Equestrian Trained Under U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist Clinches Recent Grand Prix Title

New year, new beginnings, new records to be broken, and a fresh page in the history book. These things are exceedingly felt by the equestrian world. The proud host of the Winter Equestrian Festival and the prestigious ESP Annual Series, Wellington International, has flung open its gates again. On a mission to showcase unprecedented show jumping talent, Wellington International serves enthusiasts a 40-week-long platter. As 2024 has already begun, it’s time to have new winners.

Boasting an adrenaline-filled competition and complex technicalities, one of the Grand Prix courses has taken place recently. Named the Prestige Italia Grand Prix, the course was one of the most sought-after events in the Wellington National Premier Week. But the winner who emerged displayed a range of skill sets to snatch the podium on Sunday.

Equestrian Jad Dana – The victor of Premier Week

Jad Dana, though Lebanon-born, had always been under the guidance of US trainers. Training with U.S. Olympic team gold medalist Leslie Burr Howard, he could easily unlock his skills one after the other in the individual events. Pushing German equestrian Richard Vogel to silver, Dana flew like thunder to bag the $75,000 prize money. After stealing both the crown and the limelight, Dana has said, “Every win is special, but winning today was unexpected”. 

He further said, “After watching Richard’s jump-off–who was right before me–I was thinking whether I should play it safe and go for a double-clear or give it a go. I honestly didn’t think I was going to win, but it was my day today.” Standing in second is Richard Vogel clocking 38.121 seconds, edging out Roberto Teran Tafur (third position, 39.467 seconds). The one who said “I have a really nice string of horses and I’m very excited for the season”, has been nothing but proud of his Grand Prix horse ABC Quantum Cruise.

Stellar horse has made international strides

ABC Quantum Cruise had graced Jad Dana’s string in 2023. Since then, the 2009 Irish Sport Horse gelding has only galloped to victory with his rider. After the recent conquest, the overjoyed athlete voiced, “He has one speed and that’s really fast. It’s part of our program”. Australian Olympian Matt Williams and British Olympic team gold medalist Peter Charles have tasted success aboard Cruise, too.

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“We love to win just like everybody, but I think these days the jump-offs are so competitive, if you have a slower horse you don’t really have a chance. Even at home we practice going forward and working off a fast pace so when we come to the jump-off it’s not something new to us. He fought for me today, and this win is huge for our partnership” was what Dana ceased his speech with. The newest year would shower the human-equine pair with more wins, hopefully.

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