Of course, the headline news was the U.S. eventing team’s thrilling gold medal performance at the Pan American Games, with Marilyn Little adding even more sparkle to the news by capturing the individual gold medal. Chronicle reporters were there on site to capture all the action, and even though the Brazilian team’s heartfelt quotes might have captured a piece of our reporters’ hearts, they were overjoyed to witness the U.S. eventing team do so well.

Pan American Games action continues this week with the show jumping, as the U.S. team of McLain Ward, Georgina Bloomberg, Kent Farrington and Lauren Hough. Stay tuned to www.coth.com to not miss a minute of the action (especially because there’s minimal live streaming!).

Thousands of miles away, Beezie Madden did what she does best, anchoring the Hermès U.S. Show jumping team to a nail-biting win over Belgium and Germany in the Nations Cup at the Mannheim CSIO5*. The win came courtesy of Madden prevailing with Cortes ‘C’ in a three-way jump-off. She and Cortes then polished off the weekend with a great second place in the $324,690 Grand Prix of Mannheim.

Gregory Wathelet at Chantilly, where he won the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix. Photo by Stefano Grasso/GCT

At the Chantilly, France stop of the Longines Global Champions Tour, popular young Belgian rider Gregory Wathelet won the Longines GCT Grand Prix of Chantilly riding the 10-year-old stallion Conrad de Hus. “I’d like to thank my horse for this wonderful victory here in Chantilly. I can only be super happy with my horse,” Wathelet said. “I am very grateful to have such a good horse to ride and I owe him the win today in the grand prix. Being first to go in the jump off, I knew that Penelope Leprevost and Abdelkebir Ouaddar were able to go very fast so I took few risk. Of course I could have gone even quicker but I think still I put some pressure on them.”

Did you know? Wathelet and Conrad de Hus almost exactly a year ago when the horse’s bridle slipped off mid-round during the GCT Paris and Wathelet finished the round with the bridle hanging down near Conrad’s chest.  

As the veterans were picking up wins left and right in other countries, young U.S riders were on display in Lexington, Ky., at the North American Junior and Young Rider Championships. The two Chronicle reporters on the ground there brought you all the big headlines, including Area II’s dramatic team win in junior eventing, Canadian Naima Moreira Laliberte’s young rider dressage freestyle individual gold on a “chameleon” of a horse and Bebe Davis’ junior freestyle gold, how Lucy Deslauriers and Vivian Yowan claimed individual show jumping gold medals, and more on www.coth.com. 

In South Carolina, Schuyler Riley accomplished a remarkable hat trick by pulling off her third consecutive six-figure grand prix win in as many weeks. This week it was Q-7’s turn to take the blue. “It feels like heaven for me right now. Three weeks in a row is unbelievable considering three weeks ago, it was the first grand prix I had won in three years. It all came together at the right moment,” Riley said.

David Beisel on Ammaretto winning the  $50,000 Flintfields Grand Prix. Photo by Diana Hadsall

Up in Michigan, the small but feisty stallion Ammaretto pulled off a big win in the $50,000 Flintfields Grand Prix as part of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival. Ammaretto and David Beisel defeated Ryan Genn aboard Cookie Monster. The two horses couldn’t be more different, yet both are extremely effective in their own style. Ammeretto is an 8-year-old, 16-hand Dutch Warmblood stallion. A quick and catty athlete, he is lightening fast and jumps effortlessly. Cookie Monster is a huge 11-year-old Holsteiner gelding with an enormous stride and a big jump who makes the courses look easy.

 Genn piloted Cookie Monster smoothly and flawlessly around the short course in a time of 41.09 seconds, then Beisel sped Ammeretto around the course and broke the beam 38.01 seconds to claim the first place prize.

“Luckily I know my little stallion well enough and he understood what was asked,” Beisel said. “I know Ryan has been clear in almost every class so far in the jump-off, so I expected him to go clear. It was my assumption that if I could just stay clear and let my horse do his normal speed I’d be a little quicker. Typically I just let Ammeretto do his thing, and hoped the time would take care of itself.”

Gemma Paternoster on Zonneglons in the $35,000 Devoucoux Grand Prix at Charleston.  Photo by Alison Hartwell

In Charleston, S.C., British native Gemma Paternoster rode her own Zonneglans to the top of the $35,000 Devoucoux Grand Prix. “[Zonneglans] has competed and placed in many grand prix,” said Paternoster, “but this is her first win and she really deserved one. When you’ve had a mare since a 4-year-old, you tend to develop a pretty awesome bond by grand prix. I knew she has all the scope to turn tight and still clear the jumps. My job is to give her a great trip and she sees to jumping everything very cleanly.”

Danielle Torano on Callas 2 winning the $30,000 Otter Creek Grand Prix.  Photo by David Mullinix Photography

And up in Vermont, amateur rider and mother of two Danielle Torano found her way to the front of the victory gallop in the $30,000 Otter Creek Grand Prix. She was riding Callas 2 in the 8-year-old mare’s very first grand prix start and took the top check. 
“Honestly, I wasn’t going to show her today,” laughed Torano. “[Professional trainer husband] Jimmy said I should jump her in the grand prix and I told him he was crazy.”

Up until Thursday morning, Torano still had no intention of stepping her young mare out of the high amateur-owner divisions just yet, but after walking the course decided the track was just right to move her up.

“We only have young horses right now and this show is the perfect stepping stone for them. I thought the course was right on—just hard enough, and not too hard for the young horses,” she said. “Callas is a difficult ride, but she’s really special. I think she can do all of it, so this is just our beginning.”

Torano’s win was the first grand prix start for Callas 2, a mare she and Jimmy imported from Belgium last summer with high hopes. “She was a superstar from the first day I rode her,” said Torano. An injury in 2014 sidelined the pair for the entire winter circuit in Florida and Torano just got her back into work this spring.

The win kicked off a busy weekend for Torano with her daughter competing in the short stirrup and son in walk/trot division in Vermont. With a smile, Torano admitted to having one regret after Thursday’s class. “Now I’m going to have to hear ‘I told you so’, because Jimmy did tell me that if I showed her, she would win,” she laughed.