Results: Tryon Welcome 2
Morgan Ashby Bookends $20,000 Grand Prix
Ashley Conkle and Return To Me Clinch First Place in $2,500 USHJA National Derby Presented by AP Hassinger
John Brown and Ballon Bleu D’Arco Take $5,000 ProElite Welcome Stake Win
For Immediate Release
Rette Solomon for Tryon International
Mill Spring, NC – March 30, 2024 – Delivering fast and clean rounds in the $20,000 Grand Prix, Morgan Ashby (Denver, NC) claimed two of the top three podium placings in Tryon Stadium. Eliza Derstine’s Kilkenny Ecco was Ashby’s first mount in the jump off, laying down the winning round of 37.79 seconds. Hanna Toering (Waterford, VA) and Spy Coast Farm LLC’s Piranha SCF (Diktator Van De Boslandhoeve x Beluga), the 2015 Belgian Warmblood mare, were second in the class, putting 40.19 seconds on the clock. With a time of 40.76 seconds, Ashby rounded out the top three aboard her own Dutchess Carola (Contados x Korsika II), the 2011 Holsteiner mare.
Morgan Ashby and Kilkenny Ecco
©Sarah Sturgis for Natalie Suto Photography
Ashby’s short time with Kilkenny Ecco, or “Kenny” has allowed the team to develop a successful partnership. “I've been with him for about a year now,” she shared. “He's actually a sale horse, but I kind of want to buy him myself – he loves me! He's a little hot, but he does the job and he loves it.”
With the course designed by Archer “Skip” Bailey, competitors were challenged on the time allowed. Ashby shared that this was a big part of her winning strategy. “My first round was just about getting around clean. It was a little tight on the time, so you kind of had to be on it.”
Hanna Toering and Piranha SCF
©Sarah Sturgis for Natalie Suto Photography
With a podium placing already secured by her first jump off round with Kenny, Ashby allowed herself to ride boldly with Dutchess Carola. “In the jump off, I went early on [Kenny], so I kind of just had to lay it down, and I just went for it. Then I decided on my second [entry] to just be double clean, and I already had the win!”
Morgan Ashby and Dutchess Carola
©Sarah Sturgis for Natalie Suto Photography
Ashby certainly made the most of her time at Tryon International. “We just came up just for the Grand Prix,” she shared. “A little quick trip, but we love it. They've done some great improvements to the place and it's nice to see it really blossoming.”
For full results from the $20,000 Grand Prix, click here.
Ashley Conkle and Return To Me Clinch First Place in $2,500 USHJA National Derby Presented by AP Hassinger
March 28, 2024 – Laying down strong performances over the Archer “Skip” Bailey-designed course, Ashley Conkle (Wellford, SC) and Return To Me bested twenty-three teams to win the $2,500 USHJA National Derby presented by AP Hassinger on Thursday morning. Tommi Clark (Tryon, NC) claimed second with 175.75 points on Stephen Borders’ Excuse Me (Cascadello I x Viva Corrado), the 2015 Holsteiner gelding, and third with 173 points on Grace Christerson’s P.S. Limited Edition (Clintas x Camarque N), the 2014 Holsteiner gelding.
Return To Me and Ashley Conkle
©Kristen Anchors for Natalie Suto Photography
Conkle and Laura Hunt’s 2011 Warmblood gelding (Twister x Opal), also known as “Bruno”, collected 179.5 points to be crowned class champions. “It was a little bit of a challenging course,” Conkle admitted. “It asked a couple of questions of the rider to make sure that they knew exactly where they were in their lines, and to either move up or stay out and be patient. We just tailored each trip to each individual horse, and Bruno's very adjustable, so it worked out quite well for us in the first round.”
In the handy round, Conkle’s client, Grace Loughlin, rode ahead of her and took the inside track to the first oxer on course. Conkle shared that her client “laid it down and got a 90 in the handy, so I was like, ‘alright, I was committed [to that option] as well if I want to have any chance of taking the lead!’”
Tommi Clark and Excuse Me
©Kristen Anchors for Natalie Suto Photography
Capitalizing on her mount’s strengths, Conkle scored a 92 in the handy round to secure the win. “I'm very fortunate the horse that I was on is a very handy animal, very tidy, and super adjustable, so I was able to do that no problem whatsoever.”
Between completing construction on her new barn and allowing her show string of equine athletes a break over the winter, Conkle explained that Tryon Welcome 2 was Return To Me’s 2024 show ring debut. “Typically we go down to Florida, but we did not do that this year. This is his first show back, so it was a good way to start it off!”
Tommi Clark and P.S. Limited Edition
©Kristen Anchors for Natalie Suto Photography
Conkle and her team plan to make Tryon International a frequent stop in their upcoming show schedule. “We'll be here for the finish of the Welcome Series, and we'll definitely come back and some of the Spring Series. We're going to try to hit up the International Derbies with a few of ours in spring, then hang out a couple of weeks off and come back for the Summer Series,” Conkle shared. “We very much enjoy [Tryon] being in our backyard, so we take advantage of it.”
For full results from the $2,500 USHJA National Derby presented by AP Hassinger, click here.
John Brown and Ballon Bleu D’Arco Take $5,000 ProElite Welcome Stake Win
March 28, 2024 – Capitalizing on their success during Tryon Welcome 1, John Brown (Mill Spring, NC) and Ballon Bleu D’Arco jumped to the win in the $5,000 ProElite Welcome Stake. Brown and Ponce Tidwell Jr.’s 2013 Belgian Warmblood stallion (Amaretto D Arco x Papilon) went double clear, marking 38.31 seconds in the jump off. Hanna Toering (Waterford, VA) took second aboard Spy Coast Farm LLC’s Piranha SCF (Diktator Van De Boslandhoeve x Beluga), the 2015 Belgian Warmblood mare, recording 43.92 seconds in the jump off. Incurring four faults on a time of 36.00 seconds, Florian Ferry and Chaccolady (Chacco Blue x Landlady), Agathe Heurteux’s 2010 Hanoverian mare, rounded out the top riders with third.
John Brown and Ballon Bleu D’Arco
©Sarah Sturgis for Natalie Suto Photography
For full results from the $5,000 ProElite Welcome Stake, click here.
The Tryon Welcome Series presented by St. Luke’s Hospital continues through April 14, with two remaining weeks of Hunter/Jumper competition. Tryon Welcome 3 competition will be hosted Wednesday through Sunday. To learn more about the 2024 competition season at Tryon International, click here. To view the full calendar of equestrian and entertainment events, including dining, live music and holiday celebrations, click here.
Photos ©Natalie Suto Photography (Kristen Anchors and Sarah Sturgis as noted). These photos may only be used once, in relation to this press release. Competitors may view and purchase competition photos at www.nataliesutophotography.shootproof.com. With questions regarding photography at TIEC, contact media@tryon.com.