Irish Olympian Shane Sweetnam added his name to the American Gold Cup for the second time on Sunday. Riding his 2024 Olympic mount James Kann Cruz, he raced to a win in the iconic event to cap the final week of Traverse City Horse Shows in Northern Michigan.
In front of an enthusiastic local crowd, Sweetnam and his 11-year-old Irish-bred gelding (Kannan x Cruising), owned by Gizmo Partners, were last to jump clear in the opening round where nine horses cracked the code on the Cedric Longis (FRA) designed course. Returning as the final challenger in the jump-off, Sweetnam put James Kann Cruz’s massive stride and scope to the test to eclipse fellow Irishman Conor Swail by four tenths of a second.
“[The American Gold Cup] is one of the biggest grand prix in America, if not the biggest,” said Sweetnam, who also won the title in 2022. “I’m lucky to have a great horse. Conor really set the bar and then I had to take a risk as well, and I got away with it.”
Crossing the final timers in 39.54 seconds, Sweetnam pipped Swail, who settled for second aboard Casturano in 39.91 seconds.
“Obviously, the two boys behind me were going to try to beat me and I needed to put a bit of pressure on them. Casturano hasn’t done that many five-star grand prix,” said Swail of the 11-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Castelan 3 x Canturo) owned by Conall Murray. “I would say maybe where I lost it as opposed to where Shane won it; I had a real good shot over to the second to last, but Casturano goes a little left and he jumped that extravagantly. That threw me a bit too much to the outside.
“I’m thrilled, but I’m disappointed, obviously, because winning the American Gold Cup would be amazing,” concluded Swail.
Michael Morrissey climbed atop the podium in third riding Incento S.A., an 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Cardento 933 x Voltaire Pref) owned by Ash Atkinson. The pair is a new match and the American Gold Cup was a lofty goal set just hours prior.
“I felt like I’ve won the class being on the podium,” said Morrissey after crossing the timers in 44.32 seconds for third. “A couple days ago I wasn’t planning on jumping this class. I wasn’t even planning on jumping a five-star until a couple of weeks ago, and wasn’t riding this horse until three weeks ago, so it’s been a dream.
“My goal was to try to go double-clear and hope that all these fast, top-ten world ranking guys would chase each other and knock the jumps down,” he continued. “Every time we jump bigger, the horse jumps better, so I said we would see what we got. I really wanted to jump the American Gold Cup because it’s a special class for me and my family, and I didn’t expect to be sitting here, but it’s really nice.”
After competing at the Paris Olympics, Sweetnam has been gauging James Kann Cruz’s schedule, which came to a peak in Traverse City.
“He’s an incredible horse; if I’m riding well enough, he always has a chance,” said Sweetnam of James Kann Cruz, known around the barn as “Gizmo”. “I’m very lucky to have him and hopefully I can have a few more Gold Cups.
“I used to come here 15 or 16 years ago and it’s grown and grown and the public have become more knowledgeable in the area as well,” said Sweetnam of his time in Traverse City. “These crowds are great; they know what’s happening, they know when to cheer or not to cheer, and luckily for us the show jumping is growing here all the time.”
Echoing the sentiment, Traverse City Horse Shows event director Matthew Morrissey noted, “Our team loves putting on top events like Major League, the World Cup last week, the Gold Cup. When we first came here 10 years ago, spectators coming to this facility was non-existent. The spectator support each year is growing and growing.”
As the final charity ticket partner of the 2024 season at Flintfields Horse Park, Accelerate the Care was donated $8,033 dollars from ticket proceeds on Sunday.
As a prelude to the American Gold Cup, Ireland’s Conor Swail and Vital Chance (Diamant de Semilly x Rivage du Poncel), owned by Mannon Farm, took the top call in the $32,000 CSI5* Winning Round. From the 10 that returned for the second round, Swail laid down a double-clear performance and set the winning time of 41.83 seconds. Following in second was Mclain Ward (USA) and Quimi del Maset, owned by Sport Four USA LLC, who finished clear in 43.18 seconds. Third went to Abdulrahman Alrajhi (KSA) and Iniesta V, owned by the Saudi Arabian Equestrian Federation, finishing close behind in 43.51 seconds.
For full results, click here.
Eleanor Hellman and Lilibet Leap to Win $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby
The final day of the 2024 Tournament of Champions welcomed the last of weekly hunter derby offerings throughout the Traverse City Horse Shows season. In the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby Hunt & Go Eleanor Hellman of Franklin, TN, piloted Lilibet, owned by Sabrina Hellman, to victory with a total score of 171 points.
Putting forward a picturesque performance, Hellman handled the questions raised by the hunt & go track with east, and showed off several of the nine-year-old Holsteiner mare’s (by Cascadello I) strong suits. The pair received the highest overall score from the judging panels and remained a comfortable two points ahead of the second-place finisher, who totaled a 169.
“My mom bought this horse about two years ago initially to be for her, but she was a little green,” Hellman explained. “I only started showing her in the middle of the summer. Before that we did a lot together at home and I think that’s why she and I do so well together. We bought her to be a 2’6” horse, but she seems to be liking the derby job.”
While Hellman typically prefers a classic two-round hunter derby style, she added that the day’s course suited her mare in multiple ways.
“Hunt & go courses can be really nice for a green horse like her because they are able to do one round and know they did well,” she stated. “The thing this horse does really well is jump the jumps at an angle while still staying square in the knees and keeping the rails up.”
No stranger to the winner’s circle at Traverse City Horse Shows, Hillary Johnson (Lowell, MI) and Stephanie Battershall’s 14-year-old Holsteiner gelding, Blue Monday (by Cornet Obolen) earned the class’s reserve honor. Audrey Muscari of Germantown, TN, rounded out the top three with a score of 159 aboard her seven-year-old Zangersheide gelding Emerson van de Muelenberg Z (by Emerald van’t Ruytershof).
In addition to winner’s honors, Lilibet was presented with the final Platinum Performance Horse of the Week title for the season.
For full results, please click here.
