The 5-star finale of the Winter Equestrian Festival was worth every penny of its $500,000 purse in excitement, as a nine-horse jump-off ended with Germany’s Christian Kukuk wresting victory in the Rolex Grand Prix from U.S. favorite McLain Ward by less than a half-second.
The Saturday night feature, playing to a packed house at Wellington International, featured a field of 39 riders who had earned their way into the competition as 13 weeks of showing came to an end. Guilherme Jorge designed a course where every fence tested, though an oxer/oxer/vertical triple combination, uncharacteristically early in the course at number four, took the biggest toll.
Christian Kukuk and Checker 47.
The jump-off course also presented a unique test, as the triple was cut to its B and C elements, after which riders had to make a rollback turn to a new fence, an oxer decorated with horseheads.
McLain, who has only been riding Ilex for seven weeks, made an incredibly neat approach to that obstacle, and went on to finish in 36.24 seconds on a partner who may well be carrying him at the Paris Olympics. But two riders later, Christian and the lovely gray Checker 47 somehow managed to squeeze through the finish line in 35.82 seconds.
Christian, who is part of the Ludger Beerbaum team, Christian said he believed in the jump-off, “If there is any chance for me, I have to have a really tight rollback to that oxer. That went really, really well and Checker tried unreal. Then I jumped out; okay, stay on the distance now you get. I did it. I was flying home. Incredible.”
This was Christian’s first time competing in Wellington, and he had been told how exciting the Saturday night grands prix are, especially the Rolex class.
Christian Kukuk blazing his way through the jump-off with Checker 47. (Photo © Sportfot)
“Checker was in unbelievable shape and he did his job today,” said Christian of the 14-year-old Westfalen gelding by Comme Il Faut 5, who earned $165,000.
“I am so proud of him and it really means a lot to win here the first time in Wellington and beating McLain in front of his home crowd.”
McLain Ward and Ilex.
Then Christian grabbed his blue ribbon in his teeth, raised his helmet over his head and enjoyed his victory gallop.
The third place on the podium went to Karl Cook of the U.S. who went a bit wide on the rollback with Kalinka van’T Zorgvliet and wound up with a time of 36.62 seconds.
Karl said his mare has “been energetic since day one and I think there’s something about her where she knows what the event is.”
McLain reported about his trip, explaining, “I didn’t leave much on the table,” with a blazing jump-off round, but he thought he may have lost a “a touch of time” when his horse bucked after the double. It was the first time he competed in a tiebreaker with the 11-year-old Dutchbred by Baltic VDL, previously shown by a Brazilian rider.
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