Gooollllddd!!!

That’s right, McLain Ward has finally added an individual gold medal to his resume! He and Rothchild put in flawless performances to win at the Pan American Games on July 25. You can read all about it in the Chronicle’s coverage. His U.S. teammate Lauren Hough also claimed individual bronze. Earlier in the week, the U.S. team finished the team competition with the bronze medal as the home team of Canada swept their way to the team gold. The Chronicle was there for that too!

Out in Montana, Kurt Martin made the most of a competition grant to travel west and win his first CCI*** at Rebecca Farm. The Chronicle’s Kat Netzler was on hand in Montana to bring you all the news, including Tamie Smith’s amazing results—first in the CIC*** and second in both the CCI** and the CCI*. Kat also got some info on what was up with the infamous “shrimp cocktail” jump. 

The Chronicle also had amateur rider Camilla Mortensen, who was contesting the novice classic format three-day at Rebecca Farm, blogging (and hilariously!) all weekend. You can read all of those and get a good chuckle.

Out in California, Kaitlyn von Konyenburg claimed the grand championship in the USEF National Junior Hunter Finals—West, held at Del Mar Horse Park. She rode Wish List to the large junior, 16-17 title on her way to the grand tricolor.

“My goal this year was to just go in and have a fun time on my horses and do my best,” Von Konynenburg said. “You can imagine, then, how exciting it was to be honored as grand champion! I’m incredibly thankful for my trainers and parents who have supported me along the way. But most of all I’m extremely fortunate to have such amazing horses who I connect so well with. Needless to say, it was an amazingly fun couple of days.”

Ashton Alexander rode Krave to the overall reserve grand championship as well as the small junior, 16-17 title, while Hunter Siebel took the large junior, 15 and under tricolor with As Always and Grady Lyman rode Irasir to the top of the small junior, 15 and under division.

In London, Rolf-Göran Bengtsson snared the win in the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix by the slimmest of margins, coming in just fractions of a second faster than hometown favorite John Whitaker. Bengtsson and Whitaker had to jump off over a course with jumps up to 1.65-meter. “When there is a jump-off, you know that you have to be very quick, so I did my best but I knew that Scott [Brash] and Hello Sanctos were able to go very quickly,” Bengtsson said. “John was very, very close, Scott was super fast but Casall ASK and I were very lucky today.”

Out in Michigan, the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival series finished up and David Beisel on Call Me Hannes walked away with the win in the $50,000 Great Lakes Grand Prix. Beisel had won the grand prix at the venue the week before on his feisty little stallion Ammaretto and also won the $25,000 Welcome Stake on Friday on Ammaretto. “I thought while walking the course that the jump-off probably suited Call Me Hannes a little better, versus Friday’s [welcome] class,” said Beisel. “Friday’s class had a little bit more tricky stuff, and this was a little more galloping. Hannes has a bigger stride in the open field, so I let him rip.”

In the $25,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby at Great Lakes, derby phenoms Mindful and Kelley Farmer emerged victorious.

The Lamplight Equestrian Center (Ill.) hosted their biggest prize-money grand prix so far over the weekend and Andy Kocher walked away with the lion’s share of purse from the $75,000 Grand Prix with Ora del Te di al San Giorgio. “It’s her first grand prix win in the United States,” Kocher said. “She was third in the welcome stake earlier this week. She can jump the biggest of all the horses I have. I was really happy to just go clear. I thought Tracy [Fenney who ended up second] was going to win and I had people watching for me to let me know what was going on. I was a little slow to jumps 1,2, and 3 in the jump-off then had to hit the gas. [Fenney] could have outrun me, but then they knocked down poles so I feel pretty lucky.”

Jeffery Welles took top call at HITS-on-the-Hudson (N.Y.) in the $75,000 AIG Grand Prix aboard Broken Heart over Margie Engle and Indigo. Engle was also second and third in the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix there, which was won by Jonathan McCrea on Special Lux. 

In California, Ashlee Bond hit the gas to ride Cornancer to the top of the $40,000 Racing Festival Grand Prix. “I haven’t felt this good all week!” Bond exclaimed after the win. “I had an unlucky day on Friday, and then a little bit of the same today, having the last jump [in the grand prix] down on Agro.” 

Bond has had 9-year-old Cornancer, whose barn name is Princess, for two years, and the mare has really stepped up her game. Spooky yet very careful, the mare has all the scope to make it to the highest levels of show jumping. “I didn’t want to rush her,” said Bond. “Today was the first time I decided to really go for it in the jump-off.” 

Youth ruled the night in Kentucky as Sydney Shulman carried on a great streak of grand prix wins by claiming the $50,000 Rood and Riddle Kentucky Grand Prix aboard Venice. She finished with a jump-off time almost 3 seconds faster then second-placed Shane Sweetnam. “I didn’t have a very good jump-off in the welcome class on [Venice], so I was a little skeptical going back in today,” Shulman said. “She’s super quick across the ground; she doesn’t spend much time in the air. Her strides not big so I know I can make up time in the turns because she’s careful.

“I said to everyone before I went in, ‘I’m going to play it safe to the double,’ because that’s where I messed up on Thursday, but then I saw it. She felt really good, and I think I made it up there and at the liverpool. Then I took a shot to the last,” Shulman said.

Later in the weekend, Brett Burlington topped the $25,000 Under-25 Grand Prix on Anders Wictor L.

Ian Silitch scored a one-two finish in the $30,000 Mount Equinox Grand Prix during the Vermont Summer Festival, riding Cordovo to the blue and Vanita to second. Both horses are owned by the Gaston family for Silitch to ride. “It’s nice when good things happen to good people and the Gastons are ecstatic about our results this week,” said Silitch, who also won the $10,000 Vineyard Vines Welcome Stake, presented by Manchester Designer Outlets, with Cordovo.

Cordovo, a 10-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Contender x Erania), was purchased by The Gaston Family almost two years ago from Derek Petersen. “Derek is a neighbor of mine in Ocala and he told me he had a wonderful young horse to show me and he was right,” said Silitch. “We came along quietly and it gets better and better every day. He’s on fire and I’m having a lot of fun with him.”

At the Sonoma Horse Park (Calif.), Kristin Hardin topped the $40,000 Equine Insurance Grand Prix aboard Firestone and the $10,000 Open Jumper Classic on Bert. Jenny Karazissis won the $20,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby with Nonchalant.

Photo credits: The Chronicle of the Horse; Stefano Grasso/GCT; Captured Moments Photography; Phelps Media Group; Chicago Equine; David Mullinix