A total of 45 combinations took to the arena to contest the Richard Jeffery (GBR) designed course, with only eight returning to take their turn around the fast track. The field saw a battle until the very end, with Howard and the 2008 Dutch Warmblood mare (Cavalier x Concorde) claiming the blue ribbon after securing the fastest time as the last pair on course for the evening, stopping the timers in 42.167 seconds.
"I thought Richard [Jeffery] did a great job," Howard explained of the night's track. "It's a sign of a good course when you have somewhere between six to eight clean. It's a nice number. I think he did a great job because he had a bit of a mixed bag of horses. There were some young horses, some older horses, some young riders and I think he did well to get the eight clean that he did."
Second place honors went to Ireland's Paul O'Shea aboard Tequestrian Farms, LLC's 2005 Belgian Warmblood gelding, Imerald Van't Voorhof (Emerald Van't Ruytershof x Bacardi-Orange de Muze), after racing around the jump-off track in 42.374 seconds. Third place was captured by Catherine Tyree (USA) and Mary Tyree's Catungee, a 2006 Holsteiner gelding (Contact Me x Liatos), completing their round in 42.534 seconds.
Howard and the mare, owned by Laure Sudreau-Rippe and Peter Howard, rode to the top of the leaderboard just two-tenths of a second ahead of O'Shea, who was then knocked into second place. Despite the speed, Howard noted that she didn't necessarily have one particular spot in the jump-off that shaved off time and credited the mare for her overall quickness.
The duo just returned from a light yet successful winter show season in Wellington, Florida, where they were the victors during the eleventh week of the 2018 Winter Equestrian Festival. Howard, who still considers the mare a less experienced competitor, intends to ask for more from the talented young mount as the summer progresses.