February 3, 2023 
Santiago Lambre (MEX) is on a campaign to put the most mileage under 13-year-old Hanoverian mare Casey’s hooves in the least amount of strides possible.
On Thursday, they added the CSI4* Adequan WEF Challenge Cup Round 4 as part of the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) at Wellington International to their resume. Thirteen horses of the original 51 found a clear path around the Anderson Lima (BRA) designed track, in which Lambre and Casey were one of eight double-clear combinations.
Lambre and Casey took the win with just fractions of a second to spare, taking out strides to bring the time down to 36.6 seconds over the shortened track. Amanda Derbyshire (GBR) was bumped into second place with a 36.91 second time aboard 15-year-old stallion Cornwall BH. Ashlee Bond (ISR) rode for bronze with 12-year-old gelding Garfield in 37.17 seconds.
“This horse is quite new for me, I’ve only had her for eight months,” said Lambre.
Though he’s only been in the irons for less than a year, Casey has been a Lambre horse since 2020 (with some riders in between), competing on the international level with Santiago’s sibling Rodrigo in Mexico.
“She originally was competing in Mexico with my brother before she got sent to me last year. I know the mare and she just needs some miles but she has proved that she is a fast horse and I think she is ready for the 5* next week,” said Lambre.
WEF Week 4 moved onto the grass once again, and Lambre has found Casey likes the natural turf.
“I jumped her on the grass two weeks ago for the first time and she did very good so I felt she was ready for this week,” said Lambre.
Bigger, galloping lines and a ground with less grip doesn’t stop riders from screwing in their studs and making bold decisions. So Lambre still needed to push Casey if he wanted to come out on top.
“I watched the riders going fast and I tried to do less strides everywhere, and the combination I took a lot of risks but she has a big stride and is careful so it works,” said Lambre.
At present, Casey has only completed a total of 10 rounds at 1.50m and above (Jumpr App), but she’s shown glimmers of success throughout her career. In September, Lambre and Casey topped a CSI3* 1.45m ranking class at Major League Show Jumping (MLSJ) Traverse City.
For Lambre, all she needs is more time and a few more miles before consistent top results begin shining through. For now, we await Sunday’s CSI4* $75,000 (CHF) CaptiveOne Advisors 1.50m Classic.
