Mill Spring, North Carolina, USA – June 13, 2021 – Ashlee Bond (ISR) and Contefina LVF made their last day of competition at Tryon Spring 6/Tryon Riding & Hunt Club Charity Horse Show a good one, claiming the win in Sunday’s $25,000 Tryon Resort Sunday Classic at Tryon International Equestrian Center & Resort (TIEC).
Bond (ISR) and her 2012 Holsteiner mare (Contefino x Southern Girl) sliced and diced through the Michel Vallaincourt (CAN) course design to earn the blue ribbon. The duo stopped the jump-off timers in 36.404 seconds to best the field. The pair’s elegant partnership is evident in the arena, and Bond owes this in part to having known her since birth, she noted. The homebred mare has been with Bond her whole life, along with her dam and grand-dam. Because of this, she has “practiced turns and slices with her since she was pretty much born!”
Contefina LVF is making her way back into the higher levels of competition after some time off from an injury. “She’s really very green for her age,” Bond admitted. “She was doing the meters and 1.10m [divisions] all last year coming back from an injury, so I just took back the reins in December. We’ve had a little bit of trial and error, I think, in the jump-offs. She’s still so green, and she’s got so much scope and stride that I would have the last jump down, because she would just get too flat and then catch the fence behind: things like that. You know, I took risks out there today. I knew, ‘Okay, worst case scenario, we’ll have one down,’ but I was just hoping we kind of would pull it all together, and we did!”
Erynn Ballard (CAN) and Verdict De Kezeg, Ilan Ferder’s 2009 Selle Francais gelding (Diamant De Semilly), jumped to second place with a jump-off time of 38.163 seconds.
Martien van der Hoeven (USA) claimed third with 4 faults in the jump off and a time of 39.362 seconds on Morris Horta, a 2012 Belgian Warmblood gelding (Eldorado Van De Zeshoek x Irenice Horta) owned by Luccirelli International, LLC.
Wrapping up her victorious three-week stint at TIEC, Bond will be headed to Europe at the end of this month to compete, hoping she’s selected for Tokyo shortly thereafter. Excited about the possibility, she remarked, “Hopefully it goes as well as it did here!” After the Olympic Games, Bond plans on returning to the States, and eventually, returning back to TIEC. “It’s been such a great time here. My horses have performed really well. The footing is unbelievable. The environment has been really nice. I really love it; I can’t wait to come back here!”
Final Results – $25,000 Tryon Resort Sunday Classic
1) Ashlee Bond (ISR) & Contefina LVF – 0 / 0 – 36.404
2) Erynn Ballard (CAN) & Verdict De Kezeg – 0 / 0 – 38.163
3) Martien van der Hoeven (USA) & Morris Horta – 0 / 4 – 39.362
Source: Press Release by Allie Hay for TIEC – Tryon International Equestrian Center
Photos: © TIEC – Shannon Brinkman Photography
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