Paige Johnson (USA) and Luke Skywalker 46 made a fast move to the top of the leaderboard in the first FEI sanctioned grand prix of the fall season at Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC) in the $127,000 Suncast® Grand Prix FEI CSI 3*. Johnson bested the class of 31 international entries with a blazing time of 40.24 seconds in the jump-off to cap their night with a win. Ali Wolff (USA) followed in second place aboard Brianda completing their jump-off round in 42.02 seconds, while Sharn Wordley (NZL) piloted Casper to a third place finish with a time of 42.96 seconds. Johnson went early in the first round, drawing fourth in the order of go, earning the first clean effort around a tough track set by Anthony D'Ambrosio (USA). Consulting with coach Kent Farrington throughout the night, Johnson commented that "Luke" jumped beautifully in the first round giving her confidence moving forward into the jump-off, where they would finish as only one of four double clear trips. "I went in early in both rounds and wanted to stick with my plan. I just wanted to do the best I could and it worked out. I know him really well now. We got him when he was eight and now he's ten so we've grown up together and I trust him completely," she remarked. "Once we went clear I made sure to go over my plan with Ryan and Kent, who work together, and they talked before I went in. Kent called me and he had watched my first round. They both told me to do the seven in the last line and I just tried to execute. I have a great team around me." In an electric moment that excited the crowd and lit the atmosphere in the George Morris Arena at TIEC, Johnson went for the very forward seven strides in the last line, proving to be a difficult feat to beat as she maintained her lead through the jump-off, which was contested by ten combinations. Luke Skywalker 46 (Lord Pezi x Shakira) has recently become Johnson's top mount and has shown strength in his ability to accumulate quick and careful rounds in his first year at the grand prix level. Johnson elaborated on the gelding's natural talent, "Everything about him is special. This is his first year doing grand prix and there have been some ups and downs, nothing crazy, but a couple of rails here and there. He's a very careful horse and when you have a horse like that you have to take your time with them because they can get scared easily." Eager to improve on mistakes she felt had previously kept the duo out of the winner's circle, Johnson decided early in the night that she wanted to focus on correcting the small errors and capitalize on the opportunity to compete under the lights.
