McLain Ward and Rothchild capture Sapphire Grand Prix at Devon

After 20-plus years, McLain Ward knows the fans at the Devon Horse Show and Country Fair, and they recognize him. As a packed crowd perked up to applaud the gem of the show, Ward thought back to last year. He asked the audience to quiet down.

A year after squandering an opportunity in the $225,000 Sapphire Grand Prix, Ward and his 16-year-old horse, Rothchild, rolled to a title in Devon's marquee class Thursday night, giving Ward his ninth title in the event.

Rothchild was on pace to win his second Grand Prix last year until crowd noise flustered the horse into skipping the last jump, giving the title to Kevin Babington and Mark Q. On Thursday, at Ward's request, a full grandstand saved its ovation until after Rothchild had finished with a winning time of 41.21 seconds.

"Just because I learned my lesson last year, I asked the crowd - it was probably the same people sitting in those stands for the last 25 years - politely just to . . ." Ward paused and smiled, gesturing as if to quiet the crowd. "And I just said, 'Please, just for a moment . . .' and they were great. And I didn't miss the last fence this year."

As a result, the world's second-ranked show jumper adds another trophy to his collection, which was already bigger than the last time he made his annual trip to Devon as royalty. The 41-year-old resident of Brewster, N.Y., jumped in his fourth straight Olympics last summer and won his first World Cup in April on HH Azur.

He returned to Devon on Rothchild, who made a sharp turn and leaped over the second-to-last obstacle before clearing the final barrier with ease. Ward and Rothchild also won the marquee class in 2013 at Devon. Ward's only other horse to win twice was Sapphire, after whom the Grand Prix is now named.

Devin Ryan and his horse Cooper came in second Thursday at 42.11 seconds, ahead of Amanda Derbyshire and Luibanta BH at 42.56. Aaron Vale (on E.S. Finou 4) and Jonathan McCrea (Aristoteles) were the only other entrants to finish the first round with no faults.

Nobody could touch Ward, though, even if the Olympian did think back to last year and caution the crowd.

The fans "knew exactly what I was asking," he said, "so they obliged, and it worked out."