Eugenio Garza and Lucca Toni Win $25,000 Artisan Farms Under 25 Grand Prix

Sunday’s events at The Stadium at PBIEC kicked off in the morning with the $25,000 Artisan Farms Under 25 Grand Prix speed event on the field. Sponsored by EnTrust Capital, the class was held in a faults converted format. Eugenio Garza (MEX) and El Milagro’s Lucca Toni were the winners with a clear round in the fastest time of 89.47 seconds. Catherine Tyree (USA) and Mary Tyree’s Free Style vh Polderhof finished second in 91.79 seconds. Mavis Spencer (USA) and Mike Collins’ Cornetiero were last to go and jumped into third with a clear round in 92.67 seconds.

Garza’s winning mount Lucca Toni is a 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Lando x Caretano Z) that the rider has had for one year since last winter.

“He is a really, really nice horse. He covers a lot of ground, so we chose him for this class because it is a very open field and we knew we would have the chance to gallop a lot,” Garza detailed. “My trainer (Darragh Kenny) just said go in and have the same rhythm all the way through and just keep galloping. We were able to leave out strides where we could, and we made up some time in the short turns. The horse jumped amazing, I have to give it to him.”

Second place finisher Catherine Tyree is also at the one-year mark of riding her horse, Free Style vh Polderhof, since purchasing the mare from Stephex Stables at the end of circuit last year. Mavis Spencer finished third with Cornetiero and was thrilled with the great result after not riding for three years.