United States Eventing Association

Temecula, Calif., March 27, 2009 — Tiana Coudray, of Ojai, Calif., and Ringwood Magister outperformed the rest of the CIC**** field today in dressage, making them the pair their 11 rivals must catch at the Galway Downs International Horse Trials.

Coudray earned 37.2 penalty points from judges Wayne Quarles of the United States and Jo Young of Canada, putting her exactly 2 points ahead of two-time Olympian Amy Tryon of Duvall, Wash., on Leyland (39.2). Kelly Prather, of Bodega, Calif., rode Ballinakill Glory to third place (41.0).“I’m thrilled with him—it was his best test ever,” said Coudray enthusiastically. Ringwood Magister, 9, is an Irish Sporthorse Coudray imported from Ireland as a 4-year-old. In November 2007, the pair won the CCI* at the Galway Downs International Three-Day Event.

“It kind of dawned on me today that he’s grown into a big horse now,” said Coudray.

Tryon has also developed Leyland since starting the 10-year-old Thoroughbred as a 5-year-old fresh off the racetrack. “Overall, I was very happy with his performance today,” said Tryon. “He’s a bit like a child: When he gets tired, he becomes hyperactive. But he’s maturing as he gets older, and today, when he got a bit tired in the ring, he kept trying. A year ago he would have just thrown his toys out.”

Tryon is the dressage leader in the CIC**, on Nicodemus, a 9-year-old she started riding in January. Tryon scored 43.5 penalties, well ahead of Julie Ann Boyer on Rumor Hazit (47.3). “He’s incredibly honest and is always going to do his best,” said Tryon of Nicodemus.

Neither Coudray nor Tryon wanted to predict how their relatively inexperienced horses will perform on Ian Stark’s redesigned cross-country course tomorrow. Both said they will not worry about accumulating time faults, leaving the door wide open for riders and horses behind them.

“This course is right up there with any three-star course anywhere in the world,” said Tryon, winner of the team gold medal at the 2002 World Equestrian Games.

Coudray believes that “any horse who jumps well around Ian’s course is going to feel pretty proud of himself and be ready to do more.”

The Galway Downs CIC*** is the first event of the Adequan U.S. Eventing Association Gold Cup Series, in which horse-and-rider pairs earn points at each of the eight designated premier events held across the country from March to September. The Series added an exciting new May event to the calendar this year, Chattahoochee Hills Horse Trials in Chattahoochee, Georgia. The Bit of Britain/USEA American Eventing Championships will again offer a Gold Cup division, and will be held September 10-13 at Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, Illinois.

The national champion is the horse-rider combination that earns the most points. Galway Downs is one of the two Adequan/USEA Gold Cup events in California. The 2008 Gold Cup Champion was Tory Smith of Camarillo, Calif., on her own Bantry Bay.

Smith placed fourth in dressage today, scoring 44.4 penalties.

For the CIC*** and CIC**, cross-country runs on Saturday from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. and show jumping runs on Sunday from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the gate, with children under 12 free.

More than a dozen generous sponsors provide prize money, prizes and other support to the Galway Downs International Horse Trials. The sponsors include: Succeed, Equine Insurance of California, Toklat Originals, Sonoma Saddle Shop, CWD Saddlery, USEA, American Wood Fibers, Custom Saddlery, SmartPak Equine, Doug Hannum, APF, and the clinicians and participants in Galway Downs’ annual fund-raiser clinics.

For complete results, go to www.galwaydowns.com.

Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series

Winners of the CIC3* (the designed "Gold Cup division") receive an Adequan USEA Gold Cup Trophy, $500 in prize money, 7-dose box of Adequan, a three-month supply of SUCCEED, an E.A. Mattes Couture Pad, and a pair of Nunn Finer American Style open front boots. Second place finishers take home a Nutrena feed gift certificate and a pair of Nunn Finer American Style open front boots, and third place receives a pair of the Nunn Finer boots as well.

The Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series is made possible through the support of its many sponsors: Title:Adequan; Legacy: Nunn Finer, Nutrena, and E.A Mattes; Contributing: Cover-All, and Patron: Broadstone Equine Insurance Agency, and Succeed.

Adequan is proud to be the official joint therapy treatment of the USEA.

For More Information on the Galway Downs International Horse Trials:
Contact Press Officer John Strassburger 707-217-5072