Richard Spooner & Big Red compete at the 2016 Winter Equestrian Festival.
Steve Guerdat of Switzerland has obtained the ride on Big Red, the 11-year-old Westfalian gelding (Ludwig Von Bayern x Lamoureux I) that is owned by Gerardo & Alfonso Pasquel.
Previously ridden by Denmark’s Nikolaj Hein Ruus and the USA’s Richard Spooner, Big Red recorded notable finishes under both riders. With Hein Ruus, he jumped clear with just two time faults in the 2015 $1 Million CSI5* Grand Prix at HITS Saugerties, New York to place 2nd behind Beezie Madden and Simon. That was both the horse and rider’s first, five star competition.
After pairing with Spooner in early 2016, Big Red jumped double clear rounds to help the United States win the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup at CSIO4* Coapexpan this April. Together Big Red and Spooner placed 3rd in February, 2016’s Longines FEI World Cup Jumping CSI3*-W Wellington.
Guerdat jumped Big Red to a clear round over the weekend at CSI2* Riesenback, his first competition with the gelding (see video below). The pair will certainly be an interesting one to watch as they develop together in the coming months.