King of the Ring: Odysseus and Kyle King Claim $30,000 1.45m Open Classic
Kyle King exploded into the world rankings over the past couple years and his 2023 season is off to an equally explosive start, as he took the win in Thursday’s $30,000 FarmVet 1.45m Open Classic at Desert International Horse Park (DIHP). Aboard Patricia Vase’s Odysseus, a newer ride for him, he sped to the fastest time in the single-round speed class, adding a victory to his name in the opening week of Desert Circuit.
Kyle King and Odysseus. Photo by High Desert Sport Photo
New to the schedule this season, the $30,000 1.45m Open Classic allows riders with top mounts to gauge how their horses are performing coming into each week, then make appropriate decisions for how to place the horses the rest of the week. King is one of many top athletes who has taken advantage of the addition of this class, but the result Thursday over Ken Krome’s track was not precisely what he expected.
“On [Odysseus] I was going to be a little more cautious than I planned for my second horse and it turned out the opposite,” King remarked. “He’s just naturally fast so all the jumps showed up at the right place. I was going to put a little muscle into my second horse and he ended up being slower. It’s funny how it works sometimes.”
In Thursday’s class, King would have chosen Ittolo, owned by Kerri Volek, to get him to the winner’s circle, but Odysseus stepped up to the plate and secured the win by just three-tenths of a second. The pair’s time of 60.667 seconds edged them into the lead, ahead of Mark Kinsella who took both second and third, aboard Ben Asselin’s Quality H and La Capitol, owned by Aleron LLC, respectively.
King acquired the ride recently aboard Odysseus, a 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding, from owner Vase, and he’s been getting to know the horse throughout the season so far at DIHP.
“‘Odie’ is a very fast horse,” King continued. “I’m not sure of his stride length yet because we’re just five or six shows in. [Today] was awesome. It’s my first [big] win on him. Patty has brought him along to this level and let me take over the reins. I’m very excited to see what he can do from here because I think he can really, really jump.”
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