Thermal, CA – January 29, 2025 – Savannah Jenkins and Cataleya E have only been partnered for a few short months, but the duo is already proving to be a winning combination. On Wednesday, January 29, Jenkins and the 8-year-old mare, owned by Proper 12, LLC, jumped to the win in the $10,000 IDA Development Welcome Speed.
When Jenkins entered the Grand Prix Arena at the Desert International Horse Park, the time to beat had been set at 55.507 seconds by Jeffrey Fields and Kimberly HX – but Jenkins was under the directive to really go for it.
“Ilan [Ferder] looked at me and said, ‘Full gas!,’” said Jenkins. “I said [to Cataleya], ‘Okay, you got to try a little bit here; everything’s going to come up a little fast!’ She really handled it well. She’s naturally super quick, and she’s very correct all the way around. She did a really nice job.”
Jenkins and Cataleya E cruised over the Alan Wade-designed track in 54.214 seconds to ultimately take home the win. Ten trips later, Jenkins returned to the ring aboard Drumiller Pin Up, owned by Julia Thyssen, and the pair tripped the timers in 55.033 seconds to finish in third place. Edging in between Jenkins’ top rides for second place with a time of 54.869 seconds was Simon Schroeder aboard Charlie Red Wine CS, owned by Morris Simchowitz.
“My first and third-place horses are totally different,” said Jenkins. “[Drumiller Pin Up] is much bigger. It’s like maybe riding a Ferrari with [Cataleya E] and with [Drumiller Pin Up] maybe like a Ford Raptor – sturdy but still gets the job done. [Drumiller Pin Up] is a very scopey horse, and we’ve taught her to go a bit faster. She did a really nice job.”
Jenkins continued, “Just a few weeks ago, we kind of stepped [Cataleya E] up to these speed classes. She jumped her first 1.40m last week. She’s handling the 1.35m and the 1.40m really well, so I’m really excited to see toward the end of circuit, if she can start stepping into the CSI2* and go from there.”
Click here to view full results of the $10,000 IDA Development Welcome Speed.
