Mill Spring, NC – October 22, 2016 – On a historical and spectacular evening at the Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC) featuring a special performance by Grammy award-winning country music legend Lee Greenwood, Nicola Philippaerts (BEL) guided H&M Harley VD Bisschop to victory in the $380,000 Rolex CSI 5* Grand Prix. The duo secured the win in front of an enthusiastic crowd, stopping the timers at 40.575 seconds. Jessica Springsteen (USA) and Cynar VA earned second place honors with a time of 41.291 seconds, while Lauren Tisbo (USA) and Coriandolo DI Ribano rounded out the top three with a time of 42.299 seconds.

Competition at the 2016 Tryon Fall Series presented by Greenville-Spartanburg Airport District commenced on Thursday, September 22, and will continue through Sunday, October 30, featuring hunter and jumper competition, alongside two weeks of FEI CSI 3* classes and the highly anticipated FEI CSI 5*.

Fans from the western region of Foothills filled the George H. Morris Arena, creating an electric atmosphere for a class featuring Olympic veterans and many of the sport’s rising stars. Philippaerts and H&M Harley VD Bisschop were the final pair to qualify for the jump-off, as they were the last to go in tonight’s star-studded lineup. The first round track set by Anthony D’Ambrosio (USA) asked several technical questions, keeping the riders on their toes with a tight time allowed of 80 seconds. The first round track only produced six combinations that advanced to the jump-off round.

Philippaerts was pleased with H&M Harley VD Bisschop, a 2007 Belgian Warmblood gelding (Dulf Van Den Bisschop x Coronado) owned by Ludo Philippaerts and Ben Beevers, and how the talented gelding settled into tonight’s class after having a six-week vacation from competition. He explained, “The first few days he was a bit nervous, but today was a lot better. Hopefully next week he will be a good as well.”

Springsteen commented on the technical aspects of the course, saying, “The time allowed caught a couple of riders and it ended up being a bit trickier than it walked. My horse jumped great after having a month off and tonight we were just trying to put in a nice round. He was really good.”

Lauren Tisbo, a veteran to competitor at TIEC piloted Coriandolo Di Ribano to third place in tonight’s class. Tisbo and Coriandolo Di Ribano went second in the jump-off order and explained their strategy of her plan early on.

“It was a little hard being the second one in the jump-off. My horse is still pretty new at this level and tonight was his first CSI 5* grand prix. I just tried to give him the best round I could and that was as good as we could do tonight,” Tisbo said.

Mark Bellissimo, managing partner of Tryon Equestrian Partners (TEP), went on to speak of the special atmosphere surrounding tonight’s class and elaborated on the growth of the venue.’

“Despite the cooler temperatures, we are very pleased with the outcome of the crowd tonight. We had a great field of riders and a number of Olympians who brought their top horses. There was great field of competitors for this group to emerge as the top three, which is an impressive feat. We had McLain Ward, Kent Farrington, Laura Kraut, Todd Minikus, and just a whole group of horses and riders who are competitive at the top levels.”

Among several other awards, Springsteen accepted the Leading Lady Rider Award presented by Meg Atkinson of Town & Country Realtors, honoring and recognizing her success and performance in FEI classes throughout the week.

To view final results for the $380,000 Rolex Grand Prix CSI 5* click here.

Photo Credit ©Sportfot. These photos may only be used once in relation to this press release.