Inaugural
Grand Prix Eventing
Wows Crowds in Aiken
By Amber Heintzberger
T
he inaugural $50,000 LiftMaster Grand Prix Eventing Invitational at Bruce’s Field in Aiken, South Carolina held the first weekend of March was a fun showcase of the sport, right in the heart of Aiken. With cross-country jumps fash-
ioned after Aiken landmarks, a comfortable VIP tent, craft beer festival and lots of action, the event served its purpose: to present eventing to a wide audience, in a spectator- friendly format. With riders placed on teams representing various charities from the Aiken area, it also served to bring awareness to a number of important local causes. Dressage and show jumping took place on Friday and in
spite of a torrential downpour, there were a good number of spectators enjoying the show from under cover in the tent. The sun came out for Saturday’s cross-country – and the sandy soil soaked up a lot of the rainwater, so the footing was in good shape for the fast action of cross-country. Specta- tors came out in droves on Saturday to cheer on their favorite horses and riders. The Advanced-level course was built by Eric Bull of ETB
Equine Construction, with the utmost attention to detail. Eric and his team also built the course for the 2018 World Eques- trian Games in Tryon, and their experience showed: every jump on course at Bruce’s Field was a work of art, from a life- like model of the Willcox Hotel, to the giant keyhole fence similar to the logo of the Aiken Horse Park Foundation, to the nuclear bomb lookalike jump representing the nearby Savan- nah River nuclear power plant.
Photos by Amber Heintzberger
Top Contendors React The victor was Liz Halliday-Sharp and Fernhill By Night, a 16-year-old Irish Sport Horse (Radolin x Argentina XII, by Argentinus) owned by Deborah Halliday. Liz, who is based in Ocala, Florida, blazed around the course, thrilling the crowd and easily clinching the win. She was riding for the Friends of the Animal Shelter (FOTAS), a non-profit that aids the Aiken County Animal Shelter. “I thought the whole thing was fantastic,” she says. “It’s
great for a horse like Blackie. He’s an older horse and doesn’t do the big, long CCI’s anymore. It’s the perfect sort of format for him. I think he really enjoyed it—he felt really happy about everything.” Doug Payne finished second on 30.8 riding Vandiver, a
15-year-old Trakehner (Windfall x Visions of Grandeur, by Mystic Replica xx), owned in partnership between Doug and Jessica Payne and Debi Crawley. British eventing legend William Fox-Pitt flew over from
England to catch-ride the handsome black stallion Sandro’s Star, usually ridden by Chris Talley, into third place with the fastest cross-country round of the day. Hannah Salazar’s 11-year-old Oldenburg stallion (Sagnol x Poetic Patter xx, by Nostalgia’s Star xx) finished on 31.1. Chris says that nobody else had ever ridden the stallion
in competition, and so he was a little nervous handing the reins over, but knew that the horse would be in good hands. “William gave him a great ride and I think it was really good
Liz Halliday-Sharp and Fernhill By Night took the lead and kept it after dressage scoring a 28.7.
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