Traverse City, MI – September 5, 2025—U.S. rider Hunter Holloway continued Pepita Con Spita’s comeback story on Friday afternoon with a win in the $32,000 GGT Footing CSI3* Welcome during the Silver Oak Jumper Tournament, which highlights jumper action during opening week of the Traverse City Tournament of Champions.
Pepita Con Spita, a 14-year-old Westphalian mare owned by Hays Investment Corp., was Holloway’s mount for the 2022 FEI World Cup™ Final in Leipzig and carried her to third overall in the 2023 edition in Omaha, NE. Two months later, the mare was sidelined by injury and has been absent from FEI competition until this summer.
“We are thrilled to have her back, and she feels awesome. We are going to let her tell us what she’s ready for, but she keeps stepping up for us,” said Holloway in between congratulations for yet another Traverse City win.
Pepita Con Spita (DSP Con Spirit X Oro Piana Come On) returned to the international ranks at the end of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival, presented by B&D Builders, and ended her summer with a two-star grand prix win for Holloway.
Their momentum continued this week as they took to a two-round test built by course designer Bernardo Costa Cabral (POR). From a jump-off field of 10, Holloway nipped the top spot by fractions, crossing the timers at 37.12 seconds over runner-up and fellow American Callie Schott riding Uricas v/d Kattevennen (31.17 seconds).
Rounding out the all-American podium of women, Paige Matthies took third riding Callmeback Pontons. She had Holloway bested on the clock but pulled a rail to settle on four faults.
Of their jump-off round, Holloway attributed the five hundredths of a second edge to Pepita Con Spita’s natural way of going. “She’s so fast naturally. I was actually just trying to ride a nice smooth track, and it worked out perfectly for us in the end to be able to get the win.”
With her eye on CSI5* action during the next two weeks of the Tournament of Champions, Holloway hopes to qualify for the FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final for 2026, which is back on U.S. soil in Fort Worth, TX.
For complete results in the $32,000 GGT Footing CSI3* Welcome, click here. Three-star competition during the Silver Oak Jumper Tournament comes to a peak in Sunday’s $117,000 Agero CSI3* Grand Prix.
In national jumper action, Victoria Birdsall of Wellington, FL, opened the day with a win in the Muny Sunk Stables 1.40m aboard Viktor Z for owner CMJ Sporthorses.
Katherine Leaffer of Englewood, CO, rode her own Noortje vd Windheuvel to win the Stud Tree 1.40m-1.45m Junior/Amateur Speed, and Mexico’s Maya Ines Denis Chambon topped the The Greene Scalamandre Group & Corcoran Realty 1.30m on Lin Lin for owner OverNUSA, LLC.
About Traverse City Horse Shows
Traverse City Horse Shows (TCHS) offers 13 weeks of top competition each summer at Flintfields Horse Park in Williamsburg, Michigan—just 15 minutes from downtown Traverse City. The venue blends world-class sport with the natural beauty of Northern Michigan and features 12 weeks of FEI-ranked events, including three five-stars and an FEI Nations Cup CSIO3*.
The season culminates in the three-week Tournament of Champions, highlighted by the $340,000 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ CSI5*-W—Traverse City and $340,000 American Gold Cup CSI5*. New this year, the $100,000 Dudley and Barb Smith 3’6” Equitation Championship and $50,000 Cherry Capital 3’3” Equitation Championship deliver big prize money and prestige to the equitation ranks.
For more information on the season, visit TraverseCityHorseShows.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for updates.
