46/ DECEMBER 2022 THE RIDER


Lillie Keenan Captures the Win in the $40,000 CSI4*-W 1.50m Las Vegas National “All In” Speed Classic


Presented by Blenheim EquiSports


November 17, 2022 – Las Vegas, NV – Both prize money and the most-desired positions in the starting order for Saturday night’s $150,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Las Vegas were up for grabs on Thursday evening, and it was the USA’s Lillie Keenan on Agana van het Gerendal Z who secured the best of both. As the final of 35 en-


tries in the $40,000 CSI4*- W 1.50m Las Vegas National “All In” Speed Classic, presented by Blenheim EquiSports, Keenan crossed the finish line in a blazing-fast 59.76 seconds to earn the win. When she and the 11-year- old Zangersheide stallion, owned by Chansonette Farm LLC, entered the ring, the time to beat over the An- derson Lima-designed course had been set at 59.76 seconds by notoriously fast Irish rider Conor Swail aboard Theo 160. “Tonight, being a


speed round, obviously you had to have your foot on the gas the whole way,” said Keenan. “I watched proba- bly the first 15 riders go, and I saw a few quick rounds with some unlucky faults. I knew I had to be quick, but I knew where it was possi- ble to be quick without tak- ing too much risk. I walked the course, and I made a plan of, in the event that I have to really give it every- thing, ‘What do I have to do?’ I stuck mostly to that. I made a slight adjustment be- cause I didn’t really need to leave out quite as many strides, and my horse is quite quick, so as long as I keep up the rhythm, he’s pretty quick across the ground.”


Keenan continued,


“He’s incredibly special to me, but also to my entire stable. [When I first] sat on him, I felt like I couldn’t ride him. I knew he was re- ally talented, but I wasn’t so sure that I was going to be able to mesh with him so well. My mom said to me that I had to learn to ride the horse because she wanted him no matter what, and she thought that he was incredi- ble. I took a little bit of time in the beginning, but it was probably only about three or four months. Then we really hit our stride.” For the Thursday win,


Lillie Keenan and Agana van het Gerendal Z. Photo by Andrew Ryback Photography With Keenan and


“Aggie” taking the win, Swail finished in second, and Egypt’s Nayel Nassar rounded out the top three aboard Jiminy Cricket, owned by Evergate Stables LLC.


“This is my first time


ever in Las Vegas, and it’s obviously also my first time at the show,” said Keenan. “I am so excited to be here. It is an amazing environ- ment. It’s so much fun to be in a place that has so much action. I definitely went gambling for a bit, and I lost enough, so I think I’m going to stick to the show jump- ing!”


Sticking with show


jumping is likely a good plan for Keenan, as Thurs- day’s win comes amongst a string of success for the 26- year-old, including aboard her partner of four years, Aggie. “I bought him at the


end of his 6-year-old year, and he’s really been a part- ner that we’ve grown to-


gether,” said Keenan. “I was the first one to jump him in any grand prix classes, and I’ve really been his only [show] rider since then, so it’s been exciting to grow as a partnership, and now he’s really stepped up to the highest level.” When the stallion is not in the show ring with Keenan, there is a chance that Keenan’s mother, Pam Carmichael Keenan, is in the irons. “My mom also helps


me work him and keep him fit,” explained Lillie Keenan. “When he’s at home, and I ride him, he can really act like a stallion and show off a bit to the other horses, and then when my mom rides him – he totally understands that it’s a differ- ent rider, and he becomes like a pony. I think that’s re- ally a key to our success. I believe we have to keep the horses happy, and that’s been really, really an impor- tant part of his program. He at home goes in a snaffle.”


Keenan received a Blenheim EquiSports prize- giving coolerette, an Ethel M Chocolates Epic Pre-


Lillie Keenan and Agana van het Gerendal Z in their victory gallop. Photo by Andrew Ryback Photography


mium Chocolate Gift Bas- ket, an Ogilvy saddle pad and a Topline Design Rib-


bon Wreaths custom picture frame and gift certificate.


Lillie Keenan, joined in her winning presentation by ringmaster Dillon Lucas, Blenheim EquiSports CEO Hillary Ridland and awards coordinator Nani Leubke. Photo by Andrew Ryback Photography


Hailey Royce Earns November’s Show Jumping Hall of Fame Rider of the Month Award Sponsored by Charles Ancona


Lexington, KY – December 1, 2022 – Hailey Royce of Wellington, FL, has earned the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Rider of the Month Award Sponsored by Charles Ancona for November. Royce competes in the Junior Division of the Show Jumping


Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series’ East Conference Presented by ROOD & RIDDLE. She had a successful week at the National Horse Show with Double Clear LLC’s Sonic Boom. Using her horse’s amazing footspeed and inside turns, she secured victory in the $25,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Championship Final. Royce was one of only seven riders to advance to the jump-off and one of only two double-clear, piloting Sonic Boom through the timers in the winning time of 36.691 seconds. The pair also secured the Junior Jumper Champion-ship for their success in the division. The Show Jumping Hall of Fame conducts the Show Jumping


Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series with classes at approximately 80 horse shows each year. The Series hosts separate divisions for junior and amateur riders in two Conferences – the East Conference presented by Rood & Riddle and the West Conference presented by LAURACEA. The Series culminates in year-end Championships at the National Horse Show in Lexington, Kentucky, and Blenheim Eq- uiSports’ International Jumping Festival in San Juan Capistrano, Cal- ifornia. Winners of the Series’ East and West Finals each receive one of LAURACEA’s best-selling Convertible Backpack Totes. The Show Jumping Hall of Fame Rider of the Month Award


is proudly sponsored by Charles Ancona. The 2022 winners of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Rider


of the Month Award Sponsored by Charles Ancona are: January – Grace Debney of Hampden, MA February – Zayna Rizvi of Greenwich, CT March – Tom Wachman of Tipperary, Ireland April – Natalie Jayne of Elgin, IL May – Mimi Gochman of New York, NY June – Layla Kurbanov of Greenwich, CT July – Zayna Rizvi of Greenwich, CT August – Savannah Hemby of Flower Mound, TX September – Vanessa Hood of Wellington, FL October – Ellie Ferrigno of Newtown, CT November – Hailey Royce of Wellington, FL


The Show Jumping Hall of Fame was organized to promote


the sport of show jumping and to immortalize the legends of the men, women and horses who have made great contributions to the sport. The Show Jumping Hall of Fame is located at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. Plaques honoring those who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame can be seen at the Horse Park’s Rolex Stadium. Mementos and artifacts from the sport’s his- tory are on display as part of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame col- lection at the United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA)


Wheeler Museum at the Horse Park. The Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series is


sponsored by Blenheim EquiSports, Charles Ancona, CMJ Sporthorse, ESP, The Hampton Classic Horse Show, Kentucky Horse Park, LAURACEA, Lisa Seger Insurance (LSI), National Horse Show Association of America, Rood & Riddle Equine Hos- pital and United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA).


For more information about the Show Jumping Hall of Fame,


including the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series, please visit the Show Jumping Hall of Fame website at www.ShowJumpingHallofFame.net.


Hailey Royce with Sonic Boom © Shawn McMillen Photography


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