Ryan Wood (AUS) and Powell led from start to finish to take the championship title in the CCI*** at the Jersey Fresh International Three-Day Event (JFI), presented by BW Furlong & Associates on Sunday with a score of 46.0 penalties. Boyd Martin (USA) riding Welcome Shadow finished second and won the Gladstone National OpenTrophy as the leading US rider with 46.3 penalties. Canada’s Jessica Phoenix was third with 49.2 penalties on Bentleys Best.
This was the first CCI*** victory for Wood and the first time Powell ever competed in a CCI*** which made the clear show jumping round on Sunday all that more impressive.
“He was fresh as a daisy, he had a good night’s sleep,” said Wood of the 10-year-old Oldenburg gelding. “He warmed up great and and went in there and jumped his heart out. It’s such a special event to win. Ilona (English) bred him and is local here and is a big supporter of Jersey Fresh, so it’s pretty awesome to take the title.”
As the owner of Powell, Ilona English of Summit Sporthorses was presented with the Owner’s Award, sponsored by the Horse Park of New Jersey. English was also the breeder.
The scores among the top three were so tight, there was no margin for error. A rail down in show jumping meant losing the title. Riding in reverse order of merit, Phoenix went fourth from last in the order and put the pressure on the remaining riders with a clear round.
“I’m really, really, proud of that horse,” said Phoenix. “He’s a green horse and this weekend I feel like he really came into his own. He put in three solid phases and really he couldn’t have picked a better weekend to do that.”
Phillip Dutton (USA) and Indian Mill were next and had two rails dropping them down to fifth with 54.3 penalties. Dutton had a better round on Z, going clear and moving up from eighth to fourth on 52.4. Martin’s clear round on Welcome Shadow secured the US title, but he needed Wood to make a mistake in order to take the championship, but Wood and Powell were flawless.
A host of additional awards were presented to the CCI*** competitors. Phoenix and Bentleys Best won the Best Condition Award, presented by Horseware Ireland. Madeline Backus and P.S. Arianna won the Best Turnout Award, sponsored by the Fabulous Horse. Caroline Martin and Spring Easy won the Closest to the Optimum Time award, sponsored by Animo. Spring Easy also was presented with the Top Scoring Irish Draught Horse Award presented by the Irish Draught Horse Society of North America and Martin won the Markham Trophy Young Rider Award, sponsored by the Horsemen’s Outlet. Andrea Baxter and Indy 500 won the Jockey Club TIP award given to the Thoroughbred that has gone on to another career after competing on the racetrack. Meghan O’Donoghue, who competed in the CIC***, won the Sportsmanship Award and a special volunteer award was presented to Carey Williams.
The Jersey Fresh International Three-Day Event/Horse Park of New Jersey is a 501(c)(3) Not-For-Profit, Charitable and Educational organization that relies on sponsors, volunteers and members to sustain operations. Further information about JFI is available at www.jfi3d.com. Further information about the Horse Park is available at www.horseparkofnewjersey.com.
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