United States Eventing Association

Ryan Wood walked away with both the champion and reserve champion titles of the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Advanced Final today with Powell and Woodstock Bennet, respectively. The Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series consists of 11 qualifying events around the country which culminate to this $40,000 final at the 2016 Nutrena USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Land Rover (AEC), which was held this year at the Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC) in Mill Spring, N.C.

Summit Sporthorse’s Powell (Pablito x Dinara) has seemed to hit his stride in recent months and adds this championship title to his ever growing repertoire which includes an impressive win at the Jersey Fresh International CCI3* earlier this spring. A beautiful mover on the flat, the 10-year-old Oldenburg bred by IIona English, sat in second after earning a 25.4 in the first phase of competition. “I thought he did a fantastic test. He’s naturally very good at that phase, so I was really happy with how that went,” Wood said.

Ryan Wood and Powell. USEA/Leslie Mintz Photo.

In his first trip to AEC, Wood hit it out of the park leaving with the national title and a $20,000 check. “It’s pretty special to be able to take the national title at the top level. I want to give the recognition to the owners and the breeders of the horse. It’s an American-bred horse, bred by IIona English and owned by Summit Sporthorses. I’ve had him since he was a 4-year-old, and it’s pretty good to have a horse at that age and then win at the top,” Wood continued.

“He had a few time penalties [on cross-country], but was still strong enough to hold the lead overnight. Going into the show jumping I had an advantage of riding the course three times before I got on Powell, so I had a good feel of it. He nicked one rail, and my other horse jumped clear for first and second.”

Ryan Wood and Woostock Bennett. USEA/Leslie Mintz Photo.

Not to be discounted as second-rate, Curran Simpson’s Woodstock Bennet also had a very strong finish at Tryon this weekend. He may not have nabbed the championship title for himself, but he did have one of the quickest trips across country yesterday and a fault free show jump round today. Like Powell, this 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse also picked up a CCI3* win earlier this summer, his was at Bromont.

“Bennett is probably the quickest cross-country horse I’ve got in the barn, so his stronger phases are the jumping, so we were working on producing a better [dressage] test,” Wood said. “He’s very ridable and you can be quite accurate. He’s not he biggest mover, but he’s capable of getting in the top spots.”

Doug Payne and Debi Crowley’s Vandiver (Windfall II x Visions of Grandeur) have won a 1.30-meter show jumping class in the George Morris Arena at TIEC, so they were primed and ready to put down another clear round. Unfortunately, the 12-year-old Trakehner just tapped the back rail of an oxer, in Payne’s words a “$15,000 rail,” dashing their hopes of winning.

Doug Payne and Vandiver. USEA/Leslie Mintz Photo.

Despite this, Payne is still thrilled with “Quinn.” “We’ve had him for just a little over a year. I’m just now getting to a point where I can kind of experiment and take stuff on. All last year we were just chasing qualifications so we could get to Kentucky in the spring. He’s got a boatload of potential,” he said.

Quinn had a respectable dressage test on Friday for 31.5 penalty points which put him in 10th place. “Dressage he tends to get a little tense, and he was a bit affected by the surroundings. He was sitting tenth, but I said let’s take a shot at it. He’s got a great gallop and he’s quite a careful horse,” Payne commented. Taking the shot panned out to be well worth it as he was still named the USEF National Open Horse Trial Champion for being the highest-placed American.

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About the AEC

The Nutrena® USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Land Rover (AEC) is the pinnacle of the sport for the national levels. Held annually, this event draws together the best competitors from across the country vying for national titles from the Beginner Novice through the Advanced level. This year's AEC is being held at the Tryon International Equestrian Center in Mill Spring, N.C. August 31-September 4, 2016.

The 2016 Nutrena® USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Land Rover would not be possible without our wonderful sponsors: Nutrena, Land Rover, Adequan, Merial, Broadstone Equine Insurance Company, Professional's Choice, Devoucoux,Merck Animal Health, Standlee Hay, Charles Owen, Fleeceworks, CWD, The Chronicle of the Horse, Noble Outfitters, Auburn Laboratories Inc., Smartpak, Stackhouse Saddles, Point Two, VTO Saddlery, FLAIR, Dubarry of Ireland, FITS Riding, Equine Art by Julie, Ride Safe, The Jockey Club, Ovation, Eventing Training Online, Kastel Denmark, Happy Saddle Treats, I Love My Horse, GumBits, Horse Hydrator, Phoenix Bodyworks, C4 Belts, The Scoring Chix, and more.