October 5, 2026 
“If you get there, wins will come.”
It being spooky season, one can almost imagine the whispery, insistent voice behind Kevin Costner’s ghostly premonition in the 1989 baseball film “Field of Dreams” inspiring Sharn Wordley’s extended quest to compete with his horses in Mexico.
The Ocala-based rider for New Zealand has been dreaming of a Mexican show jumping tour for the last few seasons, despite various unforeseen circumstances thwarting his plans.
“I’ve been trying to come here for three years now. I had a little injury with a horse three years ago, and we couldn’t come, and last year, the border was shut, so we couldn’t come,” Wordley explained.
This month, however, Wordley not only managed to make it south of the border, he landed in the iconic Mexican plunge pool—a beloved tradition reserved, in this case, for the winner of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ of Puebla.
On Saturday, September 3, Wordley and Brin d’Or de Haute Melen Z defeated a field of 22 combinations to take victory on Anderson Lima (MEX)’s technical track. The course included a related distance of fences with water trays, a triple combination, and delicate obstacles such as a white plank and a narrow vertical two jumps from home, with Wordley logging the only clear effort of the day.
More to the point, the class was decided without the need for a jump-off.
“I thought [my horse] had a good chance [to win], but I thought there would be a jump-off with at least four horses. It’s not often that you win a class without having to go fast in the jump-off, so I’ll take it,” Wordley reflected.
Ireland’s Conor Swail, who finished second aboard Casturano with a single fence down, also found Lima’s track tough but jumpable. “Anderson never builds a soft course, but I must say, it was fair,” he said. “Even if there are a few mistakes (made by riders), the horses are being educated.
“There probably should have been three or four clears today if a couple of us had a bit more luck.”
This is not only a career-first, 5* Grand Prix win for Wordley and the 12-year-old Zangersheide gelding, Brin d’Or de Haute Melen Z, it is also their first time jumping internationally at the 1.60m height. Their four-year partnership, Wordley says, has been a bit of a labor of love.
“I’ve had him since he was eight years old. I’ve had to take my time with him, because he is so careful. [He had to learn] to trust himself at the bigger jumps,” Wordley explained. “He felt really confident today, like a lion.”
With this victory—his first-ever in a World Cup qualifier—Wordley now ties Traverse City winner Beat Mändli (SUI) for first place in the standings on 20 points after the second leg of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ North American League. Swail and fellow Irishman Shane Sweetnam currently tie for third place with 17 points each.
Next up: the League moves on to the Washington International Horse Show (Upper Marlboro, MD) October 20-24.
