Kristen Vanderveen and Bull Run’s Divine Fortune
Thirty-two horse and rider combinations flew around the forward track in the $40,000 1.35m Las Vegas National Speed Stake, presented by Equithrive. But it was nineteenth to go, Kristen Vanderveen, aboard her eight-year-old mare, Bull Run’s Divine Fortune, who, for the second night in a row, took the most daring and speedy track in 54.24 seconds for the win. Frenchman Eric Navet and The Flying Ham were closest to catching Vanderveen, boldly galloping between jumps, with the crowd cheering, ultimately stopping the clock in 55.26 seconds for second place.
Vanderveen and Bull Run’s Divine Fortune are a fairly new pair, and this was one of their first speed classes together. “I want her to be a competitive horse, so I walked a competitive track – I figure there’s only one way to learn. I was waiting to see what she would show me tonight, and she really pulled through.”
In reference to Vanderveen’s strategy, she attributed her winning time to taking less steps in the lines. “I did leave out strides, which was a test to see how big her stride length is. My turns were not as quick as Eric’s, so leaving those out really helped me,” she noted. But the speedster thought she left a little room for someone to go faster. “I couldn’t watch the rest of the class after I went. I was pleased with my horse tonight, but I knew someone could beat my time with a perfect round.”
Gleaming after two victories in two nights on two different mounts, with Navet nipping at her heels in second both times, Vanderveen is excited to compete in Saturday night’s $100,000 Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Las Vegas, presented by Interactive Mortgage, with her stallion Bull Run’s Faustino de Tili. The competition is certain to be outstanding.
Also on the schedule at noon PST is the $50,000 FEI 1.45m Las Vegas National Winning Round Classic, presented by Park Place Foundation. Both highlight events will be available on a live stream feed. See thelasvegasnational.com for more information.