United States Eventing Association

Mary Burke Claims Her Victory in the Aspen Farms Adequan USEA Gold Cup Advanced

Mary Burke and her own Thoroughbred gelding Prince William led the weekend at Aspen Farms from start to finish. This was the OTTB’s first Advanced competition and resulted in their first Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series victory.

Burke says, "[Prince William] has come a long way from race horse to Young Event Horse at age five to an Advanced horse at 13. Riding is a process of seeing what you can do as a team, and who knew our process would get us to the Advanced level! I wouldn't be at the Advanced level today without the guidance of my late coach Amy Tryon, who taught me over the previous years."

Cross-country course designer Tremaine Cooper also designed the show jumping course at Aspen Farms. His show jumping course proved to test both horses and riders as no combinations finished without faults.

Burke piloted Prince William to a clear show jumping round, but picked up 11 time penalties to culminate a final score of 46.6 for the win.

Allison Sparks and her own Mystic Mojo had two rails down but came in second place on a 65.7. Karen O’Neal and Barbara Flynn’s Hollywood Diva also took two rails down and finished in third place.

For full results, go here.

About the Adequan USEA Gold Cup and PRO Tour Series

Qualifying for the 2015 Adequan USEA Gold Cup began last fall with the Plantation Field CIC3* (PA) and the Woodside CIC3* (CA) and features 11 qualifying competitions throughout the United States at the Advanced Horse Trials and CIC3* levels. The final will take place at the Nutrena USEA American Eventing Championships September 2015 in Tyler, Texas. Riders who complete a qualifier earn the chance to vie for $40,000 in prize money in the Adequan Advanced Division and the title of Adequan USEA Gold Cup Champion.

The 2015 Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series is made possible through the support of its many loyal sponsors: Adequan, Broadstone Equine Insurance, FITS, Merck Animal Health, Nunn Finer, Nutrena, Pyranha and Standlee Hay.

The PRO Tour Series consists of 13 premier destination events in the United States and Canada, featuring the best riders and most entertainment. Riders and horses are awarded points on the PRO Tour Rider Leaderboard. The Professional Riders Organization would like to thank the following sponsors for their support of the 2015 PRO Tour Series: KER Optimum Time, Tex Sutton, Triple Crown Nutrition, and SSG Riding Gloves.