For Immediate Release

Mill Spring, NC – April 2, 2019 – Nicky Galligan (Keswick, VA) and Javas Miss Jordan galloped to victory in Sunday’s $15,000 1.35m-1.40m Jumper Stake with a time of 32.362 seconds. David O’Brien (Lexington, KY) and Dayla 6 owned by Cleveland Equestrian claimed second place with a time of 32.759 seconds. Doug Payne (Aiken, SC) and Quintessence owned by Jane Dudinsky claimed the yellow rosette for third after stopping the jump-off timers in 33.21 seconds.

Among 17 entries in the course set by JP Godard (Aiken, SC), Galligan remained ahead of the competition after first setting sight on the venue last week during Tryon Welcome 1. “This is my first time here. I’m really, really impressed,” he remarked.

“Normally, I’d be in Florida for the winter, and this year we did a little restructuring and didn’t go. So last week was actually my first show, too.” Galligan relayed that his favorite aspect of grounds is “fantastic facilities – the footing is top-class. “[It’s] really, really impressive – for me to jump the horses two weeks, three days each week and no worries about feet is incredible. I’m very happy to be here.”

On the course, Galligan commented, “It felt really nice. We were here last week, too, and today felt like a little step up [in difficulty] from last week. It was a little more technical in the lines, playing with the adjustability of the horse, shortening and then lengthening over the oxers, and a really nice day. It was a really nice job with the courses both weeks – I brought some young horses, as well, and they got fantastic experience.”

“This is a very special horse to me and my family, actually,” Galligan revealed. “She’s part of the reason why we’re in the States. I’ve had her since she was four-years-old, and I was the first person to sit on her back. I bought her directly from the breeder and have been nurturing her quite slowly. She actually hasn’t been at a show since last August until last week, so this was just some shows to get her a little fit and jumping some rounds again. She will go home now for a couple weeks in the paddock, do a couple more shows and we will aim to come back here for the 3* show in May.”

Though the mare’s schedule has been slow so far, there was nothing slow about the jump-off round the pair produced to take the win. His strategy was “no pressure,” Galligan elaborated. “It was more about giving the horse experience in the jump-off, because she hasn’t jumped a lot of Grand Prixs, and had to warm up a second time and go back into the ring. So really, I was just thinking about giving her that experience of taking a breather, chilling out, warming up again and coming back in.”

Galligan continued, “After jumping our classes last week and this week I thought we could have a little bit of fun today. She’s a naturally fast horse, so we had a little bit of fun. No pressure on her, just let her do her job, and she came up good. It was a lot of fun.”

Though impressed with TIEC’s rings, Galligan attributed the mare’s strong build to the fact that he prefers to get the horses out of the ring as much as possible: “I guess we pay a lot of attention to detail in our strength and conditioning, and the soundness of our horses, and try to keep them happy,” he said. “We’re lucky to live in Virginia with a lot of natural hills, so I don’t spend a lot of time in the ring – I spend a lot of time in nature keeping them fit and strong. She just loves her job, too. She’s a very simple horse and loves to show.”

The $5,000 Welcome Stake 1.35m awarded David O’Brien (Lexington, KY) with first place aboard Kir Royal SCF owned by Spy Coast Farm. The duo dashed through the jump-off in 29.01 seconds to secure the win. Doug Payne (Aiken, SC) rode away with second place jumping in tandem with his own, Marshall M. Dillon. Payne stopped the timers in 30.003 seconds. David O’Brien earned third place with Sweet Oak Farm’s Starridor with a time of 30.437 seconds.

Doug Payne (Aiken, SC) earned first and second place in the Open Jumper 1.30m. For the first place win, Payne completed the course in 64.23 seconds aboard his own, Marshall M. Dillon. Payne earned a time of 64.823 seconds with Quintessence owned by Jane Dudinsky to secure the second place finish. Nicky Galligan (Keswick, VA) earned third with mount, Javas Miss Jordan earning a time of 66.446 seconds.

The 1.20m Open Jumper Division congratulated Nicky Galligan (Keswick, VA) with top honors with Lotus Van Het Hugehof owned by November Hill. Reserve honors were awarded to David O’Brien (Lexington, KY) and Dayla 6 owned by Cleveland Equestrian.

The $2,000 NAL Low Junior/Adult Amateur Classic 1.20m congratulated Mary Guynn (Wagener, SC) with first place with mount, Konstantine. Second place was awarded to Leah Bergman (Chapel Hill, NC) with mount, TGF For Gold. Bergman completed the course in 35.762 seconds. Morgan Ashby (Lincolnton, NC) took third with mount, Crescendo with a time of 88.55 seconds.

The Low Junior/Amateur Jumper 1.20m Division, Leah Bergman (Chapel Hill, NC) claimed champion honors with mount, TGF For Gold. Mary Guynn (Wagener, SC) earned reserve honors with mount, Konstantine.

In the 1.10m Jumper Division, Rebecca Halpin (Irmo, SC) earned champion honors with Limited Edition owned by Kimberly Von Schweinitz. Doug Payne (Aiken, SC) was awarded with reserve honors with Cascor owned by Stephen Blauner.

In the Low Children’s/Adult Amateur Jumper 1.0m, Liddy Strickland (McDonough, GA) secured top honors with Flashy owned by Courtenay Billings. Emma Brunnell (Columbus, NC) secured reserve honors with mount, Carlos Santana.

In the $2,000 NAL/WIHS Child/Adult Amateur Classic 1.10m, Isabelle Blackstone (Monroe, GA) finished in first place with Chasm Z owned by Madison Akins. Blackstone completed the course in 29.848 seconds. Mary Guynn (Wagener, SC) took second place with mount, Evieta with a time of 32.82 seconds. Megan Kutcher (Fletcher, NC) claimed third place with mount, So High with a time of 34.637 seconds.

Tommi Clark (Tryon, NC) swept the podium in Friday’s $2,500 USHJA National Hunter Derby, taking first-third place and piloting Expectation, owned by Stephen Borders, to a win in his first-ever Derby. The pair scored 85 points over two rounds to take the win, followed by Extraordinaire for second on a two-round score of 171, and Fantastic in third with a score of 164, with all three winners owned by Stephen Borders.

“This horse, actually, a year ago he didn’t know how to jump. He was a Dressage horse, and he’s just kind of started his career, but with a bang: he’s been champion every time he’s shown,” stated Clark. “Today was his first-ever Derby and even though there was not a huge field, he went like he could have won against a much larger group. He went amazing and I’m so lucky to be able to get to ride this one.”

Commenting on Expectation, Clark remarked, “He is nine, and he’s a special boy for sure. The cool thing about him is that we really make no plan – we let him show us what he’s ready to do. I was originally thinking about putting him in the 3’3″ Green Division this year, but he’s already been champion last week and won all three classes yesterday. He takes to this quite well, so I let him show me what he’s ready to do and I don’t hold him back, but I try not to push him, either.”

Since Expectation had never competed in a Derby prior, Clark explained that she was aiming for smoothness to ensure a good experience for him. “I was already leading on another horse going into the handy with him, and I was just going for a nice, smooth round. He’s never done a handy round before, so I wanted his first one to be a good experience, and if you’ve got a good jump you don’t have to go too crazy. So I just went smooth, and he showed me what he was ready to do.”

“We live two miles down the road. We practically do not show anywhere else. We used to travel the country, and we’ve seen almost every horse show ground – we were in a different state every week – and then we came here and just fell in love with the show itself. The office staff is incredible. They do an awesome job and think of their exhibitors and it’s an amazing facility,” Clark said. “And for my horses it’s great that we’re close because he will get to be turned out today just down the road. I couldn’t say enough about Tryon – it’s literally my favorite horse show and I’ve been just about everywhere!”

The $1,000 Adult Amateur/Junior Hunter Classic 3’3″/3’6″ congratulated Rylee Rosenthal (Charlotte, NC) with first place aboard Novel T owned by Fairy Tale Farms with a score of 167. Second place was awarded to Liddy Strickland (McDonough, GA) with mount, Valentine with a score of 161. Third place was bestowed upon Charlotte Anguiano (Northport, AL) with mount, Simpatico. Anguiano earned a score of 158.

In the $500 Pony Hunter Classic, Parker Peacock (Winston Salem, NC) rode home with blue aboard Our Moment owned by Ella McHardy. Peacock earned a score of 163. Savannah Welch (Elon, NC) claimed second place with mount, Mapleside Magic Wish. Welch secured a score of 161. Emma Ridinger (Charlotte, NC) took third with mount, Woodlands Velveteen Rabbit with a score of 160.

Emma Ridinger (Charlotte, NC) claimed top honors in the Medium Pony Hunter Division aboard the self-owned mount, Woodlands Velveteen Rabbit. Savannah Welch (Elon, NC) secured reserve honors with mount, Mapleside Magic Wish.

The Large Pony Hunter Division congratulated Jennings Goodwin (Raleigh, NC) with the champion title with mount, Touch The Sun. Reserve honors were awarded to Leigh Ashby (Lincolnton, NC) with mount, Onyxfords Blue Magic.

In the Large Green Pony Hunter Division, McKayla Cates (Beaufort, SC) took top honors aboard Jade Run’s Chase Me Charlie owned by Cartwright Morris Equine Enterprises. Trilby Allen (Columbus, NC) earned reserve honors with mount, Living Large.

The Opportunity Child/Adult Cross Rails Division awarded Britain Cecil (Canton, GA) with champion honors with Thunderbay owned by Chasen Boggio. Emerson Layne Whitmire (Greenville, SC) claimed reserve honors with mount, Love Sonnet.

Finley Clement (Waxhaw, NC) was awarded top honors in the Children’s Pony Hunter Division with mount, Makloud. Campbell Clement (Waxhaw, NC) earned reserve honors with My Boy owned by Gray Horse Farm Hamptons LLC.

The Tryon Welcome Series continues with Tryon Welcome 3 (USEF “B”/Level 3) April 5-7 at the venue. Running concurrently April 4-7, The Fork at TIEC (CCI 4*-S, CCI 3*-S, CCI2*-S & Horse Trials) presented by Lucky Clays Farm will host Eventing competition alongside a robust social calendar. Learn more at Tryon.com.