The July edition of “Saturday Night Lights” returned to the Tryon International Equestrian Center & Resort (TIEC), bringing a lively crowd to watch as Brittni Raflowitz and Hilton van de Breepoel claimed their first FEI Grand Prix victory in the $137,000 Night in the Country Grand Prix CSI 3* with a jump-off time of 41.15 seconds. Sean Jobin (CAN) and Darius, the 2008 Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Foxridge Farms Stables (Warrant x Calvados/Sable Rose), followed close behind, claiming the second place spot with a time of 44.961 seconds. Riding in the victory gallop with a third place ribbon and a time of 40.267 was Scott Keach (AUS) and Fedor, the 2005 Belgian Warmblood gelding (Kashmir Van Schuttershof x Orkaan) owned by Keach himself along with Southern Cross Equestrian LLC. Another Canadian rider, Vanessa Mannix, placed 4th with Catinka 25.

Thirty riders tackled the first round of the Alan Wade (IRL) designed course, six of which returned for the shortened second round. After Jobin laid down the first double-clear performance of the night, Raflowitz followed and posted an unbeatable time using her new strategy: not walking the jump-off track prior to riding it. “I talked to Scotty Keach right before I went in and went over it. He told me, ‘I don’t know if you can get eight down the first line, but you can try to do that. Definitely try to do seven [strides] from oxer to oxer.’

“I landed off of fence one, I moved up, and said, ‘Ooh! I see eight!’ And then I turned back to the seven and rode it exactly how he told me. I tried not to go too crazy on the rollback or the in-and-out. Going home, I let him go, but then brought him back to say, ‘Okay, take a breath now. There’s only one clear.’ So, that was kind of my thought process as it went on!”

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