Willie Tynan Takes Top Placings in $40,000 Equinox Grand Prix at Vermont Summer Festival
East Dorset, VT – July 17, 2022 – It was a banner day for Willie Tynan, who closed out the second week of the Vermont Summer Festival with the top two placings in Sunday’s $40,000 Equinox Grand Prix. Tynan was the first to show with Seattle and proved to be the best of the day as he navigated the first-round track without touching a rail. As the competition continued, they would be the only pair to perfect the course to earn the winning title. Tynan was also the fastest 4-faulter with Fenise for second place, while the winner of last week’s Grand Prix, Alexandra Worthington and De L'Oiseliere, earned the third-place honors.
Willie Tynan and Seattle
“Seattle is my youngest horse – he’s the baby!” smiled Tynan after his win. “We didn’t go crazy – he jumped a fantastic round. He has really come a long way for sure and deserved this. I am just really happy with him – he was super!”
Canada’s Danny Foster set a technical track that tested riders from start to finish during Sunday’s main event. The first combination came as the fourth test, with a vertical-oxer double combination towards the gate before a bending line to a wide oxer. An oxer-vertical double combination was also featured before the final line with a bending vertical-oxer line to the last steady vertical. Rails fell throughout the course, and each error brought Tynan and Seattle closer to victory.
Willie Tynan and Seattle. Photo by: Jess Windhurst
Tynan was appreciative of the course designer’s efforts saying, “A lot of horses were suited for this course today – unfortunately, there were a lot of cheap rails coming down everywhere. I think Danny would have had four clear rounds if it wasn’t for the back rails of oxers.”
Tynan and Seattle, a 9-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by MDM Equestrian Group, made the course look simple as the first to attempt the track, leaving each rail in its cups. In the end, though, they were the only pair able to answer every question. There were only three 4-fault efforts, the first of which belonged to Maciek Pestka and Qardinal De Chandor Z, but their conservative time of 83.657 would only be good enough for fourth place.
Alexandra Worthington with De L'Oiseliere. Photo by: Jess Windhurst
The next 4-faulter was Alexandra Worthington with De L'Oiseliere, who had a heartbreaking rail at the final fence. Their time of 76.692 would be good enough for third place. Tynan was the last to return with Fenise and knew he had the win in hand no matter what. A rail at the penultimate fence would seal Seattle as the winner, but Fenise’s time of 76.691 seconds would earn second place by just 1/1000th of a second.
Willie Tynan and Fenise
Competition at the Vermont Summer Festival will continue for another four weeks, with highlight jumping events starting on Wednesday, July 22, with the $5,000 Manchester Designer Outlet Open Welcome class. More feature events each week will range from the $40,000 Purina Animal Nutrition Grand Prix to the $1,000 Puddle Jumper Classic. Riders throughout the rest of the series will vie for valuable year-end points and qualifications for the 2022 Marshall & Sterling Insurance League Finals.