Leyland, the 11 year-old four-star veteran formerly competed by Amy Tryon, will compete under Stephen Bradley in a preliminary division of the Maryland Horse Trials II this weekend. The Thoroughbred gelding last competed at the Event at Three Day Ranch (Calif.) in March.

“I rode him for Amy at Southern Pines about a year and a half ago because she was having problems with her knee,” said Bradley, White Post, Va. “She’s continued to have problems with her knee that were interfering with her ability to ride consistently. His owners, the Nicholsons, in conjunction with Amy, decided that she wasn’t going to be able to compete, so that’s when I got the ride.”

Tryon was sidelined by a new knee injury earlier this year, with multiple surgeries to correct the issue keeping her grounded for more than four months.  

“I’ve kind of been putting a Band-Aid over something that needed to be addressed a while ago, and it was finally time to take care of it,” said Tryon, Duvall, Wash. “Stephen is a fantastic rider, and Leyland is a great horse, and with me not being able to ride, it was the best situation.”

Tryon expects a full recovery and is eager to be back in the saddle as early as next month.

“I’ve got a great group of people at home to keep my young horses going, and they’ll be going to Rebecca Farm [Mont.] this month. I’ve been able to keep teaching. It’s frustrating, because it’s a little bit of a different role not being able to ride, but I’ll be back out there soon enough,” she said.

Bradley, who will retain the ride on Leyland, plans to compete the gelding in events at Millbrook (N.Y.), Richland Park (Mich.), Plantation Field (Pa.) and Fair Hill (Pa.) before a hopeful trip to the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** next spring.