Tiana Coudray proved that she and King Street are more than ready for their run at Rolex (Ky.) in less than a month. They were the standout victors after today’s show jumping phase at Galawy Downs in Temecula, Calif., and won the blue ribbon as the only pair in the CIC***-W division to drop no rails and beat the clock.
“The course was very difficult. To have so many other good horses here and they all had rails was kind of a surprise,” Coudray said of the World Cup-caliber track. “But Richard Jeffery always builds a challenging course.”
Coudray and King Street looked to be in solid harmony from the time they stepped through the in-gate until she exclaimed, “good boy!” on their way down from the final vertical and through the finish line.
Jolie Sexson and Killian O’Connor, who returned to the stadium tied for the top spot, ended up with two rails in the dirt and 5 time penalties, which dropped them to fifth place. Third-placed Kelly Prather and Ballinakill Glory graduated to second after pulling only one rail while Jennifer Wooten and The Good Witch rounded out the top three, only 0.2 faults behind Prather.
As much as Coudray, Carmel Valley, Calif., did not expect a blue ribbon and a healthy dose of World Cup-qualifying points this weekend, she knew King Street was on the money today. “He felt really good this morning and just felt like he was ready to go,” she said. “I knew that as long as I did everything well, he would have a good round.”
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This win marks Coudray’s second at Galway. She also won the CIC** in 2005 with King Street. This time was almost deja vu. “This wasn’t really a target event that year either. I came [in 2005] just wanting to qualifying for the [North American] Young Riders Championships,” she explained. “I didn’t expect to do so well this year either, but everything just came together.”
And while this year’s win will surely boost her and King Street’s confidence for their upcoming four-star venture, the nerves will surely be knocking all month. “I don’t think I’ll be able to breathe a deep breath until we get there,” she said laughing.
Coudray, 18, has never been to Rolex, not even to watch. But with a steadfast partner like “Danny,” who she started riding at novice level four years ago, she’s confident the experience will be overwhelmingly positive.
“I’ve learned so much on him. He’s just become so much more than we ever expected,” Coudray said of the 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse. She said she’ll be spending the next month working hard with her trainers of two years, Bea and Derek di Grazia.
