Far Hills, N.J. – June 23 

Australia’s Ryan Wood captured the win in the $20,000 Preliminary Essex at the Mars Essex Horse Trials in Far Hills, New Jersey, on Saturday.

Riding Ruby, owned by Summit Sporthorses Ltd. of Ringoes, New Jersey, the pair led from start to finish going clear in both cross-country and show jumping to finish on their dressage score of 27.70.

“This event is phenomenal. This was my first time here, and I can’t wait to come back. I will be promoting it to everyone in Pennsylvania,” said Wood. “It means a lot to win here and to win for Ilona [English] on her homebred horse. To come to Essex and take out the top division and win the silver cup is very special.”

Ryan Wood and Ruby. Photo by i{mpack} studio.

Wood, who is based out of West Grove, Pennsylvania, entered three mounts in the Preliminary Essex, and he needed every one of them to secure his victory.

“I was lucky to have two practices on the course before piloting Ruby around. I was a victim of a rail on each of my other horses,” said Wood. “It was interesting to see the rails coming down. The first jump looked like the softest one on the course, but it came down more than any other jump, and the treble looked tough, and it jumped better than any other combination on the track. It was all very well thought out. Chris Barnard is a master at designing show jumping tracks.”

Michael Walton and Brave New World moved up from sixth place following cross-country to the runner-up spot scoring 32.90. Hallie Coon finished in third place on Cooley SOS with a score of 36.20, moving way up from spot 21 in dressage and top 12 in cross-country.

In the open preliminary division, Kaitlin Clasing took top honors riding Warren LVS with a final score of 29.80. They were second going into show jumping and clinched the win going clear after final rider Elizabeth Bortuzzo and Belongs To Teufer knocked down three rails to finish second with a score of 35.10.

Ryan Wood accepts the Essex Silver Cup from Rod and Diann Ryan. Photo by i{mpack} studio

“We were double clear in cross country. My horse is so talented and really special.  He really handled it like a pro,” said Clasing of the Morgan Rowsell-designed cross-country course. “They put so much care into the courses and the footing. Everything is so well done here for the lower level horses, which is important for a horse like ‘Beans‘ because this could be a stepping stone for things to come in the future. It was a great day.”

Juliana Hutchings-Sebring won the preliminary rider division on Welbourne winning on their dressage score of 37.50.

“I heard the announcer say that we were in the lead in show jumping and then I heard my horse nick a rail, and I was saying to myself, ‘Please don’t fall, please don’t fall,’ because I knew I couldn’t afford to have a rail. He’s turned into a really great horse,” said Hutchings-Sebring. “This is such a fantastic event, it was really exciting. It felt like a much bigger event than for the level that I competed in. It felt like the atmosphere of a two-star or even bigger because of the spectators, so it was exciting for us. It’s nice to take a win home to my students.”

Three novice divisions were also held on Saturday. Jennifer Eddy and Fernhill Cascum Marco took top honors in the open novice division. Lauren Chumley and Santa Barbara DASH won the novice rider A division and Tara Brienza won the novice rider B division on Highlander.

For full results, click here.