Traverse City, Mich. – Sept. 10, 2020 – Divisional hunter action resumed Thursday in Traverse City during the 50th American Gold Cup CSI4*, presented by CaptiveOne Advisors LLC, as the first set of champions was crowned. Turning in an impressive string of results in the Green 3’3” Hunters, Hillary Johnson and Copper Fox LLC’s Elliot claimed the tricolor honors against a talented field of entries, with Johnson also topping the overall Green 3’ Hunter scorecard aboard Copper Fox LLC’s Suede. With the 3’ and 3’3” horse-and-rider teams competing against each other, the $1,000 Green Hunter Incentive saw plenty of skill, but ultimately Johnson and Copper Fox LLC’s Suede shone the brightest to capture the greatest cut of the prize money and yet another spot at the top of leaderboard.
With jumps set at the 3’3’’ height, the second portion of the Green 3’3’’ Hunter division kicked off Thursday afternoon welcoming contenders back to the Polk Family Main Hunter Ring to vie for the championship. During Wednesday’s portion of the division, Johnson and Elliot earned a first place over fences, as well as third place undersaddle and sixth place in the handy round. Johnson and Elliot came back Thursday strong, ultimately claiming the tricolor. Megan Southam and Lillooet, owned by Treesdale Farm, secured the reserve champion honors after Thursday’s portion of the Green 3’3’’ Hunter division.
In the Green 3’ Hunters, Johnson and Suede improved upon their strong start in the division Wednesday, adding more ribbons to their collection to ultimately earn the championship. The first day of riding saw the duo finish in second place and fourth place over fences, followed by three consecutive top-three results Thursday. In the undersaddle portion, the partnership was awarded third position, and they shone in the final two over fences with first-place and second-place finishes to propel them to the top of the leaderboard and clinch the tricolors. Ehrin Rittmueller piloted Bitsy Woods’ Hendricks to the reserve honors in the division, during which their standout results came in the form of first place undersaddle and over fences, plus two more podium finishes over the jumps.
Running concurrently with the Green 3’ Hunters and Green 3’3” Hunters, the $1,000 Green Hunter Incentive was scored based on the marks given to exhibitors for their final over fences rounds of their respective divisions. Boasting the highest score of the 15 entries from both height sections thanks to their blue-ribbon round, Johnson and Suede emerged as the victors to add further success to their day after earning a score of 83. Second place was also awarded to Johnson, this time riding Elliot to a score of 82.5, with Greg Crolick and Conto Blanco, owned by Renaud Farm LLC, rounding out the top three for their score of 82.
Hillary Johnson and SuedeHunter riders have three more days to shine during the 50th American Gold Cup CSI4*, presented by CaptiveOne Advisors LLC. The highlight events will take place Sunday in the form of the $2,500 Traverse City Horse Shows Pony Hunter Classic, $5,000 Traverse City Horse Shows Junior Hunter Classic, presented by Makoto Farm, $2,500 2’6″ Non Pro Hunter Derby and $25,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby.
