October 9, 2022 
If you checked out the start-list for CSI3* Grand Prix of Greenwich, you might have noticed four-time Olympic medalist McLain Ward (USA) had a new name beside his.
The 11-year-old gelding called Lezaro is a new partner for Ward. Previously campaigned by Italian rider Michael Cristofoletti, the gelding is still getting his feet wet at the 1.50m level.
Partnerships in any division need time to grow and develop, but an experienced pilot has a way of rubbing off greenness and getting into the Grand Prix swing of things with the utmost efficiency. For Ward, it only took three shows to secure an international win.
The gelding was originally intended for a student, but they didn’t quite match. Instead, Ward rode Lezaro at the Hampton Classic and finished top five in the CSI5* 1.50m class. They jumped together again at the CSI5* Longines Global Champions Tour of New York but not without collecting rails in each class. On Saturday in Greenwich, the pair struck harmony, a challenge considering Lezaro’s temperament.
“He’s a bit feisty in his character, but the quality is incredible, and I really enjoy riding and competing him,” said Ward, who evidently has a type.
Over the course of his career Ward has jockied many different horses, but some of his most successful partners have been of the spirited variety. Take Rothchild, for instance, the Belgian sport horse gelding that jumped with his ears pinned and kicked out after the gallop to the finish.
Related reading: 8 Times Rothchild Has Resting B*tch Face
Or, his 16-year-old mare HH Azur, who is notoriously hot, yet has earned over 3,000,000 euro in prize money to date and sports a 56% clear round rate out of 81 rounds at 1.60m (JUMPR App).
So Lezaro might not be everyone’s perfect match, but it’s no surprise that Ward is enjoying being in the irons for now.
“[Lezaro] is actually a horse that I was part of selling earlier in the year, and it wasn’t quite the right match for [the rider]. It was a talented young rider, but it just wasn’t the perfect combination. I have a great relationship with her and her family, and so they’ve allowed me to continue riding him. We’ve been just kind of building our relationship,” said Ward.
The Grand Prix of Greenwich was an integral step towards building that relationship. Six combinations of the original 28 returned to jump-off and only four ultimately jumped clean. As usual, the Alan Wade (IRL) designed track wasn’t giving anything away for free.
“[The course] was a challenge, and you saw that there were not so many clean. In the jump-off, I felt like my horse was fast, and I wanted to try to take a shot,” said Ward.
It was a shot worth taking in the end, and he finished the course double clear on a time of 40.74 seconds. Devin Ryan (USA) and his team gold medal winning World Equestrian Games mount Eddie Blue managed the same but clocked in at 40.84 seconds. They left a gap ahead of Mario Deslauriers (CAN) and his Tokyo Games partner, 13-year-old mare Bardolina, who chose to take an extra three seconds on their way around (43.90). Still, it was double clear and good enough for a $32,400 check at the show office.
