Wellington, Fla.—January 10  

The crowds were out in full force at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center to watch the women’s team earn their sixth consecutive victory in the FTI Consulting Winter Equestrian Festival’s $75,000 Nespresso Battle of the Sexes. FTI WEF also hosted a full schedule of competition during the day, with a win for Lauren Hough and Böckmanns Lazio in the afternoon’s $25,000 Suncast 1.50-meter Championship Jumper Classic.

In the highlight $75,000 Nespresso Battle of the Sexes, the three-phase contest included speed rounds, match races, and a six-bar competition.

Candice King captained the women’s team, which also included riders Pippa Allen, Nicole Bellissimo, Danielle Goldstein, Brianne Goutal, Lauren Hough, Maggie Jayne, Laura Kraut, Catherine Pasmore, and Debbie Stephens. 

Charlie Jayne led the men’s team, which included Stefano Barcho, Mark Bluman, Lorenzo de Luca, Todd Minikus, Richie Moloney, Samuel Parot, Nick Skelton, Shane Sweetnam, and Hardin Towell. 

The competition kicked off with the speed round, with a 6 to 4 win for the men. The match races followed, with the men and women competing side by side over identical courses. The men and women tied in that round, each winning five races, to bring the total up to 11 points for the men and 9 for the women.

The final six-bar competition was the deciding factor of the evening, with the men leading by 2 points going in. Four men and four women returned from each team with the opportunity to earn 2 points per clear round. The competition started at 1.60-meter (5’3″) in height and moved up to 1.70-meter (5’7″) through two rounds.

Minikus was the only man to jump a clear six-bar round and earned two points for the men, bringing their total up to 13 points, but he then had a rail 2 in the second round. Maggie Jayne and Catherine Pasmore each cleared Round 1 to bring the girl’s total up to 13 as well and tie the teams. The women moved on to Round 2, but Jayne had rails down in her second attempt. It was all left to Catherine Pasmore, and she and Bibi Sijgje were the only pair to clear the six-bar in Round 2 to clinch the win for the women.

Pasmore has ridden in the Battle of the Sexes for four years and was very proud to earn the final 2 points that put the women on top.

 “It was so exciting,” Pasmore remarked. “I was a little worried that I wasn’t going to be able to pull it off, but I am really happy that I did. It is just such a great atmosphere. Everybody comes out and cheers us on. I think it is a really great class because even if somebody comes out to watch it who doesn’t know horses, it is really easy to follow along and everybody gets really into it. It is a lot of fun.”

Pasmore has had Bibi Sijgje for one year. The mare just turned 8, and Pasmore was very proud of her performance. “Normally I jump her in [the Young Jumper division], so I have never jumped a six-bar on her and I have definitely never jumped her that big, but she has such a huge heart and she will just try anything,” Pasmore said. “I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but I knew she would try and she just surprised me. She jumped it amazing.”

Pasmore was concerned about returning for Round 2. “I said to Laura Kraut, ‘Do you think I should forfeit? I don’t want to scare her or do anything that I shouldn’t do. I don’t want to let the women down,’ and she said, ‘Don’t be ridiculous, of course you’re going!’ “ said Pasmore. “I am really happy that I did, and everybody in the schooling area was helping and giving advice, so it was great.”

King was very excited to captain the winning team this year. She has been on the women’s Nespresso Battle of the Sexes team every year since the class began, and loves the camaraderie between the riders as well. She also thanked Nespresso for their support of the event.

“I had a lot of pressure on me tonight because we have yet to not win, and I am just glad we pulled it off and thank God for Catherine at the end,” King said. “It is a team effort and everybody contributes. It is fun because it is an individual sport, so we don’t get to do a lot of team competition. It is fun to just get all together and support one another.”

Results: $75,000 Nespresso Battle of the Sexes