Thermal, CA – March 2, 2025 – Throughout the 2025 Desert Circuit, the Desert International Horse Show has cranked up the number of $10,000 1.15m Mini Prix offered, and on Sunday, March 2, Ellington Vasan and Samia Staehle both also cranked things up a notch to take home $10,000 1.15m Mini Prix victories. Vasan’s win came aboard Secret Fernhill in the $10,000 NAL Antarès Sellier Junior 1.15m Mini Prix, while Staehle topped the $10,000 NAL Antarès Sellier Amateur 1.15m Mini Prix with Foxtrot Semilly.
For Vasan, victory meant besting a 33-horse field and a 16-horse jump-off, but the 13-year-old made it look easy. She and Secret Fernhill stopped the clock in 34.317 seconds to take the win by a margin of nearly two seconds. Second place on a time of 36.302 seconds went to Amandine Lane and Ivory, and finishing in third were Sienna Smith and Conova with a time of 36.873 seconds.
“I really like to win; I like to try!” said Vasan in discussing her jump-off plan. “I always take an inside track. I think jumpers is a lot about where you can save time on track, not as much about how fast you go. I knew there were some inside turns that I wanted to take in order to lose some time. He likes to turn, so it’s like a really good match!”
In speaking of the 15-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding that she has been partnered with for the past year, Vasan continued, “He likes to go. He likes to win. He likes to jump and turn. He’s like a little a motorcycle. That’s what I like to call him.”
In the amateur section, Staehle calls her winning horse, Foxtrot Semilly, by a very similar nickname.
“We like to call him, The pocket rocket,’ and the grooms call him chapulín, which means grasshopper,” said Staehle of her 12-year-old Selle Francais gelding. “He’s just a real thinking horse. He looks for the jump just as much as I do. So, if we are in a jump-off, the thing to do is stay calm, ride the ride and let him keep his pace and he’ll turn on the speed.”
Foxtrot Semilly certainly turned on the speed on Sunday, stopping the jump-off clock in 36.308 for the win. Riding away with a close second place were Canada’s Jeff Rootman and The Best of Dancer, who finished the short course in 36.752 seconds. Third place with a time of 36.821 seconds went to Tanya Jarvis and Zirkana Adeleheid Z.
To view full results from both classes, head to dihp.showgroundslive.com.
