USA's Meagan Nusz (27) landed the biggest win of her career Saturday night competing at Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC). The young rider guided her ten-year-old KWPN gelding, SRI Aladdin (Quasimodo Z x Burggraaf), to victory in a three-horse jump-off in the $127,000 August I Grand Prix CSI 3*, held under the lights of George H. Morris Stadium. Jonathan McCrea (USA) and Aristoteles V finished second, and Mark Bluman (COL) and Uitteraard placed third. The competition was the highlight event of TIEC's August I Horse Show, which hosted three FEI world ranking classes, and concluded Sunday, August 9. A total of 27 entries competed over Saturday night's grand prix, which was set by Florencio Hernandez, with just three advancing to the jump-off. Five others were clear over the fences, but incurred faults on the clock in the tight time allowed. Heading into the jump-off, Bluman was first to go, but was ultimately eliminated after going off course with Uitteraard, owned by Stransky's Mission Farms, Inc. Next to go, Nusz and Amalaya Investment's SRI Aladdin cleared the track in 48.42 seconds. McCrea and Candy Tribble's Aristoteles V followed with the final round, clear in 49.02 seconds. Not only was Saturday's win Nusz's biggest, it was a special feat for the rider, who was competing without the help of longtime trainer, Kent Farrington. Farrington was at the Dublin Horse Show in Ireland, and rode to his own grand prix victory on Sunday. "It was really something quite special for me, especially because Kent wasn't here and I had to do it all on my own," Nusz admitted. "He was of course on the phone with me and helping through the whole thing. I also had some good friends that were coaching me, like Candice King and Jon McCrea and my team. To do it by yourself is quite an accomplishment, so I was really excited for the opportunity to try it and to succeed." Detailing the jump-off, Nusz stated, "Marky Bluman went before me and he put down a hammer round. I was really nervous, but then he unfortunately went off course. He forgot to roll back to the skinny and went straight to the double, which was really unfortunate for him because he was super fast. That kind of made me take a deep breath, but I knew that I still had Jon McCrea behind me, who is always a fast rider. You can never count him out." Emanuel Andrade (VEN) and Bon Jovi finished second in 32.52 seconds. Meagan Nusz (USA) took third and fourth place honors aboard Amalaya Investments' SRI Aladdin and Dynamo respectively. SRI Aladdin clocked in at 33.32 seconds while Dynamo finished close behind in 33.40.
