AACHEN, Germany--Lillie Keenan on the 8-year-old Chagrin d’Amour won the Sparkassen Youngster Cup Final.
Lillie Keenan on Chagrin dAmour (Photo by Jenny Abrahamsson for Worldofshowjumping)Chagrin d'Amour was also the best horse overall after three days of competition in the youngster tour, and as per tradition in Aachen he won Keenan a foal.
Over two competitions in Aachen, the 30 best 7- and 8-year-old horses had qualified for Saturday’s final , with 13 going clean to go on to the jump-off.
As the second to last to go, Keenan was out to beat the leading time of 36.83 seconds posted by Ben Maher of Great Britain on the 8-year-old Maddox VH Haringvliet Z.
Jumping the penultimate vertical on an angle, Keenan did a rollback to the final fence, Chagrin d’Amour cleared it and crossed the finish line in 36.61 seconds.
When the last to go, Olivier Perreau of France on the 8-year-old Leopard Des Joanis Z finished in 38.23 to place fifth – the victory belonged to Keenan.
“HE LANDED from the red and thought we were done, and he did his little buck and play, and saw the gate – but he is the kind of horse that if you tell him to go and jump, he will go, and he was right there with me, I never questioned him,” Keenan said.
Lillie Keenan with the foal she won (Photo by Jenny Abrahamsson for Wordofshowjumping)”To be honest, I knew I had a chance of winning this class with this horse," she said. "In his own head he is already a 12-year-old. He is incredibly smart. I honestly have the feeling I could ride him in the Rolex Grand Prix tomorrow.”
“I haven’t often ridden him fast," she said. "But I thought today is the day to try it out. His breeder, André Nepper, came to watch him. Which is great. We have owned him jointly for quite a while already and we are like a family. We have always believed in him. He is simply really something special!”
Ben Maher placed second and Cian O’Connor of Ireland on the 7-year-old Pegasus was third, followed by Denis Lynch of Ireland on Shogun STS fourth and Perreau fifth.
“Virginie Casterman, who works for McLain Ward, found him for me,” Keenan said. “She watched him as a 6-year-old and kept telling me I should try him. I tried him as a 7-year-old with Francois Mathy, and I bought him right away, but left him in Europe. I left him here because I felt like since he was a stallion, I would have missed some time in the 7-year-old year if I brought him to America,. Therefore, Francois’ rider Joao showed him a bit in the youngster classes. Then, I brought him to America and started showing him in Wellington, so I haven’t had an abundance of time with him.”
“Mentally, he is like a seasoned horse; he just so quickly figured out what the job is,” Keenan said. “I have not gone quick that many times with him, so that was definitely a step forward today. He is just a genius – I don’t think I have ever ridden a horse that is so easy going. It is like he knows what I will ask him before I even ask a question. He is playful, but when you give him a challenge, he rises to the occasion.”
Lillie Keenan also won a special prize for her victory: A colt by Chaloubino PS OLD x Balou du Rouet called Chalou Touch HC.
The “HC” stands for the breeders, Heike and Carmen Zimmermann from Nettetal.
Keenan’s plans for her four-legged newcomer? “Quite honestly – I don’t know yet. We’ll have to see.”
Perhaps he will follow in Chagrin d’Amour’s footsteps.
