Last chance to see the best at Winter Equestrian Festival including McLain Ward and ‘adrenaline junkie’ Catoki

Sarah Eakin's avatar
By
Published In News
McLain Ward and Catoki during their winning round or an Alan Wade designed course
McLain Ward and Catoki in winning form earlier at the Winter Equestrian Festival
(Image credit: Anne Gittins Photography)

As the curtain prepares to come down on the 2022 Winter Equestrian Festival, the statistics are almost finalised and McLain Ward is second in the prize money stakes with a total of $165,030. He may add to that today when he brings out the ‘adrenaline junkie’ Catoki in the $50,000 1.50m National Grand Prix – the closing class of the festival in the International Arena at Wellington International.

Ireland’s Bertram Allen tops the leaderboard of winnings with a current purse of $184,500 and he too has a chance to top that up riding Emmylou this afternoon. Britain’s Ben Maher will take home $156,280 from WEF unless he and Sentimiento LS La Silla land a podium spot, as 52 of the top showjumpers currently in Wellington vie for the final spoils.

Sarah Eakin
Sarah Eakin
Freelance journalist

Sarah Eakin is an international equestrian journalist who writes for publications on both sides of the Atlantic, including Horse & Hound, The Independent and The Daily Telegraph in the UK. A former Pony Club team member for dressage, showjumping and eventing, Sarah’s mother trained National Hunt horses and she and her three brothers also played polo. Formerly married to a US professional polo player, Sarah is currently based in Wellington, Florida.