McLain Ward Gets Revenge & Joins ‘Final Seven’

“Kent (Farrington) keeps beating me every week,” said McLain Ward smiling. “I had to get a little revenge.” The $75,000 Budweiser World Cup qualifier of Syracuse is one of the highlights of the indoor show circuit in North America and the excitement had spectators on the edge of their seats until the very end. Olympic course designer
Leopoldo Palacios narrowed a field of 29 using a tricky skinny jump and a tough combination that caused run outs, stops, and rails to topple to the dirt. Out of the nine that qualified for the jump-off, it was McLain and Kent who went head-to-head. Kent posted a clean round in 34.5 seconds aboard Up Chiqui and held the lead until
McLain came into the arena as the final rider and emerged as the winner – stopping the clock just 14 seconds faster than Kent. The jump-off was a like a replay of the Pennsylvania National
Horse Show held just two weeks ago, except that at the Pennsylvania World Cup Qualifier Kent led the victory gallop. It could be McLain was thinking of that as he encouraged Phillipa to gallop down the final line in the jump-off. McLain was ecstatic over the win on his new mount Phillipa. He said he has never ridden a horse like her and has
“never felt a horse jump so easy.” The young mare is only nine years old and jumped her first grand prix in May of this year.

Budweiser World Cup Qualifier of Syracuse
International Jumping Competition -Table A with One Jump Off 1m60 Saturday, November 3rd 2007
1.PHILLIPA - MCLAIN WARD(USA) $22500 0 0 34.36
2. UP CHIQUI - bwp1993Quidam de Revel x Chin-Chin KENT FARRINGTON (USA) $16500
0 0 34.50
3. ARIELLE - WILLIAM WHITAKER(GBR)
$9750 0 0 35.43
4.CASADORA - LAUREN HOUGH(USA)
$6000 0 0 35.80
5.I.T.MOZART DES HAYETTES - MICHAEL WHITAKER(GBR) $4500 0 0 36.28
6.ONIRA - BRIANNE GOUTAL (USA) $3750
0 4 36.76
7.CARLOS-BOY - KEN BERKLEY (USA) $3000
0 4 40.12
8.VEGAS - CHRISTINE MCCREA (USA) $2250
0 4 41.90
9.VANCOUVER D'AUVRAY - DANIELLE L. TORANO (USA) $2250 0 8 37.11
10.V.S'S CURTIS - PIET RAIJMAKERS (NED) $1500 4 58.11