Keean White Wins $50,000 Las Vegas National Welcome Speed Classic at Las Vegas CSI4*-W

Keean White & Hera van de Kouterhoeve Ph. Amy McCool

Canada’s Keean White galloped to victory in the $50,000 Las Vegas National Welcome Speed Classic on Thursday, November 17 at the Las Vegas National Horse Show CSI4*-W.

White rode the 9-year-old BWP mare Hera van de Kouterhoeve (Dawson van de Padenborre x Winsconsin van de Cruyenvelda) stopping the clock in the fastest time of 64.76 seconds to best a stacked field of 55 of the world’s best horse and rider combinations for the win.

Round 1 of the 1.50m speed track proved a difficult test with the majority of the starters ending their course on multiple faults, six with a single time fault riding over the 79 second time allowed. By the time of conclusion of the first round, ten pairings would return for the jump off.

Fresh off of a victory in the $200,000 Sunshine Grand Prix at HITS Thermal on November 13th, Ireland’s Kevin Babington and the 11-year-old Hannoverian mare Shorapur (Stakkato Gold x Drosselklang II) would bring in 2nd place finishing in 66.23 seconds and 3rd place went to Austria’s Peter Petscheing and the 14-year-old DSP gelding Saint Quentin (Quidam de Revel x Jasper) in 68.91 seconds.

Germany’s Guido Klatte Jr. who also made a splash last week in California winning the $52,500 Coachella Valley Classic at HITS Thermal, finished 4th riding the 9-year-old OS gelding Qinghai (Quidam de Revel x Cordalme) in 68.97 seconds while 5th place went to Canada’s Jaclyn Duff riding the 10-year-old Hanoverian gelding Eh All Or None (Abke X Grannus) in 72.26 seconds.

See full results here.