Kelli Cruciotti and Hadja van Orshof Add a Stride and Win $204,000 Coca-Cola® Grand Prix CSI 4* at TIEC

Mill Spring, NC – June 9, 2019 – Kelli Cruciotti (USA) and Hadja van Orshof enjoyed a first-place finish in Sunday’s $204,000 Coca-Cola® Grand Prix CSI 4* at Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC), concluding Tryon Spring 6 TR&HC Charity Horse Show Competition at the venue and taking her second FEI win of the week with a jump-off time of 49.127 seconds. Darragh Kerins (IRL) and Carlos JD Z, a 2009 Zangersheide gelding (Canturo x Baloubet) owned by NRG Farm LLC, claimed second on a jump-off time of 50.332 seconds, while Fernando Cardenas, Jr. (COL) received third for his efforts aboard Quincy Car, a 2004 Oldenburg stallion (Galiani Car x Amour Parfait) owned by Fernado Cardenas and Meredith Cardenas, after their jump-off time of 52.34 seconds.

Kelli Cruciotti and Hadja van Orshof Photo: ©Sportfot
Kelli Cruciotti and Hadja van Orshof
Photo: ©Sportfot

Course designer Kelvin Bywater (GBR) saw 29 entries test the first-round track, with five pairs returning for the jump-off round. Despite heavy rainfall over the past two days and intermittent rain throughout the class, Cruciotti reported that Hadja van Orshof, her own 2007 Belgian Warmblood mare (Cabrio van de Heffinck x Darco), had “one of the best rounds she’s ever jumped,” and won despite adding a stride:

“I actually didn’t know if I was going to show until I walked in the ring. I was going back and forth about it. I saw people going before me and I’m a chicken about any unusual circumstance, so I trusted my horse and tried to ride a smart round, but not do anything too risky,” Cruciotti explained. “I was fortunate to go at the end of the jump-off, so I could watch a few, and it looked like they were being efficient, and not too risky. I thought if I could be a little bit [less conservative] here and there I could get it, and she jumped amazing. I’m so happy with her. It actually was one of her best rounds she’s ever jumped – maybe she should jump more in the rain!”

Darragh Kerins and Carlos JD Z Photo: ©Sportfot
Darragh Kerins and Carlos JD Z
Photo: ©Sportfot

Despite her speedy performance, besting a competitive field, Cruciotti admitted to adding a stride on course and elaborated that nine is a tricky number for her: “It’s a running joke since I was ten years old – for the life of me I cannot count nine [strides]. I can do eight, I can do ten or seven or 12, but not nine! And so I knew the line was nine, and my brain was like, ‘no, no, no, ten!'” she continued. “And the whole time I’m trying to tell myself to stop pulling, but luckily I was able to clean up the round somewhere else.”

Hadja van Orshof has been a project of Cruciotti’s for the past three years, and her “lionlike” braveness lends itself to the success they’ve achieved together, she emphasized. “When I got her she was very, very green jumping 1.45m, so we had to really take our time because she’s so careful. At the same time, she’s like a lion – she doesn’t think there’s anything she can’t do,” Cruciotti said. “Our partnership has grown through the years. I got to take her to the World Cup Finals this year in Gothenburg, and I feel like she and I both grew up a lot there. We were a little bit overfaced, but it made us a better horse-and-rider combination, and we learned to really dig down deep.”

Fernando Cardenas Jr. and Quincy Car Photo: ©Sportfot
Fernando Cardenas Jr. and Quincy Car
Photo: ©Sportfot

Sunday’s win was Cruciotti’s second FEI victory on the week, following her winning performance aboard Zidante in the $6,000 1.40m Power & Speed Stake Wednesday, and she has found a new favorite venue after her first experience at TIEC, she relayed. “It was my very first time here this week, and we’re definitely wanting to come back now!”

For now, Cruciotti plans to give her horses a few weeks off at home in Colorado, and then she will kick off her season again in Traverse City. “We love this facility, and everybody has been super helpful – just anything we’ve needed TIEC has been willing to accommodate, so we’re looking forward to coming back. We love showing here – it’s great,” she concluded.

RESULTS

$204,000 Coca-Cola® Grand Prix CSI 4*
Place / Horse / Rider / Country / R1 Faults / R2 Faults | Time
1. Hadja van Orshof / Kelli Cruciotti / USA / 0 / 0 | 49.127
2. Carlos JD Z / Darragh Kerins / IRL / 0 / 0 | 50.332
3. Quincy Car / Fernando Cardenas, Jr / COL / 0 / 0 | 52.34
4. Kirschwasser SCF / Shane Sweetnam / IRL / 0 / 4 | 48.586
5. Dontez / Freddie Vazquez / PUR / 0 / 4 | 49.106
6. Condor C / Deborah Stephens / USA / 1 | 79.55
7. Bull Run’s Faustino De Tili / Kristen Vanderveen / USA / 4 | 72.87
8. Thriller P / Samuel Parot / CHI / 4 | 74.5
9. Quitana 11 / Savannah Jenkins / USA / 4 | 75.72
10. Cetano Van Aspergem Z / Santiago Lambre / MEX / 4 | 76.65
11. Carnaval / Hector Florentino / DOM / 4 | 77.83
12. Finou 4 / Aaron Vale / USA / 4 | 78.17

For full results, click here.

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