Aldergrove's Kassidy Keith started a streak last weekend on the closing day of the West Coast Classic at Thunderbird Show Park on Sunday, June 30.
After winning Saturday's feature class in the "Seize the Day" Speed Derby with Evita, she made it a double aboard her longtime partner Havana in the 91原创 Grand Prix 1.40m.
First to return in a five-horse jump-off, Keith and Havana set a standard that could not be matched by producing the only double-clear effort of the day, with a winning time of 49.99 seconds.
"With Havana, I'm 100 per cent confident in her all the time," Keith commented, who has developed the mare since her four-year-old season.
"She was feeling her best today, and I knew that there were some fast horses behind me, so I just tried to keep it efficient."
Keith shared that it was an anxious wait through four combinations after her jump-off, but she was able to see firsthand the results of the pressure she had put on her competitors 鈥� despite doing an additional stride than she would have liked to.
"I think it's a really hard thing to do, to land off the first jump and already be galloping," Keith shared.
"That's where Havana was a bit behind the leg and I could have left [a stride] out, but she was right there [with me] and she's so quick in the turn."
The Marina Azevedo's (BRA) short course dares riders to push forward with a number of gallop lanes, and that resulted in some miscommunications and flatter jump arcs over the fences.
But instead of extending her stride too much, Keith prioritized Havana's footspeed and agility.
Coming up the grades behind Havana are her foals, whom Keith and her mother Cheryl have bred. The oldest is five-year-old Statement, also known as "Sabrina."
"I showed her at Thermal and here [at tbird] until the last show. I'm giving her a bit of a break. She's realy big, and she's growing. The other baby is two years old, out of Havana and Fenelon," Keith explained.
Keith and Havana will be back at tbird at an international competition in August.
