Riding Portobella van de Vruikorff, a 9-year-old Belgian warmblood mare out of Bamako de Musée and Nabab de Reve, Emily Conter ran through the opening course in a fast time of 62.61 seconds to take Ocala’s lead. secured the top position.
Not far away, Conter, riding his second mount, Silant XC Z, a 10-year-old colt from Zangershide owned by Stefex Stables, produced another speedy performance and finished second in 63.78 seconds. entered in.
Looking back on his riding experience, the contour jockey said with satisfaction, “The horses I rode in class are a little young at 9 and 10 years old, and they are still stepping up, but I rode them both very well today.” . “For the filly, she didn’t do anything too crazy. We made it a little tighter around the turns and took her one less stride in some areas. She felt really good.”
“With my other dog, ‘Silant,’ we were trying new things and at the beginning of the course he wasn’t used to it yet, but as we progressed through the course he gradually got better. He got much better at the end. I was there.”
Conter started the week off strong and is looking forward to the rest of the week at World Equestrian Center – Ocala. “It’s my first time here so I’m very excited. I arrived late last night so I’m looking forward to exploring the property today. It’s huge and so beautiful. So far I have nothing bad to say about this place There’s nothing here. I love it here!”
In third place was Juan Pablo Gnecco and Nicola Philippaerts’ former Habab-W (Nabab de Reve x Padinus).