Photo by Mackenzie Clark
This past weekend at Tryon International Equestrian Center, Kelli Cruciotti-VanderVeen and Hadja van Orshof captured the win in the $30,000 Cleghorn Gun Club Grand Prix. The mare’s first win back from what was thought to be a career ending injury, Kelli and the 14-year-old Belgian Warmblood (Cabrio van de Heffinck x Victory van Orshof) were the only pair to jump double clear.
The time allowed, combined with the lights and shadows of a night class, played a significant role in the level of difficulty of the course designed by Catsy Cruz of Mexico. In preparation for the upcoming 3* at Tryon, Kelli focused on riding a smart round to set the mare up for future success. With just one other competitor in the jump off, Kelli rode a conservative round to win the class.
Hadja will be enjoying a well-deserved week off with plenty of down time and one of her favorite activities, swimming!
Photo by Mackenzie Clark