Alexis Bodo and Select’s London Calling Old Win $5,000 Horseware Ireland Welcome Stake

Christina Fisher Jumps to Victory in the $2,500 USHJA National Hunter Derby sponsored by Meg and Damian Fine Homes & Equestrian Properties 

Kolbie Watson and My Dear Watson Claim the Blue in the $1,500 Open 2’6” Derby

For Immediate Release 

Connelly Grant for TIEC

Mill Spring, NC – June 26, 2022 – Harold Chopping (Southern Pines, NC) and Gerderieka II VI cinched the win in Sunday’s $25,000 Tryon Resort Grand Prix in Tryon Stadium at Tryon International Equestrian Center & Resort (TIEC). Chopping stopped the jump-off timers at 36.917 seconds. Claiming the red ribbon at 37.309 seconds was Juan Oritz (Loxahatchee, FL) aboard Kinky Boy Van Het Gildenhof, the 2010 Belgian Warmblood gelding owned by McLain Ward. Oritz also earned third prize with H&M Carat Desire, a 2008 Holsteiner gelding (Carinjo x Moderne II) owned by Blue Trim LLC. The pair rode a time of 37.872 seconds. 

Harold Chopping and Gerderieka II VI
©Bailey Beck for TIEC

Twenty one entries attempted the Dean Rheinheimer (Wellington, FL) course, with twelve pairs securing a place in the jump-off round. Chopping and Gerderieka II VI, the 2011 Dutch Warmblood mare (Campbell VDL x Ulderika) owned by Rein Family LLC and Tara Dow-Rein, earned top honors by taking a tricky inside turn. “I think the difference was just slipping inside the decoration after the second jump,” he detailed. “I did one more step down the line, but sort of galloped the first jump, put a big curve in that bending line, and then and then landed, coming inside. She turns so quickly, and she’s so fast away from the jumps that I know her well enough now to know that those are her strong suits.”

Juan Ortiz and Kinky Boy Van Het Gildenhof
©Bailey Beck for TIEC

Chopping explained his specific strategy for victory with Gerderieka II VI, particularly with Ortiz behind him on two mounts. “Going first in that jump off, I tried to lay down a track that would require chasing. She’s naturally a quick horse, so you don’t have to push her to be fast at all. She really covers the ground and goes away from the jumps well on her own. I was just trying to have a solid plan that would make it a little hard to catch.”

Juan Ortiz and H&M Carat Desire
©Bailey Beck for TIEC

“We have a lot of fun when we come here,” said Chopping of TIEC. “We’re here, staying for the two-star week. It’s a great place to horse show, with a little bit of everything. The bull riding the last couple of nights was a lot of fun; we went to watch that. I sat with a big group of people from the horse show and it was really entertaining. We had a blast doing something totally different than what you would typically see at a horse show. That was really fun. It’s always good to come back.”

Harold Chopping and Gerderieka II VI in their presentation ceremony.
©Bailey Beck for TIEC

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

Alexis Bodo and Select’s London Calling Old Win $5,000 Horseware Ireland Welcome Stake

June 24, 2022 – Alexis Bodo (Nashville, TN) rode her own Select’s London Calling Old to the win in the $5,000 Horseware Ireland Welcome Stake to start Tryon Summer 2. Bodo stopped the timers at 35.594 seconds. Jumping to second with a time of 35.790 seconds was Juan Ortiz (Loxahatchee, FL) with Kinky Boy Van Het Gildenhof, a 2010 Belgian Warmblood gelding owned by McLain Ward. Rounding out the top three was Harold Chopping (Southern Pines, NC) aboard Gerderieka II VI, a 2011 Dutch Warmblood mare (Campbell VDL x Ulderika) owned by Rein Family LLC and Tara Dow-Rein at 35.961 seconds. 

Alexis Bodo and Select’s London Calling Old
©Natalie Suto for TIEC

Bodo and her own 2014 Oldenburg mare (Glock’s London x Walmeira II) topped the class of 24 entries, with nine pairs progressing to the jump off. “That mare is just an eight-year-old; she’s just starting to jump bigger classes this year. I couldn’t have been any happier with her. She’s really learning and developing and getting stronger,” Bodo said about her mount. 

Juan Ortiz and Kinky Boy Van Het Gildenhof
©Natalie Suto for TIEC

“She wants to jump clear no matter what; she knows more about show jumping than all of us combined! She’s the smartest and the best horse that I’ve ever had and I couldn’t be any luckier.” 

Bodo won the class by a narrow margin of just .196 seconds. “I thought the course was set well. There were a lot of options there with very few related distances, so you really had to ride the horse that you had under you,” she said. “She just started doing bigger classes, and this show is the first show that we are actually trying to go for it, turn a little tighter, be tidier and smoother, and I thought she handled it really well.”

Harold Chopping and Gerderieka II VI
©Natalie Suto for TIEC

“We love Tryon,” exclaimed Bodo. “We came here on the way back from Florida. It’s so convenient for professionals, the horses love it here. It’s a great environment. The weather is good, and the people are amazing. It’s a good place to bring young horses, clients, and more developed horses. We are just amazed at how wonderful the facility is and how well the show is run.”

Alexis Bodo and Select’s London Calling Old in their presentation ceremony.
©Natalie Suto for TIEC

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

Christina Fisher Jumps to Victory in the $2,500 USHJA National Hunter Derby sponsored by Meg and Damian | Fine Homes & Equestrian Properties

June 25, 2022- Christina Fisher (Alpharetta, GA) rode her own Levland to victory in Saturday’s $2,500 USHJA National Hunter Derby sponsored by Meg and Damian | Fine Homes & Equestrian Properties, scoring 176 points over two rounds. Second place went to Conto Van de Helle, a 2008 Warmblood stallion (Casteltno Van de Helle) owned and shown by Meghan Kaergel (Inman, SC), after their 170-point performance. Third prize was claimed by Marie LaFond (Oxford, MI) atop her own Campari, a 2013 Warmblood gelding, with 162 points. 

Christina Fisher and Levland
©Bailey Beck for TIEC

Fourteen pairs navigated the Lewis Pack (Mill Spring, NC) course design, with a minimum score of 65 qualifying the top twelve entries for the handy round test. “I thought the course rode really nice,” Fisher posited. “I like how the first round had a lot of open, long options to the jump. I also liked how in the handy there were options to turn inside. [Levland] loves the handy rounds because it’s more interesting for him, so I always like when the handy has a nice, tight inside turn.” 

Meghan Kaergel and Conto van de Helle
©Bailey Beck for TIEC

Fisher and Levland have quite the history together, but today’s win was a milestone, as it marked their first show back together after three months. “I’ve had him about six years, we’ve competed everywhere together. I recently got married, so we took three months off and this is our first show back! I think he just wanted to come back with a big hit!” Fisher exclaimed about Levland. “I normally do the working hunters with him and the international derbies. There’s an international derby here in a few weeks, so we did this one as kind of a warm up to get our feet wet again!”

Marie LaFond and Campari
©Bailey Beck for TIEC

“I live in Asheville, so we’re always here [at Tryon],” concluded Fisher. “I love showing here; I can ship in easily and the stalls are nice. There’s tons of rings to ride in and it’s always just a really exhibitor friendly experience!” 

Christina Fisher and Levland in their presentation ceremony.
©Bailey Beck for TIEC

For full results from the $2,500 USHJA National Hunter Derby sponsored by Meg and Damian Fine Homes & Equestrian Properties, click here.

Kolbie Watson and My Dear Watson Claim the Blue in the $1,500 Open 2’6” Derby

June 26, 2022 – Kolbie Watson (Youngsville, NC) rode Alexandra Meyerhoff and Logan Elizabeth Smith’s My Dear Watson to the win in Sunday’s $1,500 Open 2’6” Derby. Victoria Reinholdt (Maitland, FL) came in second atop her own Count Me In, a 2007 Thoroughbred gelding. Third went to Mer Soliel, a 2007 Holsteiner gelding owned and shown by Kirsten Hannah (Apex, NC). 

Kolbie Watson and My Dear Watson
©Natalie Suto for TIEC

“It’s a pony from Trademark Stables,” said Watson about her mount, a 2006 Welsh/Thoroughbred gelding (Fendock Masterpiece) for the class. “He’s a really good pony; [Logan] does short stirrups on him and I just had the ride on him for the derby. He’ll be at USEF Pony Finals this year in the large regulars.”

Watson was very complimentary of course designer Lewis Pack. “The course rode good, the bending line was the best for me,” she said. “He has a really big step, so it’s easy to get down the lines. I thought it was a really nice course and it was really appropriate for what they were doing. The handy allowed you to take some tighter turns and just use your course to help you out.” 

Watson describes that she found an advantage in letting the pony open up his stride to easily cruise around the course. “I feel like [my advantage] was mainly in the first round, because it allowed me to get a good pace throughout the course, starting with a single especially. The bending also helped, because you kind of galloped down there and get prepared for the rest of the lines.

Logan Elizabeth Smith and My Dear Watson in their presentation ceremony.
©Natalie Suto for TIEC

“I want to thank Logan, Beth, and Jenn who trained me, and the Trademark Stables team for allowing me to ride him and for everything. He’s a super nice pony to ride! [Tryon] has been really great; we’ll be here next week, too, and I love it here. It’s awesome!” 

For full results from the $1,500 Open 2’6” Derby, click here.

Hunter Highlights:
Christina Fisher (Alpharetta, GA) rode her own Levland to victory in the Coca-Cola® Performance Hunter 3’3” Division. Ricci Tarockoff (Rochester, MI) jumped to reserve aboard Marie LaFond’s Campari. 

Ashley Conkle (Wellford, SC) was champion in the Parsec Financial USHJA Hunter 2’6” Division on Stock ‘Em LLC’s Mikado DC. Jaclyn Howard (Charlotte, NC) took reserve on After Midnight, owned by Alice Hart.

Jumper Highlights:
Sydney Myers (Plantation, FL) and Armando Garcia’s Dali topped the ProElite 1.10m Child/Adult Jumper Division. Reserve honors went to Rebecca Jones (Durham, NC) and her own Festival de Vallery.

Alexa Curry (Plantation, FL) piloted her own Centex to claim champion in St. Luke’s Hospital 1.20m Junior/Amateur Jumper Division. Leah Bergman (Chapel Hill, NC) cinched reserve aboard her own Just for Fun. 

Tryon Summer Series competition, which is free and open to the public, will continue with four more weeks of Hunter, Jumper and Equitation competition alongside numerous events and multi-discipline competitions. Visit www.Tryon.com/compete to view the 2022 competition schedule, including information about the Tryon August and Tryon Fall Series. Saturday Night Lights will return all Saturdays in July, with more information available at www.Tryon.com/SNL. 

Photos ©TIEC (Bailey Beck and Natalie Suto as noted). These photos may only be used once, in relation to this press release. The TIEC In-House Photography team serves as the official photographer for all Hunter/Jumper competition at TIEC. Competitors may purchase official show photos and request photos of their rides for the Summer Series by visiting www.Tryon.com/photos. ALL photographers must be credentialed in order to distribute or sell photos taken at TIEC. With questions, contact media@tryon.com.