Keri Potter already has two FEI wins under her belt this winter at the 2022 Desert Circuit, and when she looked at the hoof prints in the sand on Saturday, she knew she had a good chance at a third.
“When I came in the ring for the jump off, I saw the horses’ tracks on the ground and knew that if I could cut in a little from those, that I could be faster,” said Potter. “It hadn’t really occurred to me until I saw [the tracks]; I was looking at my track and I said, ‘Oh, look; I can go inside a little bit more!’”
With Bisou, Potter successfully made her own inside track to take victory in the $37,000 Premier Rehab Center 1.45m CSI3* during the Desert Circuit III, marking her third win in three weeks in Thermal, CA.
On their way to the win, Potter and Bisou were one of 12 entries from the 24-horse starting field to qualify for the jump-off, designed by Ireland’s Alan Wade. As one of the final three to return, Potter crossed the finish in 34.03 seconds to take over the lead from eventual second-place finishers, Cassio Rivetti and Vulcana, who finished in 35.14 seconds.
“[Bisou] just moved up in the last month or so into the 1.45m division, and she’s done quite well,” said Potter of the 12-year-old Oldenburg mare owned by Tres Palomas. “Every time I go in the ring, I feel like she gains a little more confidence. She’s a very, very careful horse. Hannah [Loly] has done very well on her, also in the 1.40m.
It was in fact, Loly, a student of Potter’s, who saw the potential in Bisou.
“Hannah actually always believed in [Bisou] more than I did,” said Potter. “I didn’t actually love her in the beginning, and Hannah was always telling me, ‘I think she can do it. I think she can do it.’ It’s fun because I learned something from my student!”
This past summer in particular, Potter felt that things really clicked for Bisou, marking a turning point in her partnership with the mare.
“I really changed the way I ride her,” said Potter. “I didn’t ride her as defensively and was able to ride her a little softer, and she’s just started melting and conforming more with me. So, we became really one.”
While Bisou will now enjoy some well-deserved time off, Potter will next contest the culminating event of the Desert Circuit III, Sunday’s $138,600 Prestige Saddlery Grand Prix 1.55m CSI3*, which kicks off at 2 p.m. (PST). To watch live, visit deserthorsepark.com, and for full results of Saturday’s $37,000 Premier Rehab Center 1.45m CSI3*, click here.