McLain Ward and First Lady Win the FEI5* Qualifier in California
$182,000 1.55m FEI5* Qualifier by Visit Greater Palm Springs
5 December 2025 at 10:59 amBy a.dunne
Olympian McLain Ward and First Lady clinched the $182,000 1.55m FEI5* Qualifier by Visit Greater Palm Springs at Major League Show Jumping in Thermal, California. The American show jumper and the 12-year-old Oldenburg mare - defending champions - clocked in with a jump-off time of 36.01, one of three clear rounds in the jump-off.
France's Nina Mallevaey and Dynastie de Beaufour finished second, jumping off in 36.95 seconds. Conor Swail of Ireland and Clonterm Obolensky finished the jump-off in 41.59 seconds, coming in third.
The Top 5:
1 McLain Ward - FIRST LADY - 0/36.01
2 Nina Mallevaey - DYNASTIE DE BEAUFOUR - 0/36.95
3 Conor Swail - CLONTERM OBOLENSKY - 0/41.59
4 Keri Potter - KALIMER VAN DE NETHE Z - 4/34.89
5 Nicola Philippaerts - GADGET MOUCHE - 4/35.84
Nine riders in a field of 36 made it through to the jump-off.
This year's Qualifer purse went up from $62,500 in 2024 to $182,000. In addition, there were 130 FEI ranking points available for the Qualifier, up from 80 FEI ranking points in 2024.
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