Traverse City, Mich. – Aug. 2, 2019 – The final Equitation Tuesday of the 2019 Great Lakes Equestrian Festival (GLEF), presented by CaptiveOne Advisors, LLC, brought athletes to the Williamsburg Ring one last time during Week V. Topping two classes apiece, Layla Kurbanov of Greenwich, Connecticut, and Taylor Griffiths of Brewster, New York, both took advantage of their concluding opportunity, with Kurbanov winning the Dover Saddlery/USEF Hunter Seat Medal and ASPCA/NHSAA Maclay Horsemanship Trophy class, while Griffiths bested the field in the WIHS Jumper Phase and Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search 2*.
Demonstrating superior form, Tuesday brought back-to-back success for Kurbanov, who rode her own Calberon B to the top of the scorecard twice. The duo began their day in the Dover Saddlery/USEF Hunter Seat Medal, during which they masterfully navigated the 3’6” fences over multiple rounds of competition to earn the highest cumulative score and come out on top. Returning to the ring, the successful partnership once again put in seemingly effortless performances to capture first prize in the ASPCA/NHSAA Maclay Horsemanship Trophy class, earning them valuable points towards the year-end finals.
Taking over as the afternoon victor, owner-rider Griffiths piloted Mac One III to a series of exemplary performances to conclude the day with two new accolades to their names. The combination first championed the WIHS Jumper Phase, and subsequently continued their winning ways in the Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search 2* class. With the largest number of entries for the day, the contest featured a number of the country’s most prominent equitation riders, and Griffiths was able to shine the brightest with her consistently impressive efforts with Mac One III.
Other Equitation Tuesday winners included Lilly Anthes and Susan Lohmann’s Don Diarado, the champions in the Hamel Foundation NHS 3’3” Medal, as well as Taje Warrick and Lilly Clarkson’s Notorious, who were awarded the blue ribbon in the THIS National Children’s Medal.
Week V’s Equitation Tuesday is the final one of the series, but GLEF will continue for one more week with equestrian competition at Flintfields Horse Park.
For more information, please visit greatlakesequestrianfestival.com.
