Traverse City, Mich. – Aug. 7, 2020 – The final week of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival, presented by CaptiveOne Advisors LLC, continued Friday at the Flintfields Horse Park, bringing equitation riders into focus for the hunter and jumper phases of the Washington International Horse Show (W.I.H.S) Equitation class. Fifteen competitors would contend for the overall title with Hallie Grimes and Zayna Rizvi each taking a win, but ultimately, it would be Rizvi and North Run’s Acer K who ranked number one overall.
In the morning Hunter Phase, Grimes and her very own Boldly Stated produced a consistent, smooth trip in the Main Hunter Ring. Grimes and the 10-year-old Warmblood gelding posted a score of 86 to the scoreboard to lead the class by just half of a point. Under the tutelage of North Run’s Missy Clark, who coached Sam Walker to a win in the 2019 WIHS Equitation Final, Grimes is a seasoned competitor in all three rings and is aiming high for the 2020 WIHS Equitation Final. Taylor Griffiths-Madden and her own Mac One III captured second position with 85.5 points, while Rizvi and Acer K finished in third another half-point behind with a score of 85.
Fellow barn mate of Grimes and junior rider, Rizvi packed a punch in the afternoon Jumper Phase of the W.I.H.S Equitation class. Set in the GGT Footing Ring, Rizvi rode equitation horse veteran and last year’s winning mount in the ASPCA Maclay National Championship, Acer K. Rizvi and the 9-year-old Warmblood gelding completed the jumper track with a score of 88 from the judge, earning themselves the top spot with a one-point lead. Like Grimes, Rizvi will head to the 2020 WIHS Equitation Final, in October at the Bob Thomas Equestrian Center in Tampa, Florida. Griffiths-Madden piloted Mac One III to another runner-up score of 87, followed by Grimes on Boldly Stated in third position with 86 points.
With the points tallied, Rizvi and Acer K just barely squeaked out the win with 173 points to lead a tight pack of challengers at the top. Thanks to back-to-back second-place ribbons, Griffiths-Madden and Mac One III earned the reserve honors with 172.5 points and Grimes and Boldly Stated rounded out the podium with a total score of 172. Only one point separated the top three finalists.
The Great Lakes Equestrian Festival, presented by CaptiveOne Advisors LLC, will wrap its six-week series Sunday. The horse show will pick up again Aug. 23 – 25 for the Adequan/USEF Junior Hunter National Championships East Coast, followed by the Traverse City Fall Horse Show, presented by Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel, beginning Aug. 26.