Britt Scheifele Starts Spring Fling 1 With $7,500 Core Specialty 1.35m Welcome Speed Win
The honor of doing the first victory gallop of the very first Desert Spring Fling 1 went to Britt Scheifele and Phaedra Dor on Wednesday, March 18, at Desert International Horse Park. The pair kicked off the inaugural show with a win in the $7,500 Core Specialty 1.35m Welcome Speed.
Scheifele and Phaedra Dor were one of 32 entries that contested the first class of the day in the Grand Prix Stadium, and when they entered the ring, the time to beat had been set at 61.912 seconds by Patrick Billes and his own Espartano LS.
Winners just last week at Desert Circuit 10, Billes and Espartano LS are known for their speed, so Scheifele knew she would need to pull out all the stops if she wanted a shot at the top of the leaderboard.
“When I walked the course, some of those inside turns were really questionable!” said Scheifele, who trains with James Chawke. “I was like ‘Should I do them, or should I not?’ …The inside to the double, I saw some people do, some people not do, but when I saw that the leading time had it, I thought ‘I have to do this for the win!’”
Scheifele continued, “Patrick is fast! That little horse has a short step, but it flies. He was good. He did 10 [strides] between [fences] two to three and three to four, I did nine and nine. I think that’s where I got just that little bit of extra time, and then [Phaedra Dor] is so fast, it’s hard to beat.”
With those strides left out, Scheifele flew over the finish in 60.580 seconds for the win. Billes and Espartano LS held on to second place, and Steffen Hauter and Donatella Versace finished in third on a time of 63.367 seconds.
Scheifele has had her winning partner, Phaedra Dor, for the past year and a half, and she knows that the 11-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare is a force to be reckoned with in a speed class.
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