Amy Tryon brought 6-year-old Leyland to the Galway Downs CCI** in Temecula, Calif., with no real expectations of winning. Rather, she modestly endeavored to gain experience for the young horse. But after pinning the blue ribbon on Nov. 5, everyone in attendance learned that despite his age, Leyland is one exceptional competitor and when it comes to performing in the ring or across the field, he’s all business.

Tryon and Leyland started strong in Friday’s dressage, standing second on 44.7 penalties. Leigh Mesher and My Beau, a previous four-star mount of Tryon’s, took the top position, just 3.8 points ahead of Tryon.

“Leigh’s been riding Beau now for two years, and it’s still fun to watch him go around,” said Tryon, who rode the 17-year-old for six years. “He’s not as fast as he used to be, but he’s still got a shine in his eye and loves to go around.”

But speed became the deciding factor over the cross-country course. Leyland ate it up like he’d been doing it for years to take over the lead.

“You never really take a green horse to an event with any expectations,” said Tryon, who won the individual bronze medal at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany, with Poggio this summer. “You hope that they go around well and are pleasantly surprised when they do. And if not, you learn what they need to work on and do it next time.”

This time, they jumped faultlessly and only incurred 0.4 time faults. “Because of his age and inexperience, I’m always a little concerned with the skinnys after the drops and the corners. It’s just a matter of getting his eye on the fence. But he’s just as likely to jump off a drop and stare at the jump judge as he is to look at the fence,” Tryon said laughing. “But he’s always been incredibly genuine and well balanced so he gallops uphill. He does himself a lot of favors as he’s generally in the right place at the right time.”

Mesher and My Beau took a conservative route through obstacles 17AB, 18AB and 19, also known as Lake Galway, adding 7.2 faults on their score to drop to third place.

The Lake Galway complex presented a challenging track that led riders into the water after a bending combination over coops, and out by jumping up a bank. With hooves still soaked, horses immediately faced a tall brush fence on a diagonal only one stride out of the lake. Then, a short bend set up for fence 19, a contentious skinny that led back through the water.

“I thought [19] was a fair question. However, it’s the type of question that you have to be incredibly accurate at. It’s a skinny and spooky fence with water below, and you have to ride them up to the base with a lot of power,” Tryon said. Two horse-and-rider combinations fell over that particular obstacle, and others ran out. It was eventually removed from the course for the final 10 trips (see sidebar).

Tryon and Leyland stepped into the show jumping on Sunday looking confident and relaxed. She said she couldn’t help but con-sider Leyland’s greenness, especially without a rail to spare.

Mesher and My Beau sat tied for third with Kelly Prather and Ballinakill Glory. Both pairs jumped faultlessly and finished their weekends with 48.1 faults apiece. Jessica Heidemann and In Any Event took to the show jumping in second place but caught rails on fences 8 and 11 and incurred 1 time fault.

While spectators watched the final trip in hushed silence, Leyland floated over each fence with hardly a rub and finished with time to spare. He and Tryon finished on 45.1 faults to secure the CCI** blue ribbon.

“He’s a fabulous jumper. He could probably specialize and be a show jumper. He’s got a ton of skill and is very careful, but he can still do silly things,” Tryon said. “He’s as cheeky as they get and is always getting in trouble at home, but he’s got a great attitude that you can kind of funnel in the right direction.”

After starting Leyland off the track last year, he’s galloped up the ranks from novice to intermediate within the year and exceeded Tryon’s expectations. The 16.1-hand, bay Thoroughbred has won seven events since March of 2005 including the past three in a row (one preliminary and two intermediates). Galway marked his first CCI** and fourth consecutive victory.

Needless to say, both Tryon and Leyland’s owner, Elizabeth Nicholson, are thrilled for this young horse’s future. “The Nicholsons have been incredibly supportive and have really enjoyed watching him go up through the levels,” Tryon said. “Hopefully, he’ll be a big-time horse; I’m really excited for them.”


Worth The Wait
Gem Dandy’s owner, Gloria Nurge, was speechless after watching her horse rise to the top of a very competitive long-format CCI* division. Tamra Smith and the 10-year-old gelding posted one of the few faultless show jumping rounds in the class to merit a victory gallop and the blue.

From Friday’s dressage, Arielle Eccher led the way aboard Anthony Tiger but not by much. After cross-country, only .3 faults separated Eccher and Rachel Dwyer aboard Catch A Star. Smith and Gem Dandy stood fourth after a clean trip but only trailed first place by 1 fault.

“I loved [the cross-country course] because it was challenging, but everything rode really smoothly,” said Smith. “I think the course fit the level. The coffin and the sunken road were definitely two technical questions, but he was great and they rode well. He’s a cross-country machine.”

Only 7.5 penalties separated first from 10th heading into Sunday’s show jumping. Smith knew a minor mistake by anyone would majorly shake up the scores.

“I saw a lot of people having rails, but you can’t really think about everyone else. You just have to ride each jump individually and hope to have a clean round,” she said.

A triple combination (4ABC) fell often during the class and brought many scores down with it. Jaimie Kidston and The Rock sat third until rails from fences 2, 4C and 9 hit the dirt. Dwyer and Catch A Star dropped 4B and 8A but managed to hang on to second place.

Eccher and Anthony Tiger brought down 4BC and had to settle for fourth place, while Smith and Dandy’s clean round elevated them to the top once and for all.

“He felt fantastic! He was listening and was not tired at all,” Smith said of Dandy’s winning performance. After watching the pair’s textbook trip, no one would imagine that jumping didn’t always come so naturally for Dandy. When Smith took over his reins a year ago, he wouldn’t even jump three feet.

“He would stop at everything. Gloria and I are good friends, and I took over the ride because he was a difficult horse,” said Smith. “I started training with a guy by the name of Allen Clarke here in Temecula, and he made the difference. He’s a great horseman and thinks like a horse. I worked my butt off, but if it wasn’t for him and his help, we wouldn’t be here.”

Kim Scheid bred Dandy (Goldwelt– Karmatron) in Temecula, Calif. “So this is really an accomplishment for all of us,” said Smith of Hemet, Calif.

And despite Nurge receiving ill advice from trainers that Dandy was dangerous and should be put down, “I never gave up on him. I’ve always believed in him,” she said. “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”


Worth The Trip
Heather Morris had a long trip from Lewisville, Texas, to Galway Downs for the short format CCI*. But it was well worth it to take the victory gallop aboard Genial after topping the division on their dressage score.

After a 12-hour delay in New Mexico, they finally arrived in Temecula at 3 a.m. “It was quite a journey, but luckily the outcome was great,” Morris said smiling.

Their dressage test afforded them a comfortable lead from the get go. They stood 5 faults ahead of their nearest competition. “He’s a super dressage horse and was just perfect this time,” Morris said.

After walking the cross-country course, Morris anticipated difficulty through the coffin (5-6AB) and sunken road (17-18AB) in particular but had little doubt that Genial would perform. She even walked with a limp because of a young horse mishap the week before, but that wouldn’t stop her from riding faultlessly.

Genial did his job like Morris knew he could. “He was awesome. He didn’t look at anything,” said Morris, who finished with 25 seconds to spare. “He just cruised around and was ready to go again.”

They kept their clean streak alive through show jumping with a smooth and careful trip and finished 6 faults ahead of Tryon and Coal Creek.

Genial is no stranger to one-stars. Mara Dean previously rode the 8-year-old, Trakehner gelding and placed second at the Bromont Three-Day (Que.) in June 2005. Kamala Land LLC bought Genial for Morris in April this year, and the pair wasted no time winning their first two horse trials together, one at training level and the next three weeks later at preliminary.

“He was actually just something we picked up as a project horse to see where he would go,” said Morris. And now he’ll go to Florida to start next season at intermediate.

For more coverage of Galway Downs CCI*/** Three-Day Event, including cross-country course highlights and free photo galleries, go to www.chronofhorse.com, and click on the Online Coverage Archives or Photo Gallery.


A Moment Of Silence
After the excitement of the weekend’s competition, a heartbreaking cloud hung above the Galway Downs grounds on Sunday. At the conclusion of the CCI** show jumping phase, a moment of silence was held to honor Mia Eriksson, 17, of Tahoe City, Calif., who passed away on Saturday evening after a fatal fall over fence 19.

Competition was halted for about 30 minutes after Eriksson’s horse, Koryography, caught his front legs on the fence, flipped and fell on her. She and Koryography were the second pair to turn over at this jump, and it was subsequently removed for the rest of the competition.

Wayne Quarles, one of the FEI Ground Jury members, said that Eriksson and Koryography stopped four times prior to reaching fence 19. The fourth refusal occurred at fence 17, the first obstacle leading into the Lake Galway complex (17AB, 18AB, 19). Jump judges were radioed and apparently tried to stop Eriksson, but she’d already cleared 18 and began rounding the short bend to 19.

Veterinarians treated 7-year-old Koryography, and he was able to walk back to his stable. On-site paramedics immediately transported Eriksson to Rancho Springs Hospital in Murrieta, Calif., where she passed away that evening.

Though ribbon ceremonies and victory music rang on Sunday morning and afternoon, a somber air floated over the show grounds. Friends and barn mates of Eriksson wore blue ribbons with white polka dots to honor her throughout the proceedings.

Malcolm Hook, Galway’s controller and announcer, expressed the utmost sympathy when he made the announcement. A statement from Eriksson’s parents, Stan and Karen, was read stating that Mia died doing what she loved.

Don McAuliffe, director of public and media relations at Galway said, “This is the first time anything like this has ever happened here.”

Lauren Brooke competed with Eriksson in the two-star division and was a good friend of hers. “So may people knew her for such a short time. She was the kind of person who touched so many lives and was so genuine. Once you met her, you felt like you already knew her,” said Brooke. “She loved that horse and loved the sport. She fought until the end.”

Brooke said that Eriksson was to graduate from North Tahoe High School this year and had been applying to different colleges. Eriksson was also on North Tahoe’s downhill ski team and a dancer.

In a tragic coincidence, Mia’s sister, Shana, suffered a fatal horse-related accident at the age of 18 while riding at Fresno State University (Calif.) in 2003. As she rode past the campus pasture, her horse spooked at restless cows, and she was thrown from the saddle before the horse fell on her.

The Erikssons own Tahoe Meadows Equestrian, a boarding and training stable in Truckee, Calif. Mia and Shana were their only children.


Joshua A. Walker