Leslie Howard Loses a Shoe, Wins the Welcome

This summer, she fell off Gentille Van Spieveldat in the victory gallop at Spruce Meadows.

But they were no unscheduled departures for Leslie Howard at Split Rock Farm Jumping Tour Columbus International I in Ohio on Thursday.

Howard rode the 11-year-old bay gelding victory in the $35,000 CSI 2* Hollow Creek Farm 1.45m Welcome Stake.

“I am a little bit leery of [victory gallops] but he was good today,” chuckled Howard. “Maybe because he was at the front of the pack and not at the back. Maybe it will be an incentive for him to keep winning.”

Seventy-fourth, out of a starting field of 77, in the Alan Wade designed course, Howard already had the advantage of a late draw in the ten-horse jump off. But a pulled shoe in the warm up moved her down to the last in the ring as she waited for the farrier to reattach the lost hardware.

“When we were half way through the class and there were only three clear, you had to think that maybe it was a little harder than it looked. There were a lot of related distances and options,” said Howard after her win.

“I got the luck of the draw in the jump off, getting to see most of the other rounds, and then with the lost shoe I really got lucky because I got to see everyone go.”

The pair returned to the ring to leave all the fences in place, stopping the clock at 40.95 seconds—half a second faster than Emanuel Andrade (VEN) and Ricore Courcelle’s 41.42 second finish. Sharn Wordley (NZL) and Caiman des Sequoias took third in 41.9 seconds.

Here’s their winning round.