“I love riding that mare,” Cook said of the 16-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare. “She’s just the best and it’s so much fun to go out there with her. It always helps to know the arena and the jumps but today was just having fun with Kalinka and following our walk and hoping all the jumps showed up on time.”

Around Alan Wade’s (IRL) course, Cook clocked a time of 58.76 seconds, the only pair to drop below the 60-second mark throughout the class. As only the second to go, they still had to wait to find out if it had been enough.

“It went to plan,” Cook said of the ride Thursday. “There was one place where we could’ve left out one more stride I think but we just landed not in the place for that. Other than that it showed up the way we hoped and she was great.”

Cook is more than comfortable at high speed; it’s become natural for him on all of his horses. 

“You’re always trying to go fast – that’s the point – but the more you do it the more smooth it is and the less you’re doing something different,” he explained of his comfort level with a faster pace. “That’s just your base speed, which makes it easier. You don’t have to ride differently to shave a few more seconds off.”

Coming home in 60.09 seconds for second place was Kelli Cruciotti Vanderveen (USA) with Mochito v/d Mishagen (Emerald x Lord Z). Erynn Ballard (CAN) scored third aboard L ‘Eperon-S. 

Thursday was a big day for Isabelle Ehman (USA) as well, as she took the top call aboard Laganixx (Aganix du Seigneur x Numero Uno) in the $31,020 American Gold Cup CSI2* Welcome. Going up against some of the top riders in the world, including McLain Ward (USA), Christian Kukuk (GER), and Kent Farrington (USA), Ehman rode a foot-perfect round to deliver a memorable victory.

“Everything was a related distance so I wanted to make sure I stayed on the track,” Ehman said of her key to a top performance. “I had decent foot speed but I’m not on the fastest horse in the class so I absolutely had to stick with numbers that we walked. I had a rub at two and I got very lucky with that but she jumped great and she was with me everywhere.”

Laganixx, a 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, is a newer ride for Ehman, so this win was among their biggest achievements so far together. They have already competed successfully up to the CSI4* level as their partnership continues to develop. 

Aside from her own performance, Ehman was able to learn from the caliber of riders she was up against and how they approached the same course.

“I got to watch Mclain before I went in and I had an idea for what his plan was,” she remarked about trying to learn from the best. “It’s great for me to learn by competing against these top riders in these two-star classes because you still get the competition that you’ll see in the future. It was good practice for me today to ride against top riders. It’s a good mix and gives me an idea of what to work on in the future.”

As for what’s next, Ehman is keeping things consistent as she rounds out her show season, but she has big hopes for the future.

“I’d love to make the Olympics, I’d love to be a five-star [competitor], I want to go all the way,” she shared of her goals. “We just want to do it right and take our time. I’m starting to build a good string of horses to get me where I want to go. We just need to keep working.”

A regular in Traverse City, Ehman enjoys the horse show and everything the community has to offer. “I love this show,” she said of Traverse City Horse Shows, where she’s grown from the lower-level jumpers all the way into international action over the years. “The courses are always great. The footing is incredible, the facility and weather is great, and the competition is super. It offers everything you want in a horse show. I love spending my time up here. It’s just a great place to be in the summer time.”

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