David O’Brien and La Belle SCF Dominate $25,000 Sunday Classic
Kristen VanderVeen and Bull Run’s Divine Fortune Kick Off Tryon Summer Series with $25,000 Wednesday Classic Win.
Mill Spring, NC – June 14, 2020
Todd Minikus (Lake Worth, FL) and Amex Z secured a double victory during Tryon Summer 1 at Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC), winning both the $75,000 Tryon Resort Grand Prix and the $25,000 Horseware Ireland Welcome Stake. In Saturday’s Tryon Resort Grand Prix, Minikus and Amex Z stopped the jump-off timers at 35.096 seconds. Kristen VanderVeen (Wellington, FL) and Bull Run’s Faustino de Tili, a 2005 Belgian Warmblood stallion (Berlin x Darco) owned by Bull Run Jumpers Five LLC, took second place on a clear jump-off performance of 35.243 seconds, while Shane Sweetnam (Lexington, KY) and his own Indra Van De Oude Heihoef, a 2008 Belgian Warmblood mare (Casantos x Action-Breaker), claimed third-place honors in 36.262 seconds.
The first grand prix of the Tryon Summer Series welcomed 22 horse-and-rider pairs to the Tryon Stadium course designed by Skip Bailey (Loxahatchee, FL) with ten pairs returning for the jump-off.
Minikus praised the growth of Amex Z, a 2009 Zangersheide mare (Andiamo Z x Landaris) owned by Bit By Bit Group, saying, “I think she [Amex Z] has really matured. She’s been a little bit inconsistent, but she started to go really well at the end of the winter circuit. With a couple months of being off at home and training the old fashioned way, she really grew up.”