Woodstock Eventing: Ryan Wins $20,000 Preliminary Division at MARS Essex H.T.

Summit Sporthorses' Ruby
Photo by i{mpack}t studio.

Ryan and Team Woodstock had a winning weekend at the Essex Horse Trials in Far Hills, New Jersey. Ryan took home the $20,000 MARS Essex Preliminary division win aboard Summit Sporthorses' Ruby. Ruby is an 8-year-old Hanoverian mare bred in New Jersey by Ilona English. A talented and competitive mare, she shares the same dam as Ryan's three-star mount and 2016 Adequan USEA Gold Cup Champion Powell. Ryan and Ruby led the 38 horse field after dressage and cross-country. In the final phase, rails were coming down on the difficult show jumping course, but Ruby proved that she was up for the challenge. Ryan and Ruby delivered one of only eight clear rounds in the division to finish on their dressage score of 27.7 and capture the win!

Ryan accepts the Essex Silver Cup presented by Rod and Diann Ryan of Open Road Auto.
Photo by i{mpack}t studio.

Also competing in the $20,000 MARS Essex Preliminary division was Ruby's half-brother Ben Nevis owned by Summit Sporthorses. Ben Nevis finished 8th followed by Mary Hazzard's Chusinmyconfession in 11th. Assistant rider Cole Horn, piloted his own Cooley Sligo to a 13th place finish. It was a great accomplishment for all of the horses to finish inside the Top 15.

Chusinmyconfession jumps boldly into the water.

Ryan rode three horses in the Open Novice division. Amy Peloquin's Shannondale Julius scored a 30.5 in dressage and added nothing to his score to finish in 2nd. In addition, Amy's Cooley Titanium finished his second U.S. competition on his dressage score of 31.7 in 5th place. Curran Simpson's Tullabeg Dilson scored an impressive 28.1 in dressage and added a single unlucky rail and some time on cross-country to place 12th. Summit Sporthorses' Popstar ridden by Cole Horn delivered a 31.2 in dressage and finished the weekend in 4th place in the Open Novice division.

Up Next, Woodstock Eventing will be competing at the Horse Park of New Jersey Horse Trials I in Allentown, New Jersey.