Lillie Keenan secured victory in her grand prix debut aboard the new mount Highway TN at the Saturday Night Lights event in Wellington. The 29-year-old rider from New York City and Wellington posted clear rounds to claim the $50,000 Palm Beach Equine Clinic Grand Prix. This win marks a promising start for the leased Dutch Warmblood stallion ahead of the 2026 season.
In front of a full house at Wellington International, Lillie Keenan, 29, triumphed in the Saturday Night Lights $50,000 Palm Beach Equine Clinic Grand Prix on January 18, 2026. Riding the 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion Highway TN, leased for the 2026 season, Keenan delivered back-to-back clear rounds of 67.618 seconds in the first round and 36.676 seconds in the six-rider jump-off, earning $15,000.
This victory followed a top-five finish in Thursday's qualifier, their first competition together. "It was bold to go straight into a grand prix, but the horse knows his job," Keenan said. "If I’m any kind of professional, I should be able to do it, and we pulled it off."
Highway TN, owned by Team Nijhof, was previously ridden by Dutch Olympian Willem Greve, who won the 2024 Rolex Grand Prix at the Dutch Masters and competed in the 2025 FEI World Cup final in Basel, Switzerland. Keenan expressed gratitude for the opportunity: "I’m incredibly blessed that I got this opportunity. The relationship that he and Willem have, I can't replicate that, but he educated the horse so beautifully."
She had long admired the stallion's ferocity and believes he will improve her riding. "Team Nijhof has placed huge trust in me," she added. "In a career, you only get so many opportunities with horses that truly love their job."
Spain's Juan Manuel Gallego and Chuflay finished second with a jump-off time of 39.587 seconds ($11,000), while McKayla Langmeier of East Granby, Conn., and Riesling van de Gaathoeve placed third in 40.373 seconds ($6,500).
Earlier, at the January 16 'Aachen Benefit' in Wellington, the USET Foundation awarded Keenan the 2026 Whitney Stone Cup for excellence in international competition and sportsmanlike conduct.
The Winter Equestrian Festival continues through March 29, with the next highlight being the $215,000 NetJets CSI4 Grand Prix on Saturday at 7 p.m.
