Mclain Ward & High Star Hero Make It Count in the $500,000 Modon Grand Prix CSI 5*

Wellington, United States – February 21, 2026 – World No. 10 Mclain Ward (USA) led wire to wire to win the $500,000 Modon Grand Prix CSI 5*  aboard 13-year-old Belgian-bred gelding High Star Hero, owned by Michael Smith, under the shine of Saturday Night Lights at Wellington International during Week 7 at the 2026 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF). WEF hosts 12 weeks of FEI competition—four of which are five-stars—running through March 29, in Wellington, FL.

First to crack the code on Anthony d’Ambrosio’s (USA) 1.60m track, the six-time U.S. Olympian set a tough standard with High Star Hero. Only four would follow to finalize a five-horse jump-off, in which all combinations represented different nations. The pathfinders once again over the tire-breaking jump-off course, Ward and High Star Hero stopped the clock—with blistering speed—at 39.14 seconds.

Mark Bluman (COL) did his best to nip Ward’s time but came up short by half a second riding Landon de Nyze, the 13-year-old son of Comilfo Plus Z x Quadrillo. They finished as runner-up in 39.71 seconds for owners Over The Top Stables and Mark’s cousin, Daniel Bluman.

Irish Olympian Shane Sweetnam (IRL) rounded out the podium atop 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding James Kann Cruz (Kannan x Cruising) owned in partnership between Sweetnam and Gizmo Partners. With less than a second separating the top three, Sweetnam’s time notched in at 39.91 seconds.

“You always feel pressure, and all these guys are super-fast riders with very fast horses—I knew they were going to risk everything to win,” said Ward, a U.S. Olympic team gold medalist, whose groom, Edvin Soto, was honored with the Double H Farm Grooms Award and $500 cash prize for his care and preparation of High Star Hero. “I had to do what I thought was the winning plan, and the horse responded beautifully. He’s been jumping great for the last six months, and I couldn’t ask for more. Tonight, it was inches—it was phenomenal competition, and once in a while you end up on the top end.”

Despite an extra stride to the final fence on course, High Star Hero’s (Zazu x Darco) footspeed sealed the victory, which was Ward’s fourth in a WEF 7 grand prix. “I know exactly why I do well in this grand prix,” said Ward, whose last win came in 2020 with HH Azur. “I come a little later to Florida than most people and always start a bit rusty. I often think, ‘ah, I’m not doing very well.’ Then, I sharpen things up about this time.

“It’s been a difficult start to the year,” said Ward, referring to the death of his mount Imperial HBF, resulting from colic complications one week ago. “My team has rallied and put their heads down—it’s been a grind, and I’m proud of them, proud of the horse and proud to bring this home tonight.”

Saturday night was Bluman’s first five-star grand prix appearance with Landon de Nyze, and they jumped straight onto the podium—their third top-three placing since partnering in December.

“I’m not competing to be second, so I was a little disappointed with myself—not with the horse—because I could have taken more of a risk going into the double,” admitted Bluman. “In the qualifier [on Thursday], I took a risk to the double and had it down, so I was cautious. 


“I come from Colombia, and it’s not a country with a horse background, so to be sitting here with people that I grew up watching riding horses, it means the world,” continued Bluman.

Bluman spoke highly of Landon de Nyze, a horse previously ridden by his cousin Daniel Bluman and World No. 2 Kent Farrington before that. With Farrington, Landon won a team gold medal and an individual silver medal for the USA at the 2023 Pan American Games. “I’ve never ridden a horse like this one in my life,” said Bluman. “Things are coming together finally, and it’s been a long hustle. Having a horse like this one means the world to me.”

Sweetnam’s podium finish marked the 20th individual top three in a five-star 1.60m for him and James Kann Cruz during their tenure together. Eight of those finishes came in the last year. “He hasn’t knocked a fence in a grand prix since Dublin (August), and that’s ridiculous,” enthused Sweetnam about his mount from the 2024 Paris Olympics. “I’m blessed to have a horse that good—he really loves his job.

“I took a risk at the third-to-last tonight, and if I took another risk to the next [fence], I think I’d be sitting to my left,” continued Sweetnam. “The horse was fast enough to win, but the jockey wasn’t.”

To conclude the night, Ward spoke of the significance of grand prix night at Wellington International, saying, “It’s spectacular; the community has become so engaged, and I also notice they are getting increasingly educated about the sport, even if they’re not horse people. That shows how important equestrian sports are in this community. For most of us, this becomes our second home—I’ve been coming [to Wellington] for 45 years—and it’s wonderful to be welcomed and cheered for by fans, but also the younger generation. I think there’s going to be fans here for many years to come.”

Final Results – $500,000 Modon Grand Prix CSI 5*

1) Mclain Ward (USA) & High Star Hero – 0 / 0 – 39.14

2) Mark Bluman (COL) & Landon de Nyze – 0 / 0 – 39.71

3) Shane Sweetnam (IRL) & James Kann Cruz – 0 / 0 – 39.91

Source: Press Release from Wellington International

Photos: © Wellington International / Sportfot / Cassidy Klein

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