Six-year-old Leyland was a perfect gentleman for Amy Tryon throughout the course of the Galway Downs CCI** Three Day Event. After taking over the lead in cross-country, the pair managed to escape the division’s tight competition to earn the blue ribbon and the Yogi Cup on Sunday, Aug. 5.

Tryon was somewhat unsure of how young Leyland would perform in the stadium on Sunday. But as the pair navigated the course, spectators watched in hushed silence and Leyland’s ride was nearly as quite.

Leigh Mesher and My Beau sat tied for third with Kelly Prather and Ballinakill Glory. Both pairs posted clean rounds to secure their positions with 48.1 faults apiece. Jessica Heidemann and In Any Event entered the stadium in second place, but left in fourth after catching rails on fences 8 and 11 and affixing 1 time fault.

Tyron and Leyland looked confident and relaxed as they stepped into the stadium. “You never really go into any event with a green horse with any expectations,” said Tryon. “You hope that they go around well and are pleasantly surprised when they do. And if not, you learn from it and do what you need to do for next time.”

But Leyland delivered this weekend. Without a rail to spare, he floated over the fences with hardly a rub and finished with time to spare. He and Tryon concluded their three-day on 45.1 faults total.

Leyland is owned by Elizabeth Nicholson, and Tryon started riding him off the track last year. “He’s a neat horse. He’s always been incredibly genuine.” said Tryon. “The Nicholsons have been incredibly supportive and have really enjoyed watching him go up through the levels. Hopefully, he’ll be a big-time horse, I’m really excited for them.”

The long-format CCI* show jumping phase shook up the division’s tight standings at the top and Tamra Smith jumped from fourth place to first with Gem Dandy. They were one of only two pairs to jump clean.

After her faultless trip, Smith watched Jaimie Kidston and The Rock incur 12 faults after catching fences 2, 4c and 9. Rachel Dwyer and Catch A Star next took to the course but lost 8 faults to fences 4b and 8a.

Arielle Eccher and Anthony Tiger entered the stadium placed first but held only 1.4 faults over Smith. Two rails from the triple combination (4b and 4c) found their way to the dirt again and Smith became the champion.

“I saw a lot of riders having rails, but you have to try not to think about everyone else and ride each jump individually,” said Smith. “The [triple combination] line was a forward question. I rode it forward and it came out pretty smoothly for us.”

Few would guess that jumping didn’t always come so naturally to Gem Dandy. When Smith took over his reins a year ago, he wouldn’t even jump three feet.

“I started training with Allen Clarke here in Temecula and he made the difference. I’ve been working with him ever since,” said Smith of Hemet, Calif. “He’s a great horseman, and he thinks like a horse. That’s the difference.”

Galway marked the 10-year-old Thoroughbred-Oldenburg gelding’s first long-format CCI*. Smith and Gem Dandy’s owner, Gloria Nurge, of Perris, Calif., plan to let him enjoy some time off before looking to go intermediate next season.

Heather Morris and Genial kept their comfortable lead through the end of the short-format CCI* division and finished on their dressage score of 41.1 faults. After a long journey from Lewisville, Texas, Morris happily pinned the blue ribbon to the 8-year-old Trakehner’s bridle.

After a 12-hour delay in New Mexico, “It was quite a journey, but, luckily, the outcome was great,” Morris said smiling.

The pair jumped smoothly and carefully even with a rail in hand over David Adamo and Edward Jordan, who finished with 47.9 faults after catching one rail. Amy Tryon and Coal Creek jumped clean and took second place.

“[Genial] was super, and I thought the course was super. A good one-star course,” said Morris. She rode with a sore leg after being bucked off of a young horse a week before, but it didn’t affect any of her rides this weekend.

“Genial was something we picked up as a project horse to see where he would go,” said Morris. “This was his second CCI*.” His first was under the ride of Mara Dean, and Morris started riding Genial in April of this year.

After some time off for the 8-year-old Oldenburg gelding, Morris looks to continue riding Genial into intermediate and two-star events.