Sweetnam wins in Florida

Cork rider Shane Sweetnam snatched the $33,000 first prize in Sunday’s Grand Prix at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida aboard the Irish Sport Horse Solerina.

With just five through to the jump-off from a talented field of 32, Sweetnam and the Kildare-bred Cruising mare took on some of the show’s top international riders, and managed to hold off a challenge from France’s Marie Hecart and the Selle Francais mare Myself de Breve, who finished in second place, well over a second slower than the Irish combination.

Thirty-two-year-old Sweetnam, who took a third place in Wellington’s World Cup Grand Prix last month on Amaretto Darco, recorded one of only two double clear rounds tonight in Florida to claim the Grand Prix trophy.