Conor Swail Slices to $25,000 Tryon Resort Grand Prix Win

Selwyn and Megan Rosenthal Reign Victorious in $10,000 Standlee/USHJA Open Hunter Derby Regional Championships

Executive Order and Caelinn Leahy Top $3,000 Standlee/USHJA Amateur Hunter Derby Regional Championships

Gigi Phillips and Thunderbird Win $3,000 Standlee/USHJA Junior Hunter Derby Regional Championships

Samuel Parot and Singulon Score $6,000 Speed Stake CSI 2* Win

For Immediate Release

Connelly Grant and Sarah Madden for TIEC

Mill Spring, NC – July 17, 2022 – Conor Swail (Wellington, FL) and Errol claimed the win in Sunday’s $25,000 Tryon Resort Grand Prix, stopping the jump-off timers at 31.977 seconds. Darragh Kerins (Wellington, FL) and Ringwood Zebo scored reserve honors on a time of 32.3 seconds, with the 2009 Irish Sport Horse gelding (Califax x Ringwood Audacity), owned by NRG Farm LLC. In third, Abigail McArdle (Wellington, FL) and I&H Boogy Woogy, the 2006 Hungarian gelding (Faldo x I&H Vanilla Fudge) owned by Samuel Parot Jr, cleared the jump off in a time of 34.55 seconds.

Conor Swail and Errol
©Isabel McSwain for TIEC

Thirteen horses tested the Guilherme Jorge (BRA) course design in the first round, with five entries returning for the second test. Swail and the 2010 Irish Sport Horse gelding (Ludiam x Jouvencelle de Thurin), owned by Sagamore Farms topped the field by a narrow margin. “It’s obviously great to come back here and win at Tryon,” Swail said. “It was a nice track. I thought [Jorge] built a nice enough test for the field. My horse jumped very nicely in the first round. He’s had a little break for four or five weeks there, so we’re just getting back into it.”

Darragh Kerins and Ringwood Zebo
©Isabel McSwain for TIEC

Swail used Errol’s fine build to secure the victory. “The jump off was quite twisty and turny, so it suited me because [Errol] is like a pony. I was able to take advantage of him being so small, and we did a few inside turns there. I needed them all – Darragh [Kerins] very nearly got me there in the end. It’s great to get the win.

Abigail McArdle and I&H Boogy Woogy
©Isabel McSwain for TIEC

“I’m coming up on a busy schedule, actually,” Swail commented, “I’ll be here next week, and Vital Change [de la Roque] is showing here next week, which is normally great for me. Then, I’m busy! They [this group of horses] have a week off, then they go up to Traverse City. Then, after a few weeks off they’ll go to Ottowa, then west: Thunderbird, Sacramento, Vegas… and that’s just those guys! The other horses have their own schedule as well. Busy times, and lots of sky miles for me.

Conor Swail and Errol in their presentation ceremony alongside Ringmaster Steve Rector.
©Isabel McSwain for TIEC

“It’s always nice to come back here,” Swail concluded. “The horses enjoy jumping here, and it’s a great facility, and that’s why I keep coming here!”

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

Selwyn and Megan Rosenthal Reign Victorious in $10,000 Standlee/USHJA Open Hunter Derby Regional Championships

July 15, 2022 – Megan Rosenthal (Charlotte, NC) and Selwyn, owned by Fairy Tale Farms LLC, came away with the blue ribbon in Friday’s $10,000 Standlee/USHJA Open Hunter Derby Regional Championships. Coming in second was Brooke Kemper (Reddick, FL) with MTM Kappa Kappa Gamma, a 2013 Warmblood gelding (Casiro x Sue) owned by Caroline Blum. Third prize was awarded to Liza Boyd (Camden, SC) and Cassico, a 2011 Holsteiner gelding (Carrico x Trevigiana), owned by Rebekah Warren.

Megan Rosenthal and Selwyn
©Bailey Beck for TIEC

Selwyn, a 2015 Swedish Warmblood gelding (Common Sense x Amazing FLB) has been moving up the ranks in the States this past year. “His name is Selwyn, but his barn name is Noodle,” said Rosenthal about her winning mount, “He’s been in the country for about a year now. We started him in the 2’6” baby greens last year, then started the 3’ greens this year and just moved him up to the 3’3”. We love him, he’s beautiful, he does his job well as long as we do things his way! We’re really excited for the future with him, he’s really brave.”

Brooke Kemper and MTM Kappa Kappa Gamma
©Bailey Beck for TIEC

“In the first round I really just tried to take it one jump at a time,” Rosenthal said, “Since he is a young horse, we just wanted to make sure he was confident and secure going around.”

A rough handy round warm up made for a successful day for the pair. “In the handy round, we had a little bit of a rough warmup, so I really just went in hoping that we could just smooth out the tracks between the jumps for the second time. He was really great, he really rose to the occasion. He jumped a little higher in the handy round than in the first round so I think he’s eventually going to be really good in this environment.”

Liza Boyd and Cassico
©Bailey Beck for TIEC

“We love [Tryon],” Rosenthal said, “We’re local: we’re from Charlotte so we end up here quite a bit during the summer. When I first started coming here and did some of the international derbies on the grass it was a lot of fun, and I kind of missed that it was gone for a little bit, and I’m glad that the grass is back! It just really shows a new environment for young horses and is a great experience for them. It was a lot of fun today!”

Megan Rosenthal and Selwyn in their presentation ceremony alongside Ringmaster Steve Rector and TIEC Director of Equestrian Operations Molly Oakman.
©Bailey Beck for TIEC

For full results from the $10,000 Standlee/USHJA Open Hunter Derby Regional Championships, click here.

Executive Order and Caelinn Leahy Top $3,000 USHJA Amateur Hunter Derby Regional Championships

July 15, 2022 – Executive Order and Caelinn Leahy (Maple Park, IL) earned top honors in Friday’s $3,000 Standlee/USHJA Amateur Hunter Derby Regional Championship. Second place went to Mackensie Bowles (Staunton, VA) and Mr. Blue Sky, a 2014 Westphalian gelding (Cordess x Romy) owned by Mack Daddy Farm. Taking home the yellow ribbon was Aly Muir and Kid Safari DH, a 2010 Belgian Warmblood gelding (Va-Vite x Tafary Quidam) owned by Whish LLC.

Caelinn Leahy and Executive Order
©Bailey Beck for TIEC

Executive Order, a 2014 Selle Francais stallion (Quite Easy x America Mail) owned by Nancy L Schmid, has been with Leahy his entire life, “We’ve had this horse his whole life, he’s actually a homebred for us. I’m really proud of him, it’s been cool to see him grow up through our program. Today was his first time ever jumping on grass, so I gotta say it was a pretty good first outing!” said Leahy.

Mackenzie Bowles and Mr. Blue Sky
©Jessica O’Connor for TIEC

Leahy commented that riding on the grass made a lot of horses perk up, but that it ultimately worked in Executive Order’s favor. “The first round I thought was super good, he was definitely a little more up, I think he and a lot of the other horses got out on the grass and got excited pretty quickly. So, I think he definitely picked up a little bit but for him honestly, the more forward he is the easier he is to ride so I think that really worked in our favor today!”

Aly Muir and Kid Safari DH
©Bailey Beck for TIEC

While her handy round did not go as Leahy had originally planned, a mishap is what secured her the win. “So originally our plan was to kind of go around everything to get to the next jump, but I was pretty under [the oxer] so I landed a little bit shallow and I was able to do a double inside there, so it was kind of one of those things that you just had to make the most of. That was the only ad lib, but besides that I just try to ride smooth and forward; I think that is the best way to ride all your handy rounds.”

Caelinn Leahy and Executive Order in their presentation ceremony alongside Ringmaster Steve Rector and TIEC Director of Equestrian Operations Molly Oakman.
©Bailey Beck for TIEC

“Tryon is super,” Leahy said. “We love putting this on the calendar every year. Hunters is actually not necessarily my main ring, most of the time I’m in the jumper ring so we like to come down here for FEI stuff. So, it’s really great for me as a young rider to be able to hop over and do FEI but also take our young horses in great classes like this. It’s an awesome venue, you can go jump on the grass and have it be beautiful but also go jump at the top level of this sport in FEI in the main ring. So, we always make it a staple part of our summer schedule, happy to be here!”

For full results from the $3,000 Standlee/USHJA Amateur Hunter Derby Regional Championship, click here.

Gigi Phillips and Thunderbird Win $3,000 Standlee/USHJA Junior Hunter Derby Regional Championships

July 15, 2022 – Gigi Phillips (Charlotte, NC) and her own Thunderbird jumped to the blue in the $3,000 Standlee/USHJA Junior Hunter Derby Regional Championships. The red ribbon went to Tropic Star, a 2011 Dutch Warmblood gelding (Carambole x Carthino Z) owned and shown by Stephanie Grace Fernandez (Lewisville, NC). Rounding out the top three was Emma Ridinger (Charlotte, NC) and her own Crowd Control, a 2013 Swedish Warmblood gelding (Lucky Point HE x Ragusa).

Gigi Phillips and Thunderbird
©Bailey Beck for TIEC

Thunderbird, a 2014 Westphalian gelding (Cornet Session x Thousend Dollar), is a tried-and-true horse of Phillips’. “He’s my 3’6” junior hunter, he was actually a jumper 6 months ago! He’s pretty good, I’ve been doing international derbies and stuff too,” Phillips said.

Stephanie Grace Fernandez and Tropic Star
©Bailey Beck for TIEC

Phillips noted that she had to work to stand out to the judges. “[Both rounds] were both pretty good, in the handy I didn’t see very many places to stand out so I kind of sliced the oxer in the middle to set myself apart, I think that helped.”

Emily Ridinger and Crowd Control
©Bailey Beck for TIEC

When asked about her favorite jump on the course, Phillips responded, “I love the hay jump because I think it’s a really cool jump without standards, and it kind of makes [every horse] look at it so they jump it really well. Being on the grass was really fun,” Phillips commented, “I’ve actually never shown on the grass before and I thought it was really fun. I love being here!”

Gigi Phillips and Thunderbird in their presentation ceremony alongside Ringmaster Steve Rector and TIEC Director of Equestrian Operations Molly Oakman.
©Bailey Beck for TIEC

For full results from the $3,000 Standlee/USHJA Junior Hunter Derby Regional Championships, click here.

Samuel Parot and Singulon Score $6,000 Speed Stake CSI 2* Win

July 15, 2022 – Samuel Parot (CHI) and his own Singulon, the 2011 Holsteiner stallion, scored a win in Friday’s $6,000 Speed Stake CSI 2* in a time of 67.23 seconds. Conor Swail (IRL) and Errol, the 2010 Irish Sport Horse gelding (Ludiam x Jouvencelle de Thurin) owned by Sagamore Farms, earned reserve in 67.73 seconds over the Guilherme Jorge (BRA) course design, with third place going to Filippo Marco Pignatti (ITA), riding Luna, the 2011 mare (Sandro Hit), to a time of 72.11 seconds.

Samuel Parot and Singulon
©Isabel McSwain for TIEC

For full results from the $6,000 Speed Stake CSI 2*, click here.

Hunter Highlights:
In the Meg and Damian Fine Homes & Equestrian Properties Adult Amateur Hunter 50+ 3’ Division, Page Tredennick (Wellington, FL) rode her own Tomcat to champion honors. Scottie Smith (Maidens, VA) rode mount Pescador to reserve.

The Green Hunter 3’ Division named Hallowell Lane Farm LLC’s Divine Romance and Callie Seaman (Greenwich, CT) as champions, with reserve awards going to Untold, owned by Taylor St. Jaques and piloted by Rachel Kennedy (Brookville, MD).

Jumper Highlights:
Sarah Hubbard (Cornwall, CT) and Quantimera owned by Hubbard Horses LLC were champions in the Developing Jumper Series 6YO Division presented by Spy Coast Farm. Reserve honors went to Cassio Rivetti (Wellington, FL) and Goldjunge 158, owned by C & M Partnership LLC.

The Big Ass Fans Open 1.20m Jumper Division congratulated Rebecca Lannoye (Geneva, IL) and her own Furst as champions on the week, with reserve named to Samuel Parot (Wellington, FL) aboard his own Hebron VDL.

For full division results from Tryon Summer 5, click here.

The Tryon Summer Series continues through Sunday, July 24, with Hunter, Jumper, and Equitation competition alongside CSI 3* Jumping. The US Pony Clubs Championships East follows the Tryon Summer Series July 26-31, featuring multi-discipline competition at the venue. Tryon August 1 will take place August 12-14, continuing Hunter/Jumper competition at the venue. For more information, visit www.Tryon.com/compete.

Photos ©TIEC (Bailey Beck, Isabel McSwain, and Jessica O’Connor as noted). These photos may only be used once, in relation to this press release. TIEC Photography serves as the official photographer and competitors may view and purchase photos, as well as submit advance photography requests at www.Tryon.com/photos. With questions, contact media@tryon.com.