World Championship Hunter Rider Week at the Winter Equestrian Festival came to a peak Saturday evening at Wellington International with a win for Liza Towell Boyd of Camden, South Carolina, and Ondine D’Orleans in the $150,000 WCHR Peter Wetherill Palm Beach Hunter Spectacular.

Meghan Rawlins of Canada designed the two-round class that allowed riders to show off their horses over a classic first round and then a handy track. The Panel 1 judges consisted of Alex Jayne and Rob Bielefeld, Panel 2 was Chris Wynn and Mary Eufemia, and Panel 3 was Mary Lisa Leffler and Mark Jungherr. Entries for the class qualified by winning the champion title in their respective divisions at the 3’6” height or above.

From a 36-horse field at 3’6”, 3’9” and 4’ heights, 12 returned for the handy round, which included several options to show off inside turns, as well as a walk or trot-through question to a double combination of split rail fences.

“Ondine,” owned by Finally Farm and Neill Sites, was of four horses to jump at the 3’9” height on Saturday night. Bred in Florida by Monique Keitz, the 11-year-old Belgian Warmblood (Vigo D’Arsouilles— Coco Chanel Z, Carthago) was reserve champion in the Equine Tack & Nutritionals 3’9” Green Hunters during the week. 

The WCHR Peter Wetherill Palm Beach Hunter Spectacular is the highlight of WCHR Week at Wellington International each year, and this was Boyd’s fourth time winning the featured class during “Saturday Night Lights.” 

“It’s been a while [since my last win], and every win was in different chapters of my life,” said Boyd, who was the inaugural winner of the Palm Beach Hunter Spectacular in 1997. “This is an amazing mare, and this is her home turf; she grew up here.”

Ondine, a chestnut mare, bears a striking resemblance to Brunello, Boyd’s partner for three consecutive USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship titles. 

“I could jump the moon on her,” Boyd said. “I feel like she knows this venue, and I had a good feeling this morning when I rode her. She came in for the second round and jumped her heart out.” 

The pair earned a score of 91.33 in the first round to sit second behind Victoria Colvin and Paradigm. They returned for the handy and laid down a unanimous winning round to post a score of 91.16 for an average of 91.24.

Watch their rounds courtesy of ShowGroundsLive.com:

“There were a lot of different things you could do [in the handy course]; there were good turns, and you could really show a gallop,” Boyd said. “It brought out the best in the animals, and it made for a great class. I talked to her the whole way around, and I swear she listened.”

Colvin, a six-time winner of the Palm Beach Hunter Spectacular held on for the reserve title aboard Paradigm for owner Meredith Lipke (90.49). Amanda Steege and Lafitte De Muze, who won the Palm Beach Hunter Spectacular in 2021, finished third (89.33) for owner Cheryl Osten.

“This is so special for us hunter riders,” Boyd said. “Derby Finals is our Olympics, but this WCHR week is our World Cup Final. We work so hard to get here, and to win this class means the world. I couldn’t be happier.”

See complete results here.