November 6, 2022 
Daniel Bluman (ISR) and 14-year-old gelding Ladriano Z are familiar with the feeling of wind through their hair (mane) as they gallop the length of the ring, a rosette streaming from their bridle.
But it’s been a minute since the pair last fronted a victory gallop.
Ladriano Z took a hiatus in 2020 on account of a sports injury. As one Bluman’s top horses, his absence put pressure on stablemates Gemma W, an 11-year-old mare, and Ubilic, a 10-year-old stallion to step up and fill his iron shoes.
“During COVID the horse actually got injured. He wasn’t really doing that much, but that’s how the sport works. He was out for a while and we weren’t really sure what was going to happen with his career,” said Bluman.
Safe to say Bluman’s other mounts rose to the occasion. Gemma W put the Israeli rider and former Trailblazers team member atop the podium in repeat 5* classes at the Ontario leg of the Major League Show Jumping tour in August.
All the while, Ladriano Z was recovering from his injury, and slowly getting his mojo back at the top level. Bluman and Ladriano have flirted with a win as of recent, collecting a third place at the CSI5* Royal Windsor Horse Show in May, and top five finishes at the CSIO5* at Spruce Meadows in September.
On Saturday, in the $215,000 Longines FEI Show Jumping World Cup Lexington CSI4*, they made their long awaited comeback.
The pair sailed to the win ahead of the star-studded 35 rider field that dwindled to a humble seven rider jump-off. It was a tight race to the finish along the tricky Guilherme Jorge designed course, but as always, the clock had the final word.
Bluman finished in 35.13 seconds, while Nicholas Dello Joio (USA) and 10-year-old gelding Cornet’s Cambridge were a beat behind in 35.47 seconds. Hunter Holloway (USA) and her 2021 World Cup Finals partner, 11-year-old mare Pepita Con Spita, rounded out the podium in 35.99 seconds.
“Last year [the National Horse Show] was the first Grand Prix he jumped [after his hiatus], and he finished third. Since then he’s had a pretty good run and been very consistent. He doesn’t show that often—this is the 10th horse show he’s jumped this year, and it’s good to have a win,” said Bluman.
“He’s been second multiple times and third, but tonight he won. It’s great for the horse, I’m really happy that he gets to put his name on a prestigious horse show like this one.”
Respecting the level of this occasion is what ensures even the most experienced 5* riders don’t ride on their laurels and fall victim to one of Jorge’s eloquently designed traps.
“I had the chance to be able to watch Devin [Ryan] go [in the jump off]. I thought he was very fast from what I was able to see, so my plan was to do a little bit of what I saw he did and try to edge him in the turns,” said Bluman of his original course plan.
But sometimes, you just need a helping hand from your family in your rise to the top.
“Then, when I was about to go in, my cousin Mark told me to do nine [strides] from the wall to liverpool, and that’s pretty much how it worked out. Jump number three was a very difficult jump in the jump-off because the horse spooks at the wall. So my plan was not to take a big risk, but then I just did.”
High risk, high reward, and the World Cup Finals in Omaha is fixing up to be just that. With Omaha drawing nearer by the week, Bluman’s preparing for his first potential World Cup Finals campaign.
“My plan is actually to hopefully take both [Ladriano Z and Gemma W]. I have never jumped a World Cup Finals. And as much as I love championships, I think that they do require quite a bit of the horses. It’s a lot of jumping. If I do go, I will go with both of them, that will be my plan,” said Bluman.
For the other podium finishers, Dello Joio and Holloway, their results were also worth celebrating. It was Cornet’s Cambridge’s first World Cup class, and Holloway is hoping to be a hometown hero in Omaha, so qualifying is high on her priority list.
“I couldn’t be happier with this year and this horse’s progression. Second in his first World Cup! I’m really happy,” gushed Dello Joio.
“We haven’t really decided if [Omaha] is our plan. I mean, this horse is in its first year really jumping higher than 1.45m. This obviously was a good start. If next week goes well in Toronto, [then the World Cup Finals] might be something we look at…but it’s not that we’re trying to qualify. If we do, and it falls like that, then we’ll look at it.”
Pepita Con Spita is Holloway’s only 5* show jumper at the moment, so while her ambitions are just as lofty as those of her peers, her mind is also in conserving her horse.
“I just have one horse, so I try to space [competing] out a little better, but I also want to get my points out of the way early so I’m not worried about it because Omaha [NE] for me is only two hours from home. So that would be cool to be able to qualify,” said Holloway.
Though the road to Omaha is not going to get any easier, for anyone. Jorge explained that the sport is evolving, and while the horses get sportier the courses need new challenges.
“The quality of the riders is very good; it’s always a fine line to get a good number for the jump off, but give them a good experience. The sport is evolving and the quality of the horses and riders is changing,” said Jorge.
“If you look at what they did in the jump off, the line from one to two was 26.5 meters, or 85 feet. In the jump off, they all did five strides. I would say that six or eight years ago, that would be a six stride, so we have to factor all of the changes that have been happening in the sport. I think it was a very difficult course for the group and I’m very happy with the result.”
There are five World Cup qualifiers on the docket, and Conor Swail [IRL] is still comfortable on top of the leaderboard, but it seems Ladriano Z is just getting started (again).
