Thermal, CA – March 16, 2025 – Fourteen weeks of 1.35m speed competition culminated in one exciting finale and a thrilling victory for Skylar Wireman on Saturday, March 15, at Desert Circuit 10, presented by KASK and Vogel. Aboard Karen, Wireman pulled out all the stops and galloped away with the win in the $20,000 DIHP Speed League Final, sponsored by Petschenig Show Jumping.
When Wireman entered the Grand Prix Arena, the time to beat had been set at 68.427 seconds by Simon Schroeder who was the first rider to try a rather slick maneuver: jumping his mount Calco de Trivera over the decorations set between jumps. That move quickly became the standard for the riders that followed, with Wireman both replicating that track and leveraging Karen’s natural foot speed to shave more than seven seconds off Schroeder’s time.
“It was funny; a lot of us in the course walk were discussing, ‘Do we try and jump it or not?’” said Wireman of the fence decorations. “I was like, ‘Well, I’m going to walk a number to it and see if there’s a nice number to it. It was riding a perfect six to it, so I thought, ‘Why not? Let’s just do it!’ I showed it to [Karen] on the entrance – just trotted by – and she didn’t seem to care, so I was like, ‘Let’s go for it!’
“I think definitely her natural foot speed has a lot to do with the time that we were able to shave off,” continued Wireman, who had stopped the clock in a blazing-fast 61.365 seconds. “All of the lines I felt were set on a number that was a little bit forward, which sometimes in a normal class, I would add one on her as the jumps get bigger just because she doesn’t have the biggest stride. Given the speed class, it was just right that I was able to really keep the gas pedal, whereas I think some other people were having to slow down to fit the numbers in.”
With Wireman taking the win, second place with a time of 62.227 seconds went to Kaitlin Campbell and Palina de L’Escaut, owned by SWS Training & Sales. Mark Kinsella and Bogano took home third on a time of 66.807 seconds, and Allison Kroff and T-Quick Hurricane Z finished in fourth with a time of 66.960 seconds. Early pathfinders Schroeder and Calco de Trivera held on to fifth place.
Riders punched their tickets to compete in the class based on their prize money earned in the 1.35m speed classes held throughout the 2024-2025 Desert International Horse Park season. For Wireman, her entry into the class had just been secured days earlier when she topped both sections of Wednesday’s $10,000 IDA Development Welcome Speed.
While she got in under the wire, the win likely does not come as a surprise for Wireman, as specialty speed classes are one of the areas where Karen excels.
“She’s really good at the six bar; that’s one of her favorite classes,” said Wireman of the horse that she has been partnered with for almost five years, having first competed the now 13-year-old Hanoverian mare, owned by MJ & Todd Kaplan, in the junior jumpers.
“We kind of know what her specialty is – that and the speeds,” continued Wireman. “Her natural ground speed is so fast that I’m always looking for something [like this] that’s really suited to her. Certainly, when there are inside turns, that’s right up her alley! She loves to turn. I’m so thankful for MJ [Kaplan] for letting me keep the ride on her. She was my junior jumper, and now we getting do her as a pro is just so fun.”
To view complete results from the $20,000 DIHP Speed League Final, sponsored by Petschenig Show Jumping, click here.
