Daniel Bluman and Cachemire De Braize Ride to the Win in the $10,000 FEI 2* 1.40m Welcome Speed at TerraNova Equestrian Center
It was a gorgeous afternoon as nearly 50 horses contested the Joe Rycroft-designed course in the $10,000 FEI 2* 1.40m Welcome Speed during TerraNova Hunter/Jumper Week 4. Israel’s Daniel Bluman aboard Cachemire De Braize blazed through the timers to secure the win for the second consecutive week.
The track consisted of 12 numbered fences and 14 jumping efforts including two combinations, an oxer-vertical and a double of verticals, and a liverpool. The time allowed of 74 seconds proved rideable with 16 clear rounds with six pairs incurring only time faults.
“I want them to have a nice gallop and get really stretched out for tomorrow,” Rycroft said. “I’m just looking for a slight bit of technicality in the course today. I want to give nice options, but I want to keep it flowing and on a nice rhythm the whole way around.
“I have a slight bend in five to a plank that might come up a little quieter than the riders walk,” Rycroft said. “And then if they go direct in six (strides) to the following combination, it’s very difficult. I’m more looking for a seven there, which is what I think most of the riders will take.”
The top plank at fence four came down a few times and the bending line from the Helm Limited liverpool to the oxer-vertical one stride rode anywhere from six to eight strides with a majority of riders taking the waiting, even seven-stride option.
Rycroft talked about his strategy for the Welcome course. “I want to have everybody as confident and on top of their game as I can in a Welcome,” he said. “So then they come in and they’re strong and I can be strong with the course according to how they are.”
As 41 in the order, Bluman and Cachemire De Braize (Quality Touch x Pashmina De Braize) bested a field of world-class riders including Peter Leone (USA), Darragh Kenny (IRL), Kent Farrington (USA) and Ashlee Bond (ISR). Bluman and the 11-year-old gelding, owned by Over the Top Stables, stopped the timers in 61.960 seconds, more than two seconds faster than the second-place pair of Rupert Carl Winklemann (GER) and Omar Van de Hunters (Hunters Scendro x Endless).
“He’s a cool horse to have in my string,” said Bluman of Cachemire De Braize, or Cache as he’s called. “He has his own very personal way of jumping and of going. He’s been with us for several years. He started with us when he was seven.
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