Above: Rowan Willis and Copain. Photo Credit: Andrew Ryback.

Twenty-nine competitive entries took to the WEC Grand Arena on this gorgeous Ocala day to vie for the top prize in the $10,000 Buckeye Nutrition Futures Prix. Casty Cruz of Mexico built the intricate tracks that saw nine horse-and-rider combinations produce faultless first rounds. Three pairs ultimately jumped to double clear finishes, but it was Rowan Willis and Copain that were simply unbeatable.

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Rowan and Copain were early in the order of go in the $10,000 Buckeye Nutrition Futures Prix. The pair jumped a tidy first round, going clean in a time of 76.187 seconds, just under the time allowed of 77 seconds.

“It wasn’t the easiest course, but Copain has been in good form the last few weeks. We’ve been knocking at the door and today he jumped better than ever” said Rowan.

Rowan and the careful Copain advanced straight to the jump-off, “I always like to take the shortest route, so we did every inside turn that was available. It felt easy for him, he covers the ground nicely and he really tries” expressed Rowan.

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Rowan and the 11-year-old gelding flew through the timers with all rails up in 37.062 seconds, a time that held them atop the leaderboard for the remainder of the class.

“We have only had Copain for a month now. His owner, Peter Moore actually just flew from Switzerland to come see him, so it’s nice having a win. He’s a super competitive horse and that really showed today. I think we will start jumping a bit bigger and hopefully soon he will be in the grands prix,” said Rowan.

Sourced from Press Release by The World Equestrian Centre.