David Will earned a major victory in the $35,000 Horseware® Ireland
Will and Cento Du Rouet crossed through the timers in 63.12 seconds for first place ahead of Shane Sweetnam (IRL) and Cornwall who collected second place honors with a time of 63.86 seconds. Will piloted his second mount, Monodie H, to third place after narrowly edging the pursuing field with a time of 64.47 seconds.
Competition at the 2016 Tryon Fall Series presented by Greenville-Spartanburg Airport District commenced on Thursday, September 22, and will continue through Sunday, October 30, featuring hunter and jumper competition, alongside two weeks of FEI CSI 3* classes and the highly anticipated FEI CSI 5*.
Will and Cento Du Rouet, owned by Centin Gungor, took advantage of the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the George H. Morris Arena today. Will first guided Monodie H, owned by Dietmar Gugler, around the course set by Michel Vaillancourt (CAN) and felt he better understood the direct routes to take on Cento Du Rouet, which would ultimately secure the pair’s victory.
“With Monodie I took a couple of long ways and I wanted to turn tight with her but not gallop too much. She still went very well, enough to get third,” he said. “I’m very happy with her. With Cento, I wanted to try a little bit more and the course really got better towards the end. He did very well and the win gives me confidence for the rest of the week.”
Will is looking forward to competing in the remainder of FEI classes during Tryon Fall IV and will return with both mounts next week to contest the second FEI CSI 5* of the season at the venue. Off to a strong start, he hopes to continue his success from the first day of competition throughout the rest of the week with both horses.
“I will keep showing both Monodie and Cento in the FEI classes. Both horses will go tomorrow in the Suncast® class and then hopefully I will get to ride both in the bigger class on Saturday,” he said. “This is a really nice place for the horses and it’s very impressive. We’re very excited to be here.”
The partnership with Cento has been fruitful for Will, who took over the ride on the 2007 Oldenburg Springpferd gelding (Chintan x Balou Du Rouet) in early spring. The pair have amassed seven top ten finishes together at the FEI level in Europe so far this year and seem fit for top competition over the course of the next two weeks at TIEC.
Results HERE