Taylor Land and Get Go Take Top Honors in $5,000 Horseware Ireland Welcome Stake

Tommi Clark Snatches First and Third Place Wins in $2,500 USHJA Hunter Derby

Mill Spring, NC – September 26, 2021 – Taylor Land (Atlanta, GA) and Get Go added more wins at Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC) to their list of successes at the venue by landing first place in the $25,000 Tryon Resort Grand Prix and the $5,000 Horseware Ireland Welcome Stake during Tryon Fall 1. Land and Get Go, owned by Pinetree Farms Inc, took the grand prix win with a jump-off time of 35.221 while Abigail McArdle (Wellington, FL) and Sweetwater Jumpers LLC’s Golden Quality, the 2011 Dutch Warmblood gelding (Quality Time TN x Quasimodo Z), followed closely behind in second with a score of 35.99. McArdle also placed third with Samuel Parot Jr. ‘s I&H Boogy Woogy, the 2006 Hungarian gelding (Faldo x I&H Vanilla Fudge) earning a time of 36.872 seconds, as well as fourth on Victorio 5, the 2006 Hanoverian stallion (Uccello x  Graf Top) owned by Victorio Equine Group LLC, with 37.542 seconds.

Taylor Land and Get Go

©TIEC/Reagan Ibach

Land spoke highly of the course design by Nick Granat (Wellington, FL) that challenged 13 pairs, with only four returning for the jump-off.

“I thought the first course was really fun! Everything came up pretty quick out of the turn, which is always challenging. The triple was early in the course, which can be difficult, but I thought my horses handled it very well today. I really enjoy Nick Granat’s courses. He provides a lot of options and his courses aren’t trappy. I did two horses today and I really enjoyed it with both of them.” 

Abigail McArdle and Golden Quality

©TIEC/Reagan Ibach

With McArdle competing on three horses, Land was able to preview how the jump-off course rode for McArdle before taking her turn in the ring. 

“I was very lucky that Abigail was in the jump-off with three horses. I was the only other competitor, and she went before me on two horses, so I got to see her go and how the track rode. I didn’t really change my plan based on her rounds, but I knew where I needed to be fast and that’s always such an advantage. She had a rail with the first horse, but she had a really nice round with the second horse, so I just looked for a few places to shave time. I think I was a little faster in two of the rollbacks, and that was about it. I was just trying to nick away at her time because she had a really good jump-off.” 

Abigail McArdle and I&H Boogy Woogy

©TIEC/Reagan Ibach

Land praised her trusty first-place mount, the 2012 Hanoverian gelding (Grey Top x World Diamond O), upon whom she has won many firsts at TIEC.

Taylor Land and Get Go in their presentation ceremony with Molly Oakman, TIEC Director of Equestrian Operations.

©TIEC/Reagan Ibach

“[Get Go] was very good! He’s such a special boy and he loves Tryon. He’s been jumping here since he was a young horse, so he always feels really comfortable in this ring.” 

Taylor Land and Get Go Take Top Honors in $5,000 Horseware Ireland Welcome Stake

September 24, 2021 – Taylor Land (Atlanta, GA) and Get Go celebrated a win in the $5,000 Horseware Ireland Welcome Stake with a jump-off time of 27.931. Missing first place, but claiming both second and third was Abigail McArdle (Wellington, FL) where she secured the red rosette on Victorio Equine Group LLC’s Victorio 5, the 2006 Hanoverian stallion (Uccello x  Graf Top), with a time of 29.102, and the yellow ribbon aboard Golden Quality, the 2011 Dutch Warmblood gelding (Quality Time TN x Quasimodo Z), with 30.581 for Sweetwater Jumpers LLC. 

Taylor Land and Get Go

©TIEC/Reagan Ibach

Eleven trips tested the Nick Granat (Wellington, FL) course design with six pairs returning for the jump-off. Land was quick to praise Granat on his work saying, “I thought the course was really fun. I love Nick Granat. He does a great job. I thought the jump-off was fun because there were some leave-out options. Grumbles has a really big stride, so I just used that to my advantage.”

Abigail McArdle and Victorio 5

©TIEC/Reagan Ibach

The class was Land and Get Go’s first class since returning to the TIEC the prior day. Land used the summer to challenge the 2012 Hanoverian gelding (Grey Top x World Diamond O) owned by Pinetree Farms Inc.

Abigail McArdle and Golden Quality

©TIEC/Reagan Ibach

“I actually moved him up to some FEI classes here [at TIEC] this summer. It was so fun! He did his first two and three-star here in July. After that, we took some time off in August. I gave him about six weeks off, and then just started showing again in Aiken last weekend.”

Taylor Land and Get Go in their presentation ceremony with TIEC Competition Manager JP Goddard.

©TIEC/Reagan Ibach

Land was ready to return to Tryon for the season, adding that she is “so excited to be back here. The Fall Series is my favorite. It’s such a great time to be in Tryon! The weather is amazing,” emphasized Land.

Tommi Clark Collects First and Third Place Wins in $2,500 USHJA Hunter Derby

September 25, 2021 – Tommi Clark (Tryon, NC) stamped her return to TIEC by taking first and third place in the $2,500 USHJA Hunter Derby as part of the Tryon Fall Series. Clark claimed first place aboard Extravagant with a score of 174 and third place on Executive Privilege, the 2011 Warmblood gelding (Clinton x Unknown), with a score of 167, both owned by Stephen Borders. Second place was earned by Ava Hartman (Marietta, GA), on her own Impression, the 2013 Dutch Warmblood gelding (Etoulon VDL x Tornita L), with a score of 170. 

Tommi Clark and Extravagant

©TIEC/Madison Ibach

While Clark is a frequent competitor at TIEC, it was an iconic moment for Stephen Borders’ Extravagant, the 2011 Holsteiner gelding (Corrado I x H-La Condina).

“This is his first Derby win. He’s been kind of right in there, so I’ve been waiting for him to break through. I don’t like to have favorites, but he’s my favorite horse, so it’s really cool to see him come through and have his first big win,” shared Clark.

The course designed by Dean Rheinheimer challenged 18 trips with 12 returning for the handy round and Clark was pleased with her partner’s performance.

“I had the advantage of going last on him and had already jumped around on everyone else,” she explained. “To be honest, he was so good in the first round that my strategy was to just keep him smooth, stay calm and let him do his thing.”

Tommi Clark and Extravagant in their presentation ceremony with Sharon Decker, President of Tryon Equestrian Partners, Carolinas Operations

©TIEC/Madison Ibach

With Clark spending so much time at TIEC, she recently made her presence in Tryon much more permanent by sharing some exciting news.

“We just bought a farm locally! We’ve leased here for years, but finally own one now. We’re here [at TIEC] through Washington. I’m really excited that Tryon got Washington and it’s in our backyard. We moved all the way here from California just to be next to Tryon. We really love the show and staff.”

Hunter Highlights:

Champion honors in the Ride Every Stride USHJA Hunter 2’9” Division went to Kendell Edwards (Charlotte, NC) aboard her own Quarterback. The reserved champion was earned by Alexandra Dow (Matthews, NC) and Upshot owned by Sally Watkins. Dow also swept up champion ribbons in the USHJA Hunter 2’3” and 3’ Divisions. 

Rhyleigh Threatt (Concord, NC) and her own Lafayette F were named champions in the USHJA Hunter 2’6” Division while Izzy Walker-Jones (Opelika, AL) and Jackson Square were named reserve champions for Jennifer Fletcher. 

The Adult Amatuer Hunter Division saw Lia Combs (Marietta, GA) earn champion status in the irons with her own Capture the Memories. Reserve champion was awarded to Kendell Edwards (Charlotte, NC) and her own Quarterback. 

Jumper Highlights:

The Sport Horse Essentials 1.10 Jumper Division saw John Brown (Mill Spring, NC) and Cappa Crusader land champion status for K Loyd Cece. Reserve champion went to Mason Hardy (Alexander, NC) and Flinstone owned by Regensburg LLC.

John Brown (Mill Spring, NC) was also named champion in the Big Ass Fans 1.20 Open Jumper Division with Brittni Raflowitz (Palm City, FL) earning reserve champion aboard the ESI Jumpers Inc mount Kensington Star. 

Win a Date won bragging rights as champion of the 1.30 Medium/Junior Amateur Division guided by rider Judy Sutton (Maggie Valley, NC). Rodney Harkey (Charlotte, NC) and his own Equador were named reserved champions.

To view all division results from Tryon Fall 1, click here. 

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

For full results from the $2,500 USHJA National Hunter Derby, click here.

For full results from the $25,000 Tryon Resort Grand Prix, click here. 

The Tryon Fall Series continues with six more weeks of Hunter/Jumper competition. Competition information can be found at Tryon.com/compete. Highlight classes are live streamed at Tryon.com/streaming. For questions, contact media@tryon.com.

Photo credit ©TIEC. Competitors can purchase and sign up for photos at Tryon.com/photos. These photos may only be used once in relation to this press release with proper credit. Contact media@tryon.com with questions.