Tryon Spring Series Circuit Champions
Rette Solomon and Leyla Caynak for Tryon International
Leather With Love is the proud 2023 Circuit Champion Sponsor, providing beautiful leather lead ropes to all Tryon Spring Series Circuit Champions. Read below to learn more about circuit champions from the Tryon Spring Series presented by Main Street Insurance Group!
John Ingrassio’s introduction to the horse show world started when he began working for Michael and Matt Morrissey of the Morrissey Management Group. “I started about ten years ago and was fortunate enough to do the [American] Gold Cup with them. Because I lived in New York City, it was very close to me. That’s what initially got me into the horse show world.”
Ingrassio’s leatherworks company, Leather With Love, creates equestrian inspired belts and goods. In addition to belts, Leather With Love also provides leather and zipper repair, patches, and work on saddle leather. Before Leather With Love was born, Ingrassio began working with leather alongside a friend. “I used to have a roommate that was in the leather industry,” he shared. “Just because I was his roommate and interested in it, he'd bring work home and I would just start working with him. After a while, I just got really lucky. I made a couple of belts and learned how to stamp letters into belts.”
Leather With Love prides itself on providing high quality handmade products. “I started Leather With Love because it drove me nuts to see so many people happy with buying products that weren't American made anymore,” Ingrassio shared. “That's a big pride to my product – made with all American Leather, guaranteed for life, and made by American hands. If you can dream it, we can pretty much craft it.”
For several years, Leather With Love has been crafting goods for the country’s top NCEA Equestrian teams. “I've been working with [the University of] Georgia for about the last six years. Georgia is the reason there is Leather With Love. If it wasn't for Georgia initially giving me the opportunity and still standing by me to this day, they've opened a lot of doors. Now I have Southern Methodist University, and I just got Texas Christian University this year.”
“The people are absolutely wonderful at Tryon,” Ingrassio shared. “Lance Bennett [stabling manager] got me in for the first couple of years, then he's the one that got me in a full-time position this year, which is great, so I can work and be around [Tryon]. Everybody has been super wonderful, kind and friendly to work with.”
2023 Spring Series Champions:
The Adult Amateur Hunter Circuit Champion was Party Started, shown by owner Tricia Barr (Wellington, FL), with 80 points. Reserve circuit champions were Casadoble and owner Sharon Winnie (Loxahatchee, FL), with 60 points.
Flossy Boy was the Adult Jumper Circuit Champion, owned and shown by Kathleen Harrigan (Knoxville, TN), earning 58 points. Lady Evita Z, owned and shown by Kinsley Kropholler (South Lake, TX), was reserve circuit champion, with 40 points.
Kathy Serio and Moody Blues
©Alexis Malin for Natalie Suto Photography
The Amateur Owner Hunter Circuit Championship title was claimed by Moody Blues, owned and shown by Kathy Serio (Loxahatchee, FL), with 68 points. Reserve circuit champion went to Ritz, owned and shown by Katie McDonnell (The Woodlands, TX), earning 64 points.
Serio has been partnered with Moody Blues, also known as Billy, since 2019. “He's definitely my horse of a lifetime. He's beautiful, he's kind, he's the sweetest thing. People will stop to look at him, because he's just gorgeous,” she shared.
In addition to being awarded circuit champion, Serio and Moody Blues also captured the Count Cadence Perpetual Trophy for the third consecutive year. Serio and her equine partners have established quite a legacy with the trophy. “It was such an honor to win that a third time. It was nice, because in 2017, I had won it on my older amateur horse named Chapeau, who now lives in Florida.”
Kathy Serio and Moody Blues
©Natalie Suto Photography
“Winning it on Billy made it even more special because Chapeau’s name is on it, and now so is Moody Blues’. So I really, really wanted to try and do that at that show. It was on the back of my mind, you know, to have him do that. So it was really exciting.”
Serio and her team have seen much success at Tryon this year. “We love Tryon! It's just three hours from our place in North Carolina,” she remarked. “What I love about Tryon is that the horses just settle once they get there, and the atmosphere is so much more of “take a breath” than it is all winter. They just love the environment there.”
“It's like a destination horse show that you just don't get in the winter. You just get to take your time and just enjoy the horses.”
The Children’s Hunter Circuit Champion for 2023 was Herkules, owned and shown by Lucy Rabb (Fort Mill, SC), collecting 70 points. Oldfields School Inc.’s (Sparks-Glencoe, MD) Veneto, shown by Taylor Abraham (Aiken, SC), claimed reserve circuit champion, scoring 58.5 points.
Precious Moments and Ivy Smith
©Avery Fletcher for Natalie Suto Photography
In the Children’s Hunter Pony division, the circuit championship was awarded to Challenger Farms’ (Huntersville, NC) Precious Moments and Ivy Smith (Charlotte, NC), collecting 69 points. Tying for reserve circuit champion was Littlewood LLC’s (Wellington, FL) California Dreamin’ II, ridden by Thomas Serio (Aberdeen, NC) and Pitch Perfect Paul, ridden and owned by Hayden Hunter (Fort Mill, SC), both collecting 36 points.
Ivy Smith, better known as “Giggles'' by her trainer and friends, has been riding for three and a half years. She rides several different ponies, all of which she has different partnerships with. “Puff is very young and has brought me really far in the smalls. Precious is my large and she’s gotten a lot sweeter over the years. Paris is my medium that I just got, and I’m getting to know her more, but she’s really nice.”
Smith’s trainer, Jennifer Taylor, described the championships with Precious Moments and Whinny the Blue (Puff) as “unexpected”, due to the smaller number of classes entered during the series. “Both ponies won several of their classes at the few shows they did, which was nice because the first two weeks of this series were really hard,” Taylor explained.
Smith had much success in the Tryon Spring Series. “I love Tryon and the facility. I love the rings, the jumps, and all of the games,” she shared. Jennifer Taylor also added, “she likes that she can stay in the cabins because she wants to be at the barns first, even if her class isn’t for another three hours.”
Precious Moments and Ivy Smith
©Avery Fletcher for Natalie Suto Photography
Giggles and her band of ponies will be traveling to Kentucky to compete at Pony Finals in August. “Pony Finals is the same type of show I am used to, but with a lot more people,” she added. One of her riding goals is to do well while competing in Kentucky this year.
The Children’s Jumper Circuit Championship was claimed by Sarah Hattaway’s (Waxhaw, NC) Zacca Zoeloe, ridden by Zoey Riechman (Charlotte, NC), earning 76 points. Reserve circuit champion was awarded to C Wellie, owned and shown by Sloane Burns (Austin TX), with 52 points.
The Green Hunter Circuit Championship went to Fiach Byrne Inc.’s (Wellington, FL) Pop Smoke, ridden by Colin Syquia (Wellington, FL), with 96 points. Reserve circuit champion was awarded to Maverick, owned by Sadie Furr (Alpharetta, GA) and ridden by Michael Britt-Leon (Alpharetta, GA), earning 73 points.
Silverwood Dress Blues and Genevieve Johnson
©Kristen Anchors for Natalie Suto Photography
The Green Pony Hunter Circuit Champion was First Blue LLC’s (Bluepoint, NY) Silverwood Dress Blues, ridden by Genevieve Johnson (Charlotte, NC), with 96 points. Reserve circuit champion was claimed by M5 Performance Horses LLC’s (Mansfield, TX) La Croix, ridden by JJ Torano (Wellington, FL), earning 84 points.
The Junior Hunter Circuit Champion title was claimed by Aline Ludemann’s (Fort Mill, SC) Didi Blue, ridden by Katie Whittaker (Tega Cay, SC), with 72.5 points. Cascatero, ridden and owned by Joey Roman (Freehold, NJ), took reserve circuit champion, with 70 points.
Monte Carlos and Stephany McConnell
©Bailey Beck for Natalie Suto Photography
In the Junior/Amateur Jumper Division, the circuit championship went to Monte Carlos, owned by Hays Investment Corp (Auburn, KS) and ridden by Stephany McConnell (Littleton, CO), collecting 40 points. With 36.5 points and claiming circuit champion was Best Boy 2, owned by North Run (Warren, VT), and ridden by Zayna Rizvi (Greenwich, CT).
Ontario was the Large Pony Hunter Circuit Champion, owned and ridden by Mary Kate George (Hickory, NC), earning 51.5 points. Claiming reserve circuit champion was Cherrybrook Field Of Dreams, owned by Iron Horse Performance Ponies (Burlington, ON), ridden by Campbell Clement (Indian Trail, NC), scoring 48 points.
The Low Adult Hunter Circuit Champion, Nashville, was ridden by Jenny Carlson (Wellington, FL) and owned by Josee Stedding (Loxahatchee, FL), collecting 84.5 points. Evanston, owned and shown by Dr. Mitzi Treske (Waxhaw, NC), took reserve circuit champion, with 49.5 points.
Low Children’s Hunter Circuit Champion honors were claimed by Cassano and Chloe Freeman (Lakeway, TX), with 55 points. With 44 points, Katie McDonnell’s (The Woodlands, TX) Crimson Tide, ridden by Ella Ansolabehere (Dallas, TX), were awarded reserve circuit champions.
Paris Charm and JJ Torano
©Kristen Anchors for Natalie Suto Photography
The Medium Pony Hunter Circuit Champion was Megan D’Amico’s (Landenberg, PA) Paris Charm and JJ Torano (Wellington, FL), collecting 78 points. Reserve circuit champion went to Cody Taylor’s (Huntersville, NC) Paris, ridden by Ivy Smith (Charlotte, NC), with 65.5 points.
AF Strategy was the Performance Hunter Circuit Champion for 2023, owned by Townsend Farm & PKP Holdings LLC (Liberty, NC), and shown by Joy Janouskovec (Whitsett, NC), with 88 points. Taking reserve circuit champion with 84 points was Kelly Sims’ (Alpharetta, GA) Private I, ridden by Michael Britt-Leon (Alpharetta, GA).
Whinny The Blue and Ivy Smith
©Karli Dannewitz for Natalie Suto Photography
In the Small Pony Hunter Division, circuit champion honors went to Whinny The Blue, owned by BWI Ranch 1, LLC (Charlotte, NC) and ridden by Ivy Smith (Charlotte, NC), with 78 points. Reserve circuit champion was awarded to Memphis, owned and ridden by Cesalie Kincaid (Hickory, NC), collecting 74 points.
About Leather With Love:
Leather with Love is an equestrian-inspired leather goods company, manufactured entirely in the USA. Our products are handcrafted, bespoke, and fully customizable. We put love into every detail, from choosing the most supple leather, the perfect buckle, beautiful, high-quality hemp thread for stitching to hand stamping and inking. All production takes place in our beautiful studio, located in Tryon, NC. Learn more at www.leatherwithlove.com.
Photos ©Natalie Suto Photography (Alexis Malin, Avery Fletcher, Bailey Beck, Karli Dannewitz, Kristen Anchors, and Natalie Suto as noted). These photos may only be used once, in relation to this press release. Competitors may view and purchase competition photos a twww.nataliesutophotography.shootproof.com. With questions regarding photography at TIEC, contact media@tryon.com.