Sunday 22nd January 2012- Michel Hecart's daughter Marie Hecart of France won the Wellington CSI2* 1.50M with Ecurie Michel Hecart's 10 year old SF bay mare Oceane de Nantuel(Diamant de Semilly x Quidam de Revel). Marie's father who normally rode this mare, had a bad fall a few weeks ago and broke both his hands, so for the mean time, Marie is riding his horses. Second place went to last week's 1.50m winners, Nick Skelton (GBR) and Beverley Widdowson's Unique. Yann Candele (CAN) and Lansdowne, owned by Susan Grange, were third.

Luc Musette of Belgium designed the course for today's class. There were 38 entries in the class, and 9 were clear and into the jump-off. As the second pair into the ring for the jump-off, Hecart and Oceane de Nantuel set the winning time at 37.552 seconds and couldn't be beat.

Photo Credit: Sportfot

"I went fast 1-2-3, but then I added a stride to the combination," Hecart said of her jump-off ride. "I thought that I would not win because I added and everybody went fast. The end was fast too, but the combination wasn't fast at all. I was a little bit right, left and I waited a bit. It worked this time."
 
Skelton and Unique made a great bid for the win but were just 5/10ths of a second slower in 38.025 seconds. Candele and Lansdowne posted a time of 39.783 seconds for third place. Laura Kraut (USA) rode Woodstock O, owned by Joan Kalman, to fourth place in 40.147 seconds. Riding Sinead and Oonagh Kennedy's KEC Alligator Alley, Ireland's Cian O'Connor placed fifth with a clear round and a time of 40.239 seconds.
 
Hecart has gotten the ride on Oceane de Nantuel, a 10-year-old Selle Francais mare by Diamant de Semilly x Quidam de Revel, since her father Michel was injured. "She jumped the $500,000 (grand prix at the FTI WEF) with my father last year and she went clear. My father got hurt this year; he had a bad fall, so I'm riding the horses," she explained. "It's the third class that I've done with her. She is ready!"
 
After last year's success, Oceane de Nantuel competed in grand prix classes in Europe with Michel Hecart. She returned to the United States in November, and started back up for competition two weeks ago. Hecart plans to move up to the grand prix classes with her. Marie Hecart said of the mare, "She feels good. She likes when you ride with a nice rhythm all the time. She has good balance and is really careful. She really likes the pace, which helps in the jump-off."
 
Hecart has made her home base in Wellington, FL, and doesn't currently have plans to show in Europe. "If I have a horse to jump the big, big classes, I will go to Europe, but I don't have any plans right now. I like living here. The show is nice and it's good for the competition," she remarked.
 
This is Hecart's first win this year at the FTI WEF, and she is happy to have recorded it early in the circuit. "It feels good! I've been doing many rounds with one down, so it is nice to put it all together," she said.

Final Results: $25,000 Suncast® 1.50m Championship Jumper Classic
1 OCEANE DE NANTUEL, MARIE HECART, ECURIE MICHEL HECART: 0/0/37.552
2 UNIQUE, NICK SKELTON, BEVERLEY WIDDOWSON: 0/0/38.025
3 LANSDOWNE, YANN CANDELE, SUSAN GRANGE: 0/0/39.783
4 WOODSTOCK O, LAURA KRAUT, JOAN KALMAN: 0/0/40.147
5 KEC ALLIGATOR ALLEY, CIAN O'CONNOR, SINEAD & OONAGH KENNEDY: 0/0/40.239
6 RAMINA, KEVIN BABINGTON, ALEXANDRA BARTLETT: 0/0/40.898
7 OSIRIS, GEMMA PATERNOSTER, GEMMA PATERNOSTER: 0/0/41.439
8 LIGIST, REED KESSLER, REED KESSLER: 0/4/37.941
9 APACHE, ASHLEE BOND, LITTLE VALLEY FARM: 0/8/42.408
10 KAID DU RY, ALISE OKEN, HI HOPES FARM LLC: 4/77.668
11 RADIO CITY, VICTOR AMAYA, GOTHAM ENTERPRIZES: 4/77.829
12 NOUGAT DU VALLET, KATHERINE DINAN, GRANT ROAD PARTNERS: 4/78.723

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