Katie Laurie and Cera Caruso.
© Megan Giese
Katie Laurie rises from Down Under to win $50,000 CSI2* Grand Prix
By Tori Bilas
Katie Laurie (AUS) arrived in the desert during Desert Circuit IV in winning fashion. Her first week proved fruitful for her, taking the win Sunday in the $50,000 Brown Advisory CSI2* Grand Prix aboard Carissa McCall’s Cera Caruso.
Alan Wade (IRL) built a course suitable for a talented field of 27 international athletes, and ultimately 10 of them were able to jump it clear. In a stacked jump-off, Laurie was able to ride closer to the end, but she knew she still had some quick pairs following her.
In the end, only three pairs produced double-clear rounds, and of those, Laurie was the quickest, jumping the short course in 35.70 seconds. Vanessa Mannix (CAN) set an early time to beat of 36.46 seconds with Valentino D’Elte, finishing second. Third place was awarded to Skylar Wireman (USA) and Citoki, decorating the podium with three nations.
“I’ve ridden ‘Elvis’ for a long time,” Laurie remarked of Cera Caruso. “They’re really good owners of mine: Mike and Carissa McCall from New Zealand. He’s quite the character. He’s pretty wild in the warmup, but he always gives it everything in the ring, so he’s a very trustworthy great partner. He’s so quiet at home but he’s so excited at the horse show.”
The strategy with the 15-year-old Australian Warmblood (Casall x Capone) is simple, and they’ve opted to let him go his own way with less equipment, including no martingale. “He’s easy in the ring,” she continued. “I keep it very simple. He likes to go his own way so I just leave him to it. He likes to clear the jumps and that’s the main thing. The type of horses have changed a bit; they’re a bit smaller and faster and lighter, and it suits them to go that way.”
Despite being quite easy in most ways, Elvis likes to add some flair when Laurie and her team least expect it. “He’s an escapee in the stables,” she joked. “If you’re slow with the door, he escapes, and if he’s out he knows he’s not meant to be so he just runs.”
Laurie, originally from New Zealand, made the move with her family to Canada almost exactly three years ago, allowing them to escape the cold and spend a good bit of time in the desert, where Laurie and Elvis have won at the CSI5* level.
“There are so many things,” she said about her fondness of DIHP. “The rings are great, there’s so much space to go hack, and they make it really nice and friendly for competitors. There are a lot of things to like here.”
Laurie, mother of two, knows her kids’ upbringing is looking vastly different from her own back in New Zealand, but she’s enjoying every step of the journey, allowing them to explore new activities and enjoy their surroundings. “They do a lot of different things,” she said of her kids’ activities. “They love skiing; that’s their new thing. The rodeo scene where we are is big, so they’ve done a few junior days. Who knows where that will go. They do the goat tying and untying, and barrel racing and stuff. We do have a goat now named Pumpkin.”
Results here.
Source: Desert Horse Park press release
Further success
Katie also finished with two horses in the placings of Saturday night’s $50,000 HorseFlight National Grand Prix. Riding her own Django II, she was one of seven to make the jump-off and produced another clear round, ultimately finishing in fifth place after stopping the clock at 37.889 seconds.
Olivia Brown and Bling VD Duvelshoeve Z won the class in 35.364 seconds, with Kyle King and Ittolo in second place (35.681), Kaitlin Campbell and Palina De L’Escaut in third place (35.773) and Karrie Rufer riding Stern Dei Folletti in fourth place 35.800.Katie also finished 12th with her own McCaw MVNZ, with just one rail down in the first round.
Congratulations Katie!
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