Dear Rita,

I was both excited and intrigued to see the CDI*** at Tryon, N.C., appear on the FEI calendar this spring. Our country needs more international venues, and North Carolina lies conspicuously in the middle of our bi-annual migration between Florida and New Jersey. 

I had also heard wonderful things about the equestrian resort at Tryon and wanted to have a look at the venue myself. So, in this last weekend of April, my trusty bereiterin, Anna Stovall, and I loaded up two of our developing horses and headed north from Florida for a long weekend of showing in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Rita, I was unprepared for the scope and beauty of Tryon International Equestrian Center. Suffice to say that I am completely blown away by the planning, construction and attention to fine detail that has gone into creating one of the world’s best equestrian venues right here in the good ole USA.  Yeah, I said “…the WORLD’S best….” 

Mark Bellissimo, creator of this masterpiece in the mountains, offered to take me for a personal tour of the whole property and give me an insider’s view of the new construction and future plans for both expansion and completion of this fine resort. In the meantime, have a look at this video of my first impressions!  

{{live_stream}}

I’m Catherine Haddad Staller, and I’m sayin’ it like it is from Tryon, N.C.

Training Tip of the Day: Footing does matter. Ride, train and compete on the best!