Wellington, Fla. – April 12, 2026—Jad Dana (LEB) and Itchcock des Dames, owned by The Itchy Group, closed out international competition during the second week of the Wellington International Spring Series, presented by Florida Coast Equipment, by winning the $120,000 Bainbridge Companies CSI3* Grand Prix Sunday morning on the grass derby field at Equestrian Village.
Jad Dana & Itchcock des Dames. Photo © Sportfot
The Spring Series spans five weeks and runs through May 10, featuring hunter, jumper and equitation competition at Wellington International, home of the famed Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF). Learn more about the Spring Series HERE.
Thirteen horses advanced to the tie-breaking jump-off over course designer Meghan Rawlins’ (CAN) track. Coming off a win in Thursday’s $32,000 BrainJuice CSI3* Two-Phase, Dana used the momentum to score another win, this time aboard a more up-and-coming mount.
Dana and Itchcock des Dames, a 12-year-old Selle Français gelding (Marius Claudius x Calvaro F.C.), crossed the final timers in 44.35 seconds. The pair has been partnered together since 2023, before which the horse was piloted by Israel’s Alberto Michan. Dana was two seconds faster than the runner-up, Canadian Olympian Tiffany Foster.
“It was a jump-off where you had to run and then turn, so you needed a lot of adjustability,” said Dana of his winning jump-off round. “I left out at least one or two strides into the in-and-out, which is normally where you want to be conservative. I think that’s why I was two seconds faster.”
Foster was the closest challenger riding Battlecry, a 12-year-old gelding (Vigo D’arsouilles Stx x Latano) owned in partnership with Kent Farrington and Artisan Farms. They crossed the timer beam at 46.13 seconds. Closing out the podium was Portugal’s Luis Sabino Goncalves riding his own 12-year-old gelding Scoop de Septon Z (Hunters Scendro x Echo Van T Spieveld) with a time of 46.67 seconds.
Tiffany Foster & Battlecry. Photo ©Sportfot
Luis Sabino Goncalves & Scoop de Septon. Photo ©Sportfot
“He’s the kindest horse and is quite sensitive in his own way,” noted Dana of the horse affectionately called Itchy in the barn. ”You have to be very gentle with him and know his way. He’s not the type of horse that I’m used to riding, which is small and quick-moving.
“He is bigger than the ones I normally have, and right now, I think he’s one of the fastest horses I’ve ever ridden,” continued Dana. “When he’s in the jump-off, provided he’s feeling good and I do my job, he has a really, really good time.”
Historically known as a fierce competitor during the Spring Series, Dana spoke of the consistent success he finds on the Wellington International derby field, “We love jumping on this field—it gives the horses more scope and a lot of confidence. I really like to go fast, and the field allows you to be daring and lay it down like I did today.”
Jad Dana & Itchcock des Dames are presented as winners of the $120,000 Bainbridge Companies CSI3* Grand Prix by Richard Schechter. Photo © Sportfot
For complete results of the $120,000 Bainbridge Companies CSI3* Grand Prix, click HERE.
Later in the afternoon, Colombia’s Ilan Bluman rode Echo LVF, an 8-year-old Holsteiner (Emerald x Contefino 2) gelding owned by Ashlee Bond, to victory in the $35,000 Horseware Ireland National Grand Prix. The pair stopped the clock at an unbeatable 38.577 seconds against six other horse-and-rider combinations that made it to the jump-off track. Less than a second behind was Colombia’s Roberto Teran Tafur and his own Henry Jota Apoloni, a 10-year-old Argentinian-bred gelding (Chester Z x Quidam de Revel) with a time of 38.633. Closing out the podium was Israel’s own Daniel Bluman aboard Kester de NYZE Z, a 9-year-old Zangersheide mare (Kannan x Heartbreaker), stopping the clock at 39.022.
Ilan Bluman & Echo LVF. Photo ©Sportfot
Ilan Bluman & Echo LVF are presented as winners of the $35,000 Horseware Ireland National Grand Prix. Photo ©Sportfot
To see complete results from the $35,000 Horseware Ireland National Grand Prix, click HERE.
To view complete results from Spring 2, click HERE. For champion and reserve titles, click HERE. The Spring Series continues April 15 with another three-star week on the derby field.
Visit WellingtonInternational.com to view results, schedules and streaming schedules for the Wellington International Spring Series, presented by Florida Coast Equipment.
