Wellington, Fla.—March 17  

Margie Engle’s got a promising new horse in the barn, and they picked up a win together in the $35,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup Round 10.

Engle and Elm Rock LLC’s Abunola broke Eric Lamaze’s streak in the WEF Challenge Cup classes, relegating him to second place aboard Houston.

Margie Engle and Abunola on their way to the win in the $35,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup Round 10. Photo by Sportfot

 “I was teasing Eric that he was kind enough to share a class with me,” Engle joked. “He has dominated, and when I knew he was going after me, I thought I would be happy with second place because he has been kind of unstoppable in these classes.”

But it was Engle and Abunola’s time of 41.68 seconds that prevailed in the 14-horse jump-off. A monster field of 83 started the class over the course designed by Michel Vaillancourt.

The win was all the more welcome for Engle because she’s been battling a case of mononucleosis. “This is good medicine,” she said. “This win was very much needed.”

Engle put together a partnership with Rich DeMartini and Lea Allen to purchase Abunola in September of 2015 and has been taking her time to get to know the horse over the last several months. Abunola, an 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare (Numero Uno—Udinola H, Voltaire) showed at the grand prix level with Argentinian rider Luis Pedro Biraben in Europe, Canada and Wellington.

Engle won her first class with mare in November competing in a $50,000 HITS Welcome Stake in Thermal, Calif. She has since had consistent results competing in Wellington throughout the winter.

“She is a lovely mare,” Engle said. “I watched her some last year and liked her. I was then fortunate enough to have Rich DeMartini help me put a partnership together to buy her, and they have been very patient as I have been getting to know her.

“She has a lot of blood,” Engle continued. “When I first went out to California she was great. I think here I maybe left her a little too fresh. Even though the heat is not great for everyone else, it is perfect for her. It just kind of settled her down, and it did not hurt her one bit. She has a lot of energy and nice blood. She is light on her feet and just lovely to ride.”

Speaking of the first round course, Engle stated, “I was thrilled with the way she went. She rode beautifully the first round. I thought the course was tough enough. It was very technical, and it was a tricky track. He actually got not that many clean for how many were in it. It is a hard class to build for, and I thought he did a fantastic job without making it crazy big.”

Engle thought the jump-off course suited Abunola. “She is very easy to accelerate, so you just kind of think it, and she is ready to go. I ride her in smaller spurs than any horse I have ever ridden,” she said. “She was really good in the rollbacks. Rolling back on the liverpool, I was very pleased with her there, and also the rollback on the Rolex jump, the second to last jump. She has been very consistent here; we just needed a little bit of luck to go our way.”

Watch Engle and Abunola’s jump-off round…

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Engle will now prepare Abunola to jump in the $130,000 Horseware Ireland Grand Prix CSI 3. “I will have to see how much I undid her by going fast today because sometimes with a horse that is a little sensitive, if you go quick with them, sometimes they get a little buzzy. Those are things I will have to figure out with her, but if she goes even close to like she did today, I will be very happy,” she said.

Final Results: $35,000 Ruby et Violette WEF Challenge Cup Round 10

1. ABUNOLA, 2005 KWPN mare by Numero Uno x Voltaire, MARGIE ENGLE (USA), Elm Rock Partners LLC: 0/0/41.68

2. HOUSTON, 2007 Belgian Warmblood stallion by Heartbreaker x Corofino, ERIC LAMAZE (CAN), Artisan Farms and Torrey Pines Stable: 0/0/41.87

3. VENTURO 9, 2005 Belgian Sport Horse stallion by Canturo x Nabab de Reve, LORCAN GALLAGHER (IRL), Spy Coast Farm LLC: 0/0/43.78

4. CALLAS III, 2007 Oldenburg mare by Albatros x Quattro B, DANIELLE TORANO (USA), Danielle Torano: 0/0/43.94

5. LADRIANO Z, 2008 Zangersheide gelding by Lawito x Baloubet du Rouet, ILAN BLUMAN (COL), Blue Star Investments: 0/0/43.98

6. DOREMI, 2003 Belgian Warmblood stallion by Quidam de Revel x Cento, CHRIS SURBEY (CAN), Linda Southern Heathcott: 0/0/50.97

7. HH CISKE VAN OVERIS, 2002 Belgian Warmblood mare by Celano x Darco, MAGGIE MCALARY (USA), Double H Farm: 0/4/42.33

8. BALOUS DAY DATE, 2005 Oldenburg mare by Balou du Rouet x Domino, MOLLY ASHE-CAWLEY (USA), Louisburg Farm: 0/4/43.41

9. CASSIDY 35, 2005 Holsteiner gelding by Cassini I x Briscar, BRIAN WALKER (CAN), Gut Einhaus LLC: 0/4/44.39

10. COCO II, 2005 AES gelding by La Poco x Calato, EMILY SHORT (USA), Emily Short: 0/4/45.13

11. BRILLIANT DU ROUET, 2005 Oldenburg gelding by Balou du Rouet x Caretani Z, ROBERTO TERAN JR. (COL), ARK Partners LLC: 0/8/43.27

12. LYONELL, 2001 Sachsen-Anhaltiner gelding by Levisto x Kolibri, CARA RAETHER CAREY (USA), Trelawny Farm LLC: 0/8/46.18