Luis Fernando Larrazabal (VEN) has been extremely consistent at the 1.50m height throughout the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) so far, and on Saturday of WEF 6, he scored a win with Victoria Huertematte’s speedy mare Scarlett du Sart Z. Borrowing the mare for the $32,000 Hermès CSI3* 1.50m Classic, Larrazabal came back from a lower position to snag the top spot and his first international win with the horse.
“This mare is owned by Victoria, one of my sponsors and clients for a long time,” Larrazabal shared after his win. “Normally I don’t compete her but I know her because I’ve trained her for two years. I know she’s very fast, so I just needed to keep the jumps up.”
It seemed like a simple plan, but eight pairs ended up clear in the jump-off, so the race for the top spot was a tight one. Larrazabal had one rail down in round one over Catsy Cruz’s (MEX) course, the winning round format allowed him to make the top 12 and return on a clean slate.
“I was trying not to get in her way, and use her stride because she has a massive one,” he continued about his jump-off approach. “I knew what I needed to do. I think the jump-off suited her very well because it was more about a gallop than tight turns. That definitely suited her stride.”
After a win in the Adequan® WEF Challenge Cup Friday, Philip McGuane (IRL) ended up just barely in second place with Edgard de Prefontaine, owned by Evergate Stables. He stopped the clock at 45.40 seconds to Larrazabal’s 45.37. In third was WEF 5 two-star grand prix winner Marilyn Little (USA) and Olympic van de Noordheuvel, owned by Tal Milstein Stables.
Scarlett du Sart Z, a 15-year-old Zangersheide mare (Stakkato x First Bride), is not short on experience after jumping the Pan American Games in 2023 with Huertematte aboard for Panama. The mare flew the Irish flag for many years at the CSI5* level with Daragh Kenny before joining Huertematte’s team.
“It's a lot of pressure for me because she jumps so well for [Victoria] so it’s taking a little bit of time to figure it out with me,” Larrazabal said of taking over the ride while Huertematte sits out briefly. “Finally we won so I’m very happy and thankful.”
Larrazabal currently sits atop the Hermès 1.50m standings after five weeks of WEF. “I’m feeling very good,” he said about his performance thus far and his chances going forward. “Having really good horses is a very different game. I’m winning right now; there are still a lot of weeks to go but I feel very comfortable. My horses are jumping great and I have enough to rotate them, keep them fresh through the season.”
See full results from the Hermès CSI3* 1.50m Classic HERE.
BrainJuice U25 competition is back on the grass for WEF 6 as well. In the BrainJuice U25 Welcome, Tony Stormanns (GER) took the win aboard Surprise, owned by HS Sportpferde GMBH. In second was Juan Andres Vegas Enriquez (VEN) and Clarisimo, and Niamh McEvoy (IRL) rounded out third place aboard BP Swifty, owned by GBBS International.
See full results from WEF 6 HERE.
