Wellington, Fla. – March 7, 2026—Irish Olympian Darragh Kenny and his European Championships mount Eddy Blue had never won a grand prix at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) until this week. Under the shine of Saturday Night Lights at Wellington International during Week 9, the pair broke that maiden by storming to a win in the $500,000 Bainbridge Companies CSI5* Grand Prix from a field that included six of the world’s top 10. WEF hosts 12 weeks of FEI competition—four of which are five-stars—running through March 29, in Wellington, FL.
Podium presentation with Richard & Jennifer Schechter. Photo ©Sportfot
Clear rounds were not easy to come by over tracks set by Alan Wade (IRL), who has been tapped as the course designer for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. However, nine horses advanced to the tie-breaking jump-off, with riders representing five nations.
The jump-off pathfinder, Marilyn Little (USA) set the time to beat at 41.92 seconds aboard her own La Contessa, an 11-year-old Mecklenburg mare (License x Cornet’s Prinz). Six rounds later, Australian Thaisa Erwin and her Paris Olympic mount Hialita B matched Little’s footfalls in perfect unison to cross the final timers in a rarely seen dead heat aboard the 14-year-old Dutch-bred mare (Emerald x Vaillant) owned together with Michael Smith. Little and Erwin shared second-place honors on the podium.
Darragh Kenny & Eddy Blue. Photo ©Sportfot
Watch The Winning Round
Kenny returned as the penultimate challenger aboard Eddy Blue, a 14-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Eldorado vd Zeshoek TN X Chacco-Blue) owned by Carol A Sollak. He used the horse’s massive stride and quickness across the ground to stop the timers at an uncatchable 41.77 seconds.
“He’s been second and third here [at WEF] and placed in a lot of five-stars, but to finally win one here is really deserving for the horse—he’s an incredible athlete,” said Kenny, who won the FEI World Cup™ of London with Eddy Blue in 2024. “He tries so hard every time he goes in the ring, and I am really proud of him and how he competed tonight.”
Of his jump-off round, where he left a stride out in the first line, Kenny noted, “Eddy Blue is a very careful horse, so I can take a bit of risk with him. The relief of winning tonight was quite big.
“He’s a championship-type horse because he wants to leave the jumps up every day,” he continued about his long-term goal to be named to the Irish team for the FEI World Championship in Aachen in August.
Kenny’s groom, Shauna Murray, was presented with the Double H Farm Grooms Award and a $500 cash prize for her care and preparation of Eddy Blue.
Darragh Kenny’s groom Shauna Murray was presented with the Double H Farm Grooms Award and a $500 cash prize for her care and preparation of Eddy Blue. Photo ©Sportfot
The Bainbridge Companies Grand Prix was the first five-star grand prix podium finish for Little and La Contessa, however, the pair has jumped clear in their last five five-star grands prix together.
“My goal for this season was to position Contessa as a real competitor at the five-star level and show what she can do,” said Little, who was most recently part of the winning U.S. Nations Cup squad in Wellington. “For her to come out and put in another performance like tonight against this group and a course designer with the technicality and the size that Alan Wade built is a big deal. “She doesn’t have the biggest stride, but she’s smarter than almost any horse I know. She’s probably smarter than most people that I know.
Marilyn Little & La Contessa. Photo ©Sportfot
“I would have loved to have not gone first,” laughed Little. “When you’re going first with a group of riders like this, all you can do is the best you can do.”
Since 2010, an Australian rider has not finished on a five-star grand prix podium at WEF. Erwin changed that on Saturday with her tied second-place finish. “When I saw the time, I thought it must have been an error, but grateful that we could be here on the podium,” she said.
Thaisa Erwin & Hialita B. Photo ©Sportfot
“I’m grateful to break the long streak of no Australians here, and I hope this is the first of many,” continued Erwin, who admits that the road to Hialita B’s success has not been simple. “She is a difficult horse to manage on the ground and to ride, and I’ve taken a lot of time. Luckily, she has taught me a ton of patience, because you need that to be around her. But she gives me her heart every time.”
Erwin was awarded the Martha Jolicoeur, Douglas Elliman Leading Lady Rider Award to close the night.
Thaisa Erwin is presented with the Martha Jolicoeur, Douglas Elliman Leading Lady Rider Award by Martha Jolicoeur and Dr. Stephen Norton. Photo ©Sportfot
Kenny, Little, and Erwin will now focus on aiming their three horses from Saturday’s podium at the $1m Rolex US Equestrian Open Grand Prix, a Rolex Series event, at the end of the season.
For complete results from the $500,000 Bainbridge Companies CSI5* Grand Prix, click HERE.
Sydney Shulman Desiderio Goes Two-For-Two
Daytime competition in the International Arena on Saturday of WEF 9 saw a win for Israel’s Sydney Shulman Desiderio in the $62,500 Coastal Steel Structures CSI2* Grand Prix riding Max van de Marijenhoeve, a 9-year-old Dutch-bred gelding owned by Shulman Desiderio, together with her mother Jill Shulman.
Sydney Shulman Desiderio & Max van de Marijenhoeve. Photo ©Sportfot
“I’ve never sat on a horse that oozed so much confidence,” said Shulman Desiderio after the win. “He felt like so much quality from the beginning. Even though he was quite green, he still felt like he knew what to do.”
Max van de Marijenhoeve joined Shulman Desiderio’s string as a 7-year-old, but soon returned to the horse’s previous owner, David Blake, to campaign while she welcomed her second child. “I think he showed him three times as an 8-year-old—so really, he’s quite green,” continued Shulman Desiderio, who also partnered with the horse to win the two-star qualifier on Thursday.
“I came back to riding in November, and we’ve been using every class to build and develop. On Thursday, we decided it was time to see what we’ve got, and he was unbelievable,” she recalled. “That was the first time he’s been asked all the questions and answered nicely.
“I was unsure what I was going to have today after going so fast,” continued Desiderio Shulman, who manages Back Country Farm in Greenwich, CT, alongside her mother. “He’s a trier and a pleaser—anything I ask, he wants to do right, even if he doesn’t know what he’s doing.”
Sydney Shulman Desiderio & Max van de Marijenhoeve are presented as winners of the $62,500 Coastal Steel Structures CSI2* Grand Prix. Photo ©Sportfot
Rounding out the podium placings in the pinnacle two-star event of the week, Vasco Flores (PUR) was second riding Pas Normal ‘V’, owned by Layla Kurbanov, and Caroline Mawhinney (USA) finished third aboard her own Hallilea.
After the win, Shulman Desiderio expressed gratitude to the team that kept Max van de Marijenhoeve in fighting condition while she was away from the tack. “Mary West, my groom for 14 years; Renato de Vita, my flat rider; my mom, who literally watches the horses every single day and manages everything they do; and David Blake, who stepped as a huge part of his progress—they’ve honestly made it so simple for me to come right back.”
For complete results from the $62,500 Coastal Steel Structures CSI2* Grand Prix, click HERE.
International five-star competition during WEF 9 concludes Sunday, March 8, with the Hermès 1.50m Championship Jumper Series Classic in the International Arena. Visit WellingtonInternational.com for results, schedules, and wall-to-wall streaming.
