Girls Win Wellington's Battle of the Sexes
11th victory in 16 years of the competition
January 3, 2026 at 9:28 PMBy k.braddick
The closest competition in 16 years of the Battle of the Sexes went to the girls in a thrilling deciding jump off for the first time at Wellington International's Winter Equestrian Festival Saturday night.
Before a stadium packed with about 3,000 spectators, the contest of eight girls and eight boys was tied up after three rounds.
Jessica Mendoza of Great Britain on Noble Tropicana and Luis Fernando Larrazabal of Venezuela on Asconos Girl Z raced to the finish in a match competition adopted for the first time to break a tie.
The British rider was the clear winner to give the girls their 11th victory in 16 years of the competition. It also broke a three-year stretch of wins by the boys.
The teams were made up riders from six nations.
The girls on the winning team were: Mia Bagnato USA, Kyla Makhloghi USA, Kelly Soleau USA, Jessica Mendoza GBR, Caroline Mawhinney USA, Alexis Bodo USA, Samantha Alexis MacKenzie CAN and Kelly Taggart IRL.
The boys were: Luis Fernando Larrazabal VEN, Michael Tokaruk USA, Daniel Geaney IRL, Söhnke Theymann GER, Tony Stormanns GER, Christian Coyle IRL, Charlie Jayne USA and Alex Granato USA.
Photo: The team of girls triumphant in the Battle of the Sexes at Wellington's Winter Equestrian Festival for the 11th time in 16 years of the annual competition. © 2026 Ken Braddick/Jumper-News.US
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