The “next generation” — and the generation after that — dominated the spotlight at the Washington International Horse Show Saturday night, as Lillie Keenan, 30, won the 5-star $340,000 President’s Cup after 16-year-old JJ Torano took the 2-star feature earlier in the day.
Riding her own Kick On, Lillie added to her long string of victories at the show. She has been winning there since the days when she took championships in the pony divisions.
Her time of 36.69 seconds held up in a surprisingly large13-horse jump-off (more than half of the 22 starters) over the course designed by Colm Quinn.
The President’s Cup, which is an FEI World Cup qualifier, has special meaning for Lillie, who is thirty-first in the world standings.
She’s been watching the class since she first came to the show on a small pony.
“My mom always wanted me to see the best riders in the world, so it’s pretty awesome to now be one of them,” said Lillie, who has become a regular on U.S. Nations Cup teams.
Ireland’s Daniel Coyle, 33, who was second last year, had to settle for that placing again with his longtime partner, Ariel Grange’s Farrel, on a time of 37.13.
“My plan didn’t go according to plan at all,” admitted Daniel, who knew he had “left the door open” for someone else to clinch the victory. But the world twenty-fourth-ranked rider came up with some impressive titles anyway, taking Leading International and Foreign Rider honors, while Farrel was international jumper champion and Ariel was the leading international owner.
Third went to world number three, 45-year-old Shane Sweetnam, a U.S.-based Irish rider, finishing in 38.09 seconds with Seabrook LLC’s Pia Maria H. Lillie’s mentor, 51-year-old McLain Ward, was fourth with Michael Smith’s Jordan Molga M. McLain, timed in 38.44 seconds, had the disadvantage of going first in the tie-breaker, since he was the pathfinder in the initial round. McLain is world number seven.
The 2-star $50,000 Ambassador’s Cup, running for the first time, was an impressive victory by JJ on I Am Inge, his double-silver mount for last summer’s FEI North American Youth Championships.
JJ’s time of 32.22 seconds made for a comfortable victory over Daniel Coyle, earning second on Nord Face VDL in 33.37 seconds. Laura Kraut and Cinnamon were third in 33.49 seconds to clinch the 2-star championship.
Of the Holsteiner mare he started riding for Ilan Ferder earlier this year, JJ said, “She seems like a slower-going horse, but she’s quicker than you might think. She’s been a great horse for me, and I’m thankful to have her because of Ilan. She’s an amazing horse; she’s super quick, competitive, and wants to win as much as I do.
“She’s super sweet on the ground,” he added.
“She’s fun to play with in the stall. She’s very amped up and hot when she comes up to the ring, but at the barn, she’s pretty laid back and chill.”
In addition to his jumper success, JJ has dominated the equitation division, taking the ASPCA Maclay, the USEF Medal and the Platinum Performance USEF Talent Search Finals East, among other titles in the last few years. The one that has eluded him is Washington, and it slipped by again, as he finished tenth. The class went to Emi Richard of Connecticut, topping a field of 40 that was tested in a hunter phase, a jumper phase and a ride-off in which the top 10 swapped horses.
The Washington show, which was last held in the District of Columbia in 2019, now runs at the Prince George’s Equestrian Center in Maryland. That venue is also the home of the Capital Challenge show, which wrapped up there this month.
Click here for results of the President’s Cup, here for the Ambassador’s Cup and here for the Washington Equitation Finals
