Thermal, CA – February 15, 2025 – This week marked Conor Swail’s first time jumping One Edition in FEI competition, so Swail considered February 15’s $117,000 Premier Equestrian CSI3* Grand Prix a “fact-finding mission.” At the end of the Saturday afternoon class at the Desert International Horse Park, at least one fact was apparent: Swail and One Edition make a winning combination. The pair bested a six-horse jump-off to take home victory in the Desert Circuit 6 featured event.
“[The win] was a bit of a surprise really!” said Swail. “The first day [this week] she was a little green. She jumped great yesterday, and I thought, ‘Why not try her today?’”
The 10-year-old mare, owned by Vanessa Mannix, is usually competed by James Chawke, but while Chawke is out of the saddle with an injury, Swail is filling in.
“Vanessa owns her, so [One Edition] is part of our team, and she has been for the past couple of years,” explained Swail. “She’s competed very successfully with James. He brought her along very nicely. She’s done a few ranking classes and has won a lot. Luckily enough for me, I’m able to step in there and ride her for a little awhile.”
On their way to Saturday’s win, Swail and One Edition were the penultimate pair to return to the Grass Field to jump-off over the Colm Quinn-designed course. At that point, the time to beat had been set at 40.14 seconds by Canada’s Ali Ramsay and Conrado 12, but Swail and One Edition shaved off just enough time to take the win in 39.24 seconds.
Ramsay and Conrado 12, owned by Ramsay Equestrian Inc, finished in second place, and the USA’s Paris Sellon took home third place with a time of 42.45 seconds aboard Anna Jo, owned by Willow Grace Farms.
“She jumped beautifully in the first round,” said Swail of One Edition, or “Addie” as she is known in the barn. “The start of the course, I maybe just overrode her a little bit. She got a little tense throughout the second half of the round and started to get a little edgy, but with her carefulness and quality, we ended up getting a lovely clear round.”
Swail continued, “She is quite quick actually. So, in the jump-off, I just tried to think a little bit about what to do better on her – which was sort of less leg and a little better timing. I thought she was very, very good in the jump-off. It was a very nice round. She did everything she was supposed to do. It was great to come out on top!”
To view complete results of the $117,000 Premier Equestrian CSI3* Grand Prix, click here.
