Martien van der Hoeven and Morris Horta Make Magic in $15,000 Horseware Ireland Welcome Stake

For Immediate Release

Emily Carpenter for TIEC

Mill Spring, NC – October 3, 2021 – A summer filled with hard work paid off for Jacqueline Ruyle (Houston, TX) and San Chano as they galloped to their very first Grand Prix title in the $30,000 Nutrena® Grand Prix at Tryon International Equestrian Center & Resort (TIEC) with a time of 41.252 seconds. Following in second place was Adam Sklansky (Irondale, AL) aboard Hakini, the 2012 Dutch Warmblood mare (Numero Uno x Montreal) owned by Ellen Walker, with a time of 43.744 seconds. Wrapping up third place honors was Phoebe Lang (Petaluma, CA) along with DSP Cool Hill, the 2010 German Sport Horse gelding (Corlensky G x Al Cantino) owned by Zeitgeist Equestrian, with a time of 44.277 seconds.

Jacqueline Ruyle and San Chano
©TIEC/Natalie Suto

Ruyle and San Chano, her own 2009 Oldenburg gelding (Sandro Boy x Carusa), had a strategy to beat the clock in the Peter Grant (Calgary, Alberta) designed course. Ruyle reflected, “For my first round I was fifth to go, and I saw that no one had gone clear and a lot of people had time faults. I knew some pretty top riders that had time faults, so I thought, ‘Oh shoot, I need to make the time allowed!’” Ruyle raced through the timers five seconds ahead of the time allowed, and was first in the ring for the jump-off phase of the competition.

Adam Sklansky and Hakini
©TIEC/Natalie Suto

Her strategies for the first and second round were similar, Ruyle reported, after putting in the only double-clear performances of the night. “I kind of had my mind on the time my whole way around and just kept it tidy, and kept a fast pace. In the jump off, I wanted to go quickly, but I wanted to play it safe. I kept a good pace and made sure I got straight to some of the jumps that I could have sliced a little bit more. It worked!”

Phoebe Lang and DSP Cool Hill
©TIEC/Natalie Suto

Ruyle and San Chano have been working hard at the Grand Prix level since their debut a few months ago, including several top results in the Tryon Summer Series, she shared. “We started jumping Grand Prix classes in the Spring. Here, in the Tryon Summer Series I had an amazing summer with him. I did my first FEI class, jumped a lot of clear rounds, placed in every class, and I was thrilled,” Ruyle recapped. “This is our first week back after the summer, and we picked up pretty much where we left off!”

Adam Sklansky, Jacqueline Ruyle, and Phoebe Lang in their presentation ceremony alongside JP Godard, TIEC Competition Manager, and Molly Oakman, TIEC Director of Equestrian Operations.
©TIEC/Natalie Suto

Ruyle plans to stay at TIEC for the remainder of the Fall Series and hopes to see how high she and San Chano can fly. “I’m going to do the 2* next week, and if that goes well, I’ll do the 3* in three weeks.” Whatever unfolds for the pair, Ruyle emphasized that choosing to compete at TIEC is a no-brainer:

“Honestly, I love this place so much that I would live here if I could. I love that every ring has good footing, the permanent stalls, and the hospitality. I think Tryon does such an amazing job. I love the RV lots, too. I really appreciate the horse friendliness of the facility; you don’t find that at a lot of shows.” She concluded, “I love this facility, and I absolutely love my horse. I am having so much fun!”

Martien van der Hoeven and Morris Horta Make Magic in $15,000 Horseware Ireland Welcome Stake

Martien van der Hoeven (Pinehurst, TX) and Morris Horta topped the competition in the $15,000 Horseware Ireland Welcome Stake at TIEC with a time of 36.901 seconds to open Tryon Fall 2 competition. Just one second behind and receiving the red ribbon was Willie Tynan (Lexington, KY) aboard Fenise, the 2010 Dutch Warmblood gelding (Campbell VDL x Ahorn) owned by MDM Equestrian Group LLC., with a time of 37.22 seconds. Jacqueline Ruyle (Houston, TX) finished in third with her own Cyramo Z, the 2011 Zangershide mare (Clarimo x Vigo De Arsouilles STX) with a time of 39.044 seconds. 

Martien van der Hoeven and Morris Horta
©TIEC/Natalie Suto

Van der Hoeven and Morris Horta, the 2012 Belgian Warmblood stallion (Eldorado VD Zeshoek x Vigo De Arsouilles STX) owned by Lucirelli International LLC, conquered the Peter Grant (Calgary, Alberta) designed course after enjoying a six-week break from competition. “We got him around this time last year. We’ve been developing him. He’s turned into quite a reliable horse. We had about five or six weeks off. For me, I wanted to feel like we were knocking the rust off.”

Willie Tynan and Fenise
©TIEC/Natalie Suto

The Grant course design accomplished exactly what he hoped it would for his first competition back, Van der Hoeven detailed. “I thought Peter Grant did a wonderful job. It was flowing, it had the right number clean, with the right questions.”

Jacqueline Ruyle and Cyramo Z
©TIEC/Natalie Suto

The pair plan to remain at Tryon for Fall 3, to compete in the $73,000 JTWG, Inc. Grand Prix CSI 2*. After that, Van der Hoeven’s plans for Morris Horta are up in the air: “We’ll probably look at either doing maybe a couple of classes, or we have a few other shows in mind. If he needs to pause for a second, we will do that.”

Martien van der Hoeven, Morris Horta and team in their presentation ceremony.
©TIEC/Natalie Suto

Van der Hoeven reflected on his time spent competing at TIEC, saying, “It’s great here. It’s reliable and it’s so horse friendly. They always have the right staff, good course designers, and the schedule runs well. We enjoy coming here!”

Hunter Highlights:
The 2’6” Baby Green Hunter Division was championed by Amelia Nowicki (Inman, SC) aboard Take The Edge Off owned by Christian Oliver. Reserve champion honors were awarded to Catherine Tucker (Huntersville, NC) and Isadora, owned by Callie Kelly.

Champion of the Small Pony Hunter Division was awarded to Katherine Mercer (Wellington, FL) and her own Clovermeade Pop Secret. Reserve Champion was earned by Robert Mercer (Wellington, FL) aboard Way Too Charming owned by Megan Winborne.

Jumper Highlights:
The St. Luke’s Hospital Low Jr. Amatuer Jumper Divison was championed by Guy Hodgson (Driftwood, TX) and his own mount Captain My Captain 1916. Reserve champion was awarded to Julia Curtis (Villa Rica, GA) aboard her own Nefertitti. 

Champion of the Ken Feagin Truck & Trailer Low Children’s Jumper Division was Grace Kanavage (Bishop, GA) and her own Brilljant. Reserve champion was earned by Saylors Pursell (Mountain Brook, AL) and Civa Ask owned by Don Stewart. 

Equitation Highlights:
First place honors of the WIHS Pony Equitation Class was awarded to Katheine Mercer (Wellington, FL) aboard her own Clovermeade Pop Secret. The red rosette was awarded to Margaret Whitham (Raleigh, NC) and her own, Bazinga.

The 3’ Ariat Adult Medal was won by Lindsay Woodall (Irmo, SC) and her own, Jasper Lake. Second place was awarded to Francine Delin (Allentown, PA) and her own Caden. 

For full Tryon Fall 2 Division results, click here. 

For full results from the $30,000 Nutrena® Grand Prix, click here. 

For full results from the $15,000 Horseware Ireland Welcome Stake, click here. 

The Tryon Fall Series continues with Tryon Fall 3, hosted October 6-10 and featuring Hunter, Jumper, and CSI 2* competition, as well as the return of Saturday Night Lights. Highlight classes are live streamed for free at www.Tryon.com/streaming. For Tryon Fall Series competition information, visit www.Tryon.com/compete. 

Photos ©TIEC. These photos may only be used once, in relation to this press release. Competitors may purchase photos and request in-house photography services for the Tryon Fall Series at www.Tryon.com/photos. With questions, contact media@tryon.com.