Show jumping action reached its pinnacle Sunday during the Traverse City Fall Horse Show CSI3*, presented by Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel, with 45 international contenders competing head-to-head in the $137,000 Grand Prix of Traverse City CSI3* for the lead spot in the victory gallop. Emerging victorious ahead of the field thanks to precise riding and lightning footspeed, Margie Engle (USA) and Gladewinds Partners LLC’s Royce came out on top as the day’s big winner. Sunday’s victory is the second 2020 grand prix triumph for Engle in Traverse City, having topped the $137,000 Four G Surfaces Grand Prix CSI3* aboard Dicas during Week Five of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival.
The first round of competition saw Beat Mändli (SUI) and Galan S serve as the trailblazers, turning in the first clear trip of the class as the second entry to jump course designer Ivan Tagle’s (ARG) 15-effort pattern. Engle and Royce soon added their names to the list of fault-free contenders to force a jump-off, followed by four more American contingents before the midway break in the form of Lucy Deslauriers (USA) on Enanda, Lillie Keenan (USA) riding Agana Van Het Gerendal Z and Spencer Smith (USA) with Ayade Hero Z and Alison Robitaille (USA) aboard Ginger Pop. Following the halfway point, there was a drought of clear rounds from the first ten duos, but that trend soon changed as eight more penalty-free trips came from Brian Moggre (USA), Bliss Heers (USA), Shane Sweetnam (IRL), Beezie Madden (USA), McLain Ward (USA), Luiz Francisco De Azevedo (BRA), Freddie Vazquez (PUR) and Adam Prudent (USA) on their respective mounts. The time-allowed was a factor for two riders, as Mario Deslauriers (CAN) and Kristen Berian (USA) each fell victim to a single time fault after keeping all the rails in their cups.
Fourteen qualified contenders from five nations returned to the Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel International Ring for the tie-breaker round, and seven partnerships managed to leave all the fences intact for a second time to finish the afternoon double-clear. The first to return, Mändli set the initial pace in the irons aboard Galan S in 39.840 seconds, laying the gauntlet down with a clear trip to start the second phase with momentum. The leaders’ status did not hold for even one trip, though, as Engle and Royce proved why they are consistently one of the quickest in the game with a blazing performance in a fault-free 37.410 seconds, slicing nearly two-and-a-half seconds off the frontrunners’ time to capture the lead. Twelve subsequent teams chased down Engle and Royce’s time, but ultimately none could manage it, solidifying the American partnership as the victors in the $137,000 Grand Prix of Traverse City CSI3*.