Ring on Saturday, Alise Oken and Hi Hopes Farm LLC’s Belmont topped the $15,000 SJHOF High Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic, sponsored by MAYBACH – ICONS OF LUXURY. Lucy Matz and Janice Aron’s Bailey VI were victorious in the High Junior Jumper speed class, sponsored by Sleepy P Ranch.

Final Results: $35,000 Douglas Elliman 1.45m Classic

Please visit www.pbiec.com or call 561-793-5867 for more information on the Winter Equestrian Festival.

Source: Lauren Fisher and Callie Seaman for Jennifer Wood Media, Inc.