Did you miss any of the cuteness from the USEF Pony Finals? Don’t worry, Mollie Bailey was there and brought you not only all the news, but also a hilarious study of pony names. 

In grand prix classes both here and abroad, the luck of the Irish was in overdrive. In New Hampshire, Irishman Paul O’Shea staked his claim on the $75,000 Equestrian Estates Planning Group Grand Prix at the Silver Oak Tournament. In the two-round format class, he guided Primo de Revel to 4 total faults—with one rail in the first round and a clean go in Round 2—to take the top check over Charlie Jacobs on Flaming Star. “”We have this format a lot in Europe, and sometimes it has worked to my advantage and sometimes it has not, but today it really did, so I was very happy about that,” said O’Shea. See full Silver Oak results. 

Across the Atlantic, fellow Irishman Cian O’Connor headlined the Longines Grand Prix of Ireland at the Dublin Horse Show. Read Erin Gilmore’s coverage of the weekend, including the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup and the U.S. riders’ triumphs.

In Indiana, Kelley Farmer became the first hunter rider to achieve $1 million in earnings by winning the $15,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby on Mythical. She also placed second aboard On Q and seventh on Skorekeeper. Frances Land won the $35,000 Russell Fortune Jr. Memorial Grand Prix, but results for the $75,000 Grand Prix of Indianapolis were not yet posted. See full Trader’s Point results. 

At Menlo Park Charity in California, Hope Glynn topped the $10,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby on King’s Peak. Peterbilt and Guy Thomas jumped to the top of the $40,000 Bentley of Los Gatos & San Francisco Grand Prix. See full Menlo Charity results. 

Michael Pollard had a great weekend at the Fair Hill International August Horse Trials (Md.) (see results). He topped both divisions of intermediate with Cheyenne Blue and Ballingown Pizazz. Pollard’s Facebook page gave the details… “I had a couple of losses of concentration with Cheyenne in dressage, but overall she was quite relaxed. There is still quite a bit more to get in this phase, but I’m happy with the progress. She jumped like a machine in both show jumping and cross-country which moved her into the lead at the end,” he said. “Mango led from start to finish. The dressage was much improved over [Chattahoochee Hills], and I was really pleased with his score of 24. He got a little low in his head in both show jumping and cross-country, but he went really well overall. It will be time to get him into a little bit more bit now (jumped today in a fat snaffle), but it was a good confidence builder before Richland.”

Buck Davidson absolutely dominated the intermediate division at the GMHA Summer Horse Trials (Vt.), taking first, second and third with Wiley Post, Absolute Liberty and Copper Beach. (see results) Other events over the weekend included: The Summer Event At Woodside (Calif.) (see results); Colorado Horse Park One-Day (see results); Otter Creek Summer Horse Trials (Wis.) (see results)

The Vermont summer series concluded with the Vermont Summer Celebration, where Emily Short topped the $50,000 Summer Celebration Grand Prix on her own Grand Finale 3E. (See full results) At the Evergreen Classic in Carnation, Wash., Brian Morton topped the $25,000 Evergreen Classic Grand Prix aboard Spitfire, while results of the USHJA International Hunter Derby were not yet posted. (See full results). Other shows over the weekend included: Estes Park Hunter/Jumper Festival III (Colo.) (see results); Atlanta Summerfest I (Ga.) (see results).

Dressage shows over the weekend included: Majestic Farm Hotter Than Blazes (Sat. results; Sun. results); Vermont Dressage Days (Sat. results; Sun. results); Whidbey Equestrian Center Summer Dressage (Wash.) (see results); SSH Dressage Spectacular (Wash.) (Sat. results; Sun. results).