Lillie Kennan Fastest to Win Wellington $215,000 CSI4* Grand Prix

USA team rider Lillie Keenan was the fastest on her 16-year-old Fasther to win Wellington's Winter Equestrian Festival $215,000 CSI4* Grand Prix.

The victory in a jump-off tume of 40.56 secs. clinched the second international victory so far this year for the 29-year-old rider who now regards Wellington where she has competed since she was seven years old as her home.

Ireland's Shane Sweetnam on the nine-year-old gelding Rural Juror SCF was runner-up on 40.87 secs with Australia's Thaisa Erwin on Hialita B, 14-year-old mare, third on 41.28 secs. Seven of the 11 combinations to make it through the first round completed double clear rounds.

The partnership between Lillie and Fasther is in its eighth year and early issues has made him "really my heart horse."

"We've been through a lot of ups and a lot of downs together," she said. "He was the first horse that McLain Ward (her coach) selected for me so he really is representative of that mentorship and how important it has been for me because when I first got him we struggled a lot.

"I jumped some pretty big classes very quickly. I actually remember before I went in the jump off that the very first time I jumped in a big class and left there was a rollback similar to the one to number three and I fell off and like pancaked the stand there. I thought about that before I went in.

"But I think that just shows a testament to having grown with a horse. I trust him so much, and he tries so hard for me. There's moments where I can go to a fence and think, 'wow, I should have done that better,' and he just turns himself inside out. And I think he does that for me. I don't think he would do that just for anyone. We really have this bond now, and you can't replace time. So experience really proves to be a huge advantage."

Coming off 2025, she said, "I really wanted to try to ride the momentum. We don't have an off -season, and I'm in an incredibly lucky position to have multiple horses that can jump at this level, but that didn't happen by chance. I've planned and really worked towards building a string of horses. I have some older, very experienced ones, and then some young horses just stepping up. So you build that over years.

"And I wanted to really make the most of this moment. So I feel like this is my moment and I gotta go all in."

Results:

CSI4* $215,000 NetJets Grand Prix

Place Horse/Rider Nat. Jump Off Faults Time

1. FASTHER/LILLIE KEENAN USA 0 40.56

2. RURAL JUROR SCF/SHANE SWEETNAM IRL 0 40.87

3. HIALITA B/THAISA ERWIN AUS 0 41.28

4. IDEAAL ES//CHRIS PRATT CAN 0 41.36

5. H5 ORIGI HORTA/CARLOS HANK GUERREIRO MEX 0 41.47

6. JUST BE GENTLE/CHRISTIAN KUKUK GER 0 41.96

7. CORDANI PS/KATHERINE A. DINAN USA 0 45.7

8. ABOU-CHAKER/RICHARD VOGEL GER 4 41.52

9. EDDY BLUE/BERTRAM ALLEN IRL 4 42.21

10 PIXEL-K VAN'T KATTENHEYE/ANSGAR HOLTGERS JR USA 8 49.6

11 DSP CALLAS/ROBERTO TERAN TAFUR COL 12 44.68