Karl Slezak and Fernhill Fernhill Wishes Win $20,000 Horseware Indoor Eventing Challenge at The Royal

Karl Slezak and Fernhill Wishes. Photo via Karl Slezak Eventing on Facebook.

It was a big night in the indoor eventing ring at The Royal Horse Show last night, with the finale of the $20,000 Horseware Indoor Eventing Challenge pitting 11 top riders against one another and the clock. It was Canadian Pan American Games team member Karl Slezak and his Lima partner, Fernhill Wishes, who would take home the overall prize last night. The pair finished third in the first round on Friday night.

“He’s usually a pretty chill horse,” Karl said in a press release of “Chocy”, a 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Karl and Kirk Hoppner. “To feel him have that energy and that little extra pizzazz in atmospheres like this is awesome. It’s easy to do the footwork, add strides, or leave them out because he’s so energetic in this atmosphere.”

Kendal Lehari and Totally Frank collected the first round win on Friday, but they weren’t quite fast enough to catch Karl’s overall time for the weekend. Brandon McMechan and Oscar’s Wild, who finished second on Friday, took home third overall.

RAWF Schedule and Results

Check out video of Karl and Fernhill Wishes’ round, complete with heart rate data from Hylofit!