HorseBuff Magazine – Showjumping, Winter Equestrian Festival, WEF #WEF2025
Under the glittering lights of Wellington International, the boy’s team won the $75,000 Battle of the Sexes three times to kick off the 2025 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF)’s opening “Saturday Night Lights” event. Premiere Week of WEF, which runs through March 30 in Wellington, Florida, was highlighted by the crowd-favorite event.
With their hat trick performance on Saturday, the men increased their Battle of the Sexes victory total to five in the competition’s 15-year history. Christian Coyle, Jordan Coyle, Alex Granato, Luis Larrazabal, Tony Stormanns, Sohnke Theymann, and Michael Tokaruk were all on the victorious squad on Saturday night, which was captained by Charlie Jayne.
Squad captain Kelly Soleau led the girls’ squad in the Battle of the Sexes, and among the riders on her roster were Mia Bagnato, Alexis Bodo, Amanda Derbyshire, Kyla Makhloghi, Abigail McArdle, Brittni Raflowitz, and Audrey Schulze. Many of these riders were competing for the first time.
There are three stages to the Battle of the Sexes. In the first, riders compete one at a time on a speed track that has been modified to accommodate Table C errors. The team that completes the task in the quickest amount of time wins a point. The boy’s team led by a slim margin of five to three after the first phase.
Each team had two relay groups in the second phase, where three riders faced a route segment with five points at stake. The girls’ first wins came from McArdle, Derbyshire, and Raflowitz, but the boys responded with five more points. With one round left, the score was eight to ten, but the lads were kept alive by Larrazabal, Stormanns, and Granato.
In the last stage, cyclists faced off against one another simultaneously across a course that was mirrored in the ring in a match race. Granato defeated Raflowitz on the fifth rotation, deciding the evening’s outcome. Each race was worth three points.
Fans cheering for their favorite show jumpers witnessed riders and horses dressed in pink and blue. The boy won by a final score of 25 to 11 in front of a packed Wellington International.
“The crowd really gets us excited,” said 2019 U.S. Pan American Games bronze medalist Alex Granato, who clinched the blue for his team. “In terms of show jumping, we don’t ever get to do anything like this; having other riders in the ring at the same time and going head to head. It’s a great class to start us off for the season. The courses can get tricky, especially as we get into the relay with lots of tight turns after that first round because we’re also trying to focus on ground speed.”
Finally, McArdle inspired the girls with the words, “We tried really hard and we are going to get right back at them next year!”
Major reporting contributions for this article were received from Wellington International in Wellington FL. Please visit Wellington International at https://wellingtoninternational.com.
