Kyle King and Kayenne Z Capture $340,000 CSI5*-W Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ VictoryTo:

Thermal, Calif. – Kyle King describes Kayenne Z as a horse that “has been delivering dreams one after another here recently” – and the mare certainly helped King fulfill another dream on Saturday night, January 31, at Desert International Horse Park.

In front of a full-house crowd at the Thermal, Calif. venue, King (USA) claimed his first CSI5* grand prix victory, topping the $340,000 CSI5*-W Longines FEI Jumping World Cup^TM– Thermal, presented by La Quinta Resort & Club.

Alan Wade set the track for the featured class of Desert Circuit 4, and it all came down to a thrilling seven-horse jump-off.

The USA’s Karl Cook set the early time to beat at 36.60 seconds aboard Foxy de la Roque, and soon it was King’s turn. As he and Kayenne Z flew over the final Longines oxer in 36.46 seconds, King’s hometown crowd erupted into cheers.

Kyle King and Kayenne Z topped the $340,000 CSI5*-W Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™Thermal, presented by La Quinta Resort & Club. Photo by High Desert Sport Photo

“This is my home,” said King. “I live here on this property seven months of year, and I ride a lot of rounds in these rings. I’ve got a lot of friends and family and clients and people. It is always nice to be here at this horse park because it’s an amazing venue. Everybody treats you great here, and I feel really home. I’ve got for sure all the staff and everybody that hung around to watch night, they’re all rooting for me. It was nice!”

With King taking the win, Cook and Foxy de la Roque finished in second, and Kaitlin Campbell and Karius made it a fully West Coast-based top three as they finished in third with a time of 39.96 seconds.

Karl Cook and Home-Run. Photo by High Desert Sport Photo

KARL COOK GETS A HOME-RUN IN $63,000 VISIT GREATER PALM
SPRINGS CSI2* GRAND PRIX

Karl Cook and Home-Run hit the ball out of the park on Saturday, January 31, to take home the win in the $63,000 Visit Greater Palm Springs CSI2* Grand Prix at Desert International Horse Park.

The duo was one of seven combinations from the 30-horse starting field to advance to jump-off over the course designed by Alan Wade and Colm Quinn, and with a leave out down the final line, they crossed the timers just fast enough to clinch the win in 35.58 seconds.

“I was hoping to get seven [strides] down the last because I saw everyone do eight, and it just wasn’t that long,” explained Cook (USA). “I knew if I could get the second to last right, then the seven was there with our stride. That was more or less our best shot. Although we were turning tighter than I expected, she’s still a bit slow in those turns and the way she jumps, so it had to be in the straight lines. That’s why we pushed it for the seven down the last.”

Taking home a very close second place on 35.72 seconds were the Netherlands’ Mathijs van Asten and Orlando van de Afspanning, owned by Vani Khosla. Third place went to Canada’s Tiffany Foster who rode Steadfast to a time of 37.91 seconds for owner Artisan Farms LLC.

FROM THE WINNER’S CIRCLE