Michael Murphy (USA) and Kaida CM’s partnership is one year in the making, and they’re proving the pieces are really falling into place by securing a win on Sunday of Week 4 at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in the $62,500 Griffis Residential CSI2* Grand Prix. Highlighted by 12 weeks of consecutive FEI competition, WEF continues through March 30 at Wellington International in Wellington, FL.

South Coast’s 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare (Kannan x Indoctro) put in a very quick jump-off with Murphy aboard to best seven pairs that challenged Anderson Lima’s (BRA) short course.
“My horse is so quick,” Murphy—a Wellington local—said of Kaida CM. “If she’s clean, she’s quick. She’s better when she can gallop. When I try to ride her too slow and make her too traditional, it’s not her style.”
The jump-off proved to be just the mare’s style Sunday, earning her the win. In second was Carlee McCutcheon (USA) aboard Aralyn Blue, owned by Ann C Thompson, and in third was Michael’s wife Lauren Murphy (USA) aboard Voltanos.
The win was another notch on the horse’s record as she and Michael Murphy continue to test the gears together. “She won a three-star grand prix over the summer, and she’s won a few ranking classes,” he said of her progression. “She has a lot of blood, so it’s been taking a long time to learn how to manage that.”
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- grand prix; 43, KAIDA CM, MICHAEL MURPHY; Sportfot: Sportfot