Caroline Foto and Rio Oro Score $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby Win

Grant Seger and Plot Z Sweep $5,000 Horseware Ireland Welcome Stake

For Immediate Release

Sarah Madden for TIEC

Mill Spring, NC – April 18, 2022 – Grant Seger (Aiken, SC) celebrated Easter with a string of four horses in the jump-off and a full Easter brunch crowd in attendance, taking the win in the $25,000 Jumper Classic with Plot Z, also claiming fourth, seventh and tenth. Seger and the 2011 Warmblood gelding (Plot Blue x Salome) owned by Grey Fox Crossing flew through the short course in a time of 35.024 seconds to clinch the win. Fabian Herrera (Charlotte, NC) and Emperor, his own 2012 Warmblood gelding (Eldorado van de Zeshoek x Imperija ESH 577), slipped into second place with a time of 35.663, while Charlotte Clark (Sunbury, OH) and Kinsella, her own 2012 Irish Sport Horse mare (Capitalist x Jerpoint Mist), charged to third place on a time of 36.447 seconds. Just off the podium, Seger earned fourth place honors on a time of 38.024 seconds with the 2010 Hanoverian gelding (Quaid I x Stella) owned by Fox Lair Performance, LLC, Yoghi FLP.

Grant Seger and Plot Z
©Reagan Ibach, TIEC

Eleven of 14 total entries were able to best the first-round track set by Keith Bollotte (Hendersonville, NC) and return to the jump-off phase. Despite a chaotic morning switching between multiple horses, Seger shared that he was grateful to have multiple shots at the top prize. “It was a little hectic, but it’s always nice to jump good horses. I felt like I had a couple of cheap rails on some of my others, but Plot hung in there and won.”

Fabian Hererra and Emperor
©Reagan Ibach, TIEC

Riding a little horse with a big heart, Seger noted that his strategy was to use Plot Z’s natural quickness in the jump-off. “He’s so naturally quick that I just let him kind of [go], and don’t over push on him. I’m using this show to kind of let him settle a little bit more, and not have so much pressure. But he’s so naturally quick… he’s always competitive.”

Charlotte Clark and Kinsella
©Reagan Ibach, TIEC

After winning the $5,000 Horseware Ireland Welcome Stake in similar fashion earlier in the weekend, Seger reflected that his TIEC experience was “great, but it’s always great. We live just two and a half hours away, so we come here a lot.” Seger will return home to support some hometown charity shows before returning to TIEC, and will be a name to watch in international competition, he concluded. “We’ll be back here all summer to jump all the FEI dates!”

Grant Seger and Plot Z in their presentation ceremony alongside JP Godard, TIEC Competition Manager, and Molly Oakman, TIEC Director of Equestrian Operations.
©Reagan Ibach, TIEC

For full results from the $25,000 Jumper Classic, click here.

Caroline Foto and Rio Oro Score $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby Win

April 14, 2022 – Caroline Foto (Waxhaw, NC) and Rio Oro scored 90 and 91 for a definitive win in Tryon Welcome 4’s $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby, taking the lead on a total score of 181. In reserve, Katelyn Havnaer (Waxhaw, NC) and her own Blue Ridge, the 2010 Holsteiner gelding (Cancarra x Fabella), collected a total score of 175.5, while Kara Jones (Cornelius, NC) rode her own Chello, the 2009 Westphalian gelding (Cascari x Flocke), to the yellow rosette on a score of 173.

Caroline Foto and Rio Oro
©Bailey Beck, TIEC

Foto and the 2005 Hanoverian gelding (Rio Grande x Metropolitan) owned by Andrea Guzinski led the field after the first round over the Dean Rheinheimer (Sheridan, IN) course, solidifying their win by displaying their partnership in the handy round – despite the fact that it was only Foto’s second time showing him in more than a year.

“He’s a really good boy,” Foto relayed. “He can be a little quirky when he wants to be, but when he wants to win, he’s capable. This was the second time I’ve ever shown him, and I don’t think I’ve sat on him in over a year!”

Taking over the ride while his normal pilot is on vacation, Foto said the course played to her ride’s strengths, and that her handy round strategy came down to trust.

Caroline Foto and Rio Oro and team in their presentation ceremony.
©Bailey Beck, TIEC

“It was a big class, and the course was great. I honestly just trusted him [in the handy round]. I think he knows when there’s a shadbelly, and he loves the handy. He perks right up and looks for all the turns. I trust him and was confident in going big and bold, and he did the rest.

“We always love coming here,” Foto concluded. “It’s obviously convenient to home, and the hospitality, course designs, footing, and barns always make it an enjoyable place to come.”

For full results from the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby, click here.

Grant Seger and Plot Z Sweep $5,000 Horseware Ireland Welcome Stake

April 15, 2022 – Grant Seger (Aiken, SC) practiced for his Sunday Classic win by first sweeping the $5,000 Horseware Ireland Welcome Stake to kick off his Tryon Welcome 4 experience, taking first, second and fourth places. Plot Z, the 2011 Warmblood gelding (Plot Blue x Salome) owned by Grey Fox Crossing, stopped the short-course timers in 39.239 seconds for the win, with Cantucchini, the 2011 Oldenburg gelding (Cloney x Caprera) owned by Grey Fox Crossing, right behind on a time of 40.026 seconds. In third place, Charlotte Clark (Sunbury, OH) and Kinsella, her own 2012 Irish Sport Horse mare (Capitalist x Jerpoint Mist), cleared the jump-off track in 40.182 seconds.

Grant Seger and Cantucchini
©TIEC

Seger was glad to compete at TIEC after a winter spent traveling, he explained. “We’ve been doing a lot of big shows this winter, so it was nice to stay close to home and be back in the swing of things here.

“It was a really nice course,” he recapped of the Dean Rheinheimer course design. “It was a little bit challenging the way some of the jumps kept coming up on you, but I thought all of my horses handled it well. Plot is a really cool horse who’s really fast and careful. He tries really hard and is always giving his best.”

Grant Seger and team in their presentation ceremony.
©TIEC

After a competitive winter season, Seger is not pushing Plot, but his natural quickness lends to victory anyway, he shared. “I’ve been putting a lot of pressure on him over the winter, so although he won, I didn’t put too much pressure on him today. He can go very fast, so his natural speed makes him competitive.

“We love Tryon,” Seger concluded. “We’re originally from Texas, and then moved out to the East Coast in large part because of TIEC. We live in Aiken because we love the small-town feel, and always love coming to Tryon. The horses always jump great here.”

For full results from the $5,000 Horseware Ireland Welcome Stake, click here.

For all division results from Tryon Welcome 4, click here.

The Tryon Spring Series will begin May 4th, kicking off six weeks of Hunter, Jumper and Equitation competition including three weeks of FEI jumping. In the meantime, Tryon Spring Dressage 1 and the Katydid CDE CAI 3* will bring Driving and Dressage to the venue April 21-24. Learn more at www.Tryon.com/compete. 

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