Lillie Keenan & Fasther Stick the Landing in NetJets Grand Prix
In front of a home crowd, USA’s Lillie Keenan and longtime partner Fasther took flight in a jump-off brimming with horse and rider talent to win the $215,000 NetJets CSI4* Grand Prix, highlighting Saturday Night Lights during Week 3 at Wellington International’s Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF).
A rising star with her sights set firmly on the 2026 World Championships, Keenan, 29, bested a field that included two Olympic champions and five of the world’s top 10 over tracks set by Canadian course designer Peter Grant. A daring rollback to the third fence and a leave-out in the final line left Keenan and her 16-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Vigo d’Arsouilles STX x Farmer) the eventual victors by three-tenths of a second.
Irish Olympian Shane Sweetnam came the closest to Keenan’s time of 40.56 seconds, narrowly missing top call with Spy Coast Farm’s Rural Juror SCF—a nine-year-old Danish Warmblood by Presley Boy. He notched in at 40.87 seconds ahead of third-place finisher and Australian Olympian Thaisa Erwin. She piloted the 14-year-old Dutch-bred mare Hialita B, owned by Michael Smith.
“That final line was a risky moment, but I think it made the biggest difference,” said Keenan, who rides under the direction of six-time U.S. Olympian Mclain Ward.
“He was the first horse that Mclain selected for me and represents the important mentorship I have with him,” continued Keenan of Fasther, owned by her own Chansonette Farm. “He’s my heart horse—he has a fire inside of him; loves to jump, but he really loves to run. We struggled a lot at first with rideability, but I have grown up with him; I trust him so much, and he tries so hard for me.”
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Lillie Keenan & Fasther Stick the Landing in NetJets Grand Prix – Wellington International
