Ben Maher and Cella Master $125,000 Fidelity Investments� Grand Prix CSI 3*

The world's best battled it out at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center (PBIEC) on Saturday night with a one-two finish for Great Britain in the $125,000 Fidelity investments� Grand Prix CSI 3* at the 2014 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF). Ben Maher and Scott Brash, the top two ranked riders in the world, finished on top of an impressive field of horses and riders in an exciting ten-horse jump-off.

Maher, the number two ranked rider in the world, came out on top with his mount, Cella. Brash, the current number one ranked rider in the world, finished second behind his Olympic teammate with Ursula XII. Alvaro de Miranda (BRA) and AD Norson placed third.

Guilherme Jorge of Brazil set the course for 45 competitors on Saturday night with ten clear rounds and a difficult jump-off, in which the top two were the only combinations to clear the short course. Scott Brash and Ursula XII, owned by Lord and Lady Harris and Lord and Lady Kirkham, were the first pair to clear the course in 39.05 seconds, but had to settle for second place when Ben Maher and Jane Clark's Cella took the challenge and bested their time in 38.68 seconds. Alvaro de Miranda and AD Norson, owned by de Miranda and Victory Equestrian, completed the fastest four-fault round in 39.61 seconds to place third. McLain Ward (USA) and Sagamore Farm's Rothchild finished fourth with four faults in 40.06 seconds.

Not only did Saturday night's class feature the top two riders in the world, it saw four of the top ten, with Beezie Madden (USA) who is currently fourth, and Kent Farrington (USA) who sits in tenth on the Longines FEI World Ranking list. Fourth place finisher McLain Ward ranks 20^th in the world; third place finisher Alvaro de Miranda sits 29^th.     Maher began riding Cella, a 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare by Cento x Chin Chin, during the FTI WEF circuit last winter and got his first big win with her in last year's Fidelity Investments Grand Prix, a $100,000 CSI 2*. Maher commented on their success, stating,"It's a lucky place here for me and Cella at the moment. She had a long break after Geneva and then our first class was this week in the 'WEF' (Challenge Cup),where she felt better than ever. I decided not to do the jump-off because I knew it was going to be fast, and save her for this evening. She's certainly a once in a lifetime horse so I want to save her for the big occasions. Luckily, between the whole team, we made a good decision because she jumped great tonight."

"She's just a phenomenal jumper.  She does it in her own style, and the more I let her get on with it, the better she is," Maher said of Cella's style. "It was a good course tonight. I thought it was big for a 3*, but it has to be big with the horses and competition there is here. In the jump-off there were not too many options. I thought the first round was a great course, very technical, and the jump-off was relatively plain and simple. A lot of horses looked tired and had a lot of faults from running early on, but the course was very suited to Cella. I did what I could do and not what I couldn't. It was a race between me and Scott tonight."

Brash's mount, Ursula XII, is a 13-year-old Scottish Sport Horse mare by Ahorn x Papageno. Brash got the ride on Ursula just after the Olympics in 2012, but explained that it took some time for them to figure each other out.

"It took us probably six months to a year to just gel as a partnership, and I wanted it to change her a bit to my style, and I tried to adapt to what she likes, but I have to say she's a joy to ride and she's such a sweet horse in every way. She's a real top horse," Brash stated.  
Saturday night's jump-off was a fun rivalry for Brash and Maher, and they explained that it keeps them competitive.

"Ben and I are very good friends," Brash acknowledged. "I think it's a rivalry in a really good way. He wants to beat me as bad as I want to beat him. It's good for Great Britain."

"Scott and I were the only two clears tonight. If we had known it was going to work out like that, perhaps we should have spoke before and come to an arrangement to slow down a bit," Maher point out with a laugh. "I've been lucky, same as Scott, with my team, my horses behind me now, and the support from Jane Clark. It has made all the difference in the past 12 months. It just proves how much we need the owners and the sponsors to support us and how much success that can bring, and we both work hard."

De Miranda was happy with his third place finish aboard AD Norson, a 13-year-old Selle Francais stallion by Quidam de Revel x Grand Veneur, that he has ridden since the horse was four years old. The top placing was a happy end to a bad day for de Miranda after getting news about an injury in one of his top horses. The rider shared that AD Rahmannshof's Bogeno, who he won last year's $500,000 FTI Consulting Finale Grand Prix CSI 5* with, has sustained an injury that will keep him out of competition for a minimum of six months. Despite the bad news, de Miranda had a good night with AD Norson and has high hopes for his season.

"He's a very nice horse," de Miranda said. "In the beginning I was using him as a speed horse, and then since 2010 I started upgrading him to the bigger classes and he did very well. He was in the Pan American Games where we had a silver medal with the team, but the ground was not too good and after that he wasn't coming back too strong to this level. Here he is jumping really good, and he's back to what he was before. He's a really nice horse, very competitive, and I love to ride him."

De Miranda commented on the level of competition at this year's FTI WEF, stating, "I like to come here for two reasons: to build up horses, and to bring along young horses.  When you come here for three months it is like spending one year in Europe. You can do a lot, and you can get to know the horse. They come back to Europe in very good shape. It is top level sport.  You have the best horses and riders here. It is very competitive."

A special new award was presented before the class on Saturday night. The Engel & V�lkers Owner Award recognizes the owner with the highest earnings in prize money each week. The award includes all horses by the same owner in both hunter and jumper divisions. 

During FTI WEF 1, Paris Sellon (USA) was the top earning owner. Ronan McGuigan (IRL) was the recipient of the award for FTI WEF 2. Week's three's top owner will be tabulated upon completion of competition on Sunday and the award will be presented at the start of next week's $50,000 Ariat� Grand Prix CSI 2* at The Stadium at PBIEC on Sunday, February 2.

An award for the Leading Lady Jumper Rider was presented as well, awarded to Germany's Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum after a great week competing with her veteran partner, Checkmate 4. The award is sponsored by Martha Jolicoeur of Illustrated Properties.  

Jumper Highlights - Wednesday through Sunday

The 2014 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF) began its third week of competition, sponsored by Fidelity Investments�, on Wednesday, January 22, with a win for Shane Sweetnam (IRL) and Spy Coast Farm LLC's Cyklon 1083 in the $34,000 G&C Farm 1.45m FEI world ranking class.

Brazil's Guilherme Jorge was the course designer in the International Arena at PBIEC for week three's competition. Jorge set the course for 46 entries in Wednesday afternoon's $34,000 G&C Farm 1.45m speed class and had 14 clear rounds. Shane Sweetnam and Cyklon 1083 went early in the order and completed the course in 57.10 seconds to earn top honors.

Canada's Eric Lamaze and Wang Chung M2S, owned by Morningside Stud and Torrey Pines Stable, had the fastest jump-off time of 31.977 seconds to earn top prize in Section A. Laura Chapot and Mary Chapot's Zealous jumped off in 32.457 seconds to top Section B.    

Week three continued on Thursday afternoon with a shared victory for Todd Minikus (USA) and Quality Girl and Tiffany Foster (CAN) and Victor in the $34,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup Round 3. Held in a "California Split" due to the large number of entries, the competition awarded two sets of placings, each with $34,000 distributed.

The top three finishers in Section A included Minikus and Quality Girl, Ian Millar (CAN) and Dixson, owned by Ariel and Susan Grange, with their time of 40.84 seconds, and Eric Lamaze (CAN) with Artisan Farms LLC's Zigali P S in 43 seconds flat.

Section B saw a top finish for Foster and Victor, with Kent Farrington (USA) and Amalaya Investments' Willow in second in 41.80 seconds, and Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum (GER) and Octavia Farms' Checkmate 4 in third in 43.52 seconds.

In addition to the prize money in Thursday's class, Minkus earned a special $3,000 bonus as part of the SSG 'Go Clean for the Green' promotion for wearing his SSG 'Digital' Riding Gloves. Each week of the Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup Series, a $3,000 bonus will be awarded to the winning rider if they are wearing SSG 'Digital' Riding Gloves in all rounds of competition with the SSG logo clearly visible.

Frances Land (USA) and Vieanne proved themselves with a win against many of the world's best in Friday's $34,000 Spy Coast Farm 1.45m speed class during week three of the 2014 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival (FTI WEF). An FEI World Ranking competition, the pair held a significant lead through most of the class, jumping clear and fast to top second place finishers Daniel Bluman (COL) and Apardi, with Ben Maher (GBR) and Aristo Z finishing third.  

Friday's Spy Coast Farm 1.45m saw 53 competitors and 13 clear rounds. Daniel Bluman and Apardi jumped the first clear round and set the pace at 65.23 seconds, but were quickly pushed into second place when Frances Land and Vieanne cleared the course in 63.97 seconds five rounds later. Eighth to go in the overall order, Land and Vieanne held onto that lead to the end despite the roster of impressive horses and riders that followed. 

McLain Ward (USA) and Wings and Brianne Goutal (USA) with Uata were the only two pairs to beat Land's time, stopping the clock in 61.97 seconds and 63.62 seconds respectively, but each had a single rail on course to finish out of the money. 

Also on Friday, the $6,000 Spy Coast Farm 1.40m Speed Challenge was held earlier in the day with 107 entries and double prize money awarded in a 'California Split.' Abigail McArdle and David McArdle's Cosma 20 had the fastest clear round of the class to win Section A. Santiago Diaz and Tizimin La Silla topped Section B.

Week three of the 2014 FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival concluded on Sunday with a win for Quentin Judge (USA) and Double H Farm's HH Dark de la Hart in the $34,000 Suncast� 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic.

Week 3 Classic Winners: 

$15,000 Engel & Volkers, Sollak Carr SJHOF High Amateur-Owner Jumpers - Alexandra Crown and Verona   

$10,000 Sleepy P Ranch SJHOF High Junior Jumpers - Chloe Reid and King of Hearts   

$10,000 Animo USA Medium Amateur-Owner Jumpers - Christina Heurtematte and Holala Z   

$10,000 Charles Owen Low Amateur-Owner Jumpers - Meg O'Mara and Sinatra IV   

$10,000 Martha Jolicoeur, Illustrated Properties Adult Jumpers 18-35 - Anna Rose Klingenstein and Cornetto   

$10,000 Classical South Florida Adult Jumpers 36-49 - Alexandra Cherubini and Vengeance   

$10,000 Horseware Ireland Don Little Masters - Holly Yeterian and Zero Point   

$10,000 Maria Mendelsohn, Illustrated Properties Low Junior Jumpers - Caitlin Creel and Da Vinci   

Week 3 Champions:

EnTrust Capital Children's Jumper 14 & Under - Isabella Russekoff and Mister Cash van der Veldmden

FarmVet Adult Modified Jumpers - Gina Calicchio and Chacca Blue

National Distaster Solutions Children's Jumper 15-17 - Tyler Mayer and Windelinde

Griffis Residential Children's Modified Jumpers - Sheer Levitin and Nabuco du Theil

Equiline Low Adult Jumper 18-35 - Kathryn Haefner and Kaberle

Low Adult Jumper 36 & Over - Roger Smith and Trixy 5

Hunter Highlights - Wednesday through Sunday

Havens Schatt and Bacardi are already off to a good start in 2014. In the seven-year-old KWPN gelding's first show of his second green year, Bacardi and Schatt were champions of the Equine Tack & Nutritionals Second Year Green Working Hunter at FTI WEF on Thursday afternoon. Schatt piloted Bacardi to four blue ribbon rounds over fences and placed third in the under saddle class.

The reserve champion for the division was As Always, ridden by Jennifer Hannah and owned by Jennifer Smith. The pair were first in the under saddle and fifth, second, fourth, and second over fences.

Tracey Mack-Gorin and Seville jumped their way to the Adult Amateur 18-35 Hunter Section A division championship Friday morning at the FTI WEF. Mack-Gorin rode Seville, owned by Isabelle Caccamise, to second, fifth, and first places over fences before finishing second in the under saddle class.

The reserve champion for the division was Stephanie Bulger and her own Mariano. The pair won two over fences classes  in addition to finishing fourth under saddle.

Nineteen-year-old Lexi Maounis and her 12-year-old Hanoverian mare, Sienna, were crowned division champions Saturday morning in the Amateur-Owner 18-35 Hunter division, sponsored by The Bainbridge Companies, at the FTI WEF. The pair built a solid lead during day one of competition after winning both over fences classes, which they followed up on day two with a third over fences and sixth place finish in the under saddle class.

The reserve champion for the division was Libretto, owned and ridden by Alliy Moyer. Moyer and Libretto were eighth and fourth over fences on day one before riding to the reserve champion title on day two. The pair was sixth in the first over fences class before winning the final over fences round and the under saddle class.

Sixteen-year-old Vivian Yowan and her 13-year-old Warmblood gelding Shockwave were division champions of the EnTrust Capital Small Junior Hunter 16-17 division at FTI WEF on Sunday morning. The pair won both over fences rounds on the first day of competition for the division before placing third under saddle and first and third in the final over fences rounds. Yowan also received the Champion Owner/Rider Award for her win with Shockwave.

The reserve champion for the division was Bravado, owned and ridden by Kelsie Brittan. Brittan also took home Reserve Champion Owner/Rider honors. The pair were second in three over fences classes and won the under saddle class.

For full results, please visit  www.showgroundslive.com.