Mill Spring, N.C. – Oct. 22, 2016 – Sock Inc. clients and horses wrapped up another successful few weeks of showing at the Tryon Fall series, taking home championships and top placings throughout both Weeks Two and Four.
During Week Two of competition, Steve Heinecke, owner and head trainer of Sock Inc., rode sale horse Hercules VD Vromboutshoeve, better known as Hercules in the barn, to a second and third place finish in the Performance Hunter division, a division they have consistently earned ribbons in throughout the summer.
Heinecke also went on to claim both the second and third place honors in the $2,500 USHJA National Hunter Derby aboard both Hercules and Paige Wilson’s Dicaprio.
Hercules has been proving his versatility and winning ways in the professional, amateur and junior hunters, thanks to Heinecke’s careful training and development program, since arriving at Sock Inc. at the end of the 2016 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) season.
The flashy 9-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding made his junior hunter debut at Tryon with Sock Inc.’s newest client Dawson Amick, who just recently transitioned from ponies and was also making her debut in the junior hunters. The pair took home multiple top three finishes together in the Junior 3’3″ Hunter division throughout both weeks as well as the blue ribbon in the classic round during Week Four.
Earlier this summer, Wilson moved up to the Amateur-Owner 3’3″ Hunters with Dicaprio (“Leo”), and quickly settled right in to the new division by claiming back-to-back championships both Weeks Two and Four of the Tryon Fall series.
“We had a few bobbles here and there, but I was able to bring it all together in the end so that was really nice,” said Wilson. “Our goal is to hopefully move up to the 3’6″ soon since Tryon went so well. We would like to start trying to get points for Harrisburg and Washington and indoors next year as well as Devon for the following year.”
Despite being a full-time student studying pre-med chemistry and business at Auburn University, Wilson is able to successfully balance a full school workload and still compete with the help of Heinecke and Sock Inc. who keeps her two horses fit and show-ready while she is away.
“Having Steve ride my horses and keep them prepared for me is probably the only reason that I was able to do as well as I did,” said Wilson. “My horses, Leo and Aaron, were just so perfect both weekends. It was definitely a very pleasant surprise. I was actually very nervous my first show back because I hadn’t really ridden more than twice before that show. Just to be able to get on Leo and Aaron and start where I left off from the summer was such a great feeling. It really reinforced that all of the hard work I did this summer was definitely worth it and it definitely stuck with me.”
“Paige rode great on both of her horses,” said Heinecke. “The horses went really well. The weather was beautiful. Dawson did a really good job with Hercules, and it was his debut in the junior hunters as well as her debut on a horse. I have no complaints, everything’s going really well!”
With the fall show season coming to a close, Sock Inc. clients and horses will be taking an off-season break from showing to train and prepare for the upcoming 2017 WEF season in Florida as Heinecke focuses on judging at the New England Equitation Championships in October and the Central California Oak Tree Classic in November.
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