We are getting ready for the first of the Grand Oaks Triple Crown Eventing Series 2020. See you at the Grand Oaks this Saturday Jan 18 and 19#eventing
Posted by The Grand Oaks Resort on Monday, January 13, 2020
The Florida winter eventing circuit is already cranking up, with Majestic Oaks H.T. ringing in the new calendar year last weekend and Grand Oaks H.T. underway this weekend.
The Weirsdale, Florida event boasts a hearty field of 200 entries contesting Starter through Prelim levels. It’s the first of three USEA recognized events the venue will host this year, the others being held Nov. 7-8 and Nov. 21-22. The event is generously offering a $10,000 Triple Crown series to the top-scoring horse/rider combination in two out of three of its 2020 horse trials.
Caroline Martin will once again be the busiest rider of the weekend, as she was at Majestic Oaks. She has 10 horses running, including Cheranimo with whom she won Open Prelim last weekend. Nobody else comes close to 10, but a handful of others have four rides — plenty enough to keep your hands full at a two-day event: Hallie Coon, Alexa Ehlers, Jacob Fletcher, Liz Halliday-Sharp and Alex O’Neal.
Dressage begins on Saturday at 8 a.m followed by show jumping beginning at 10. Chris Barnard’s show jumping course on the grass derby field provides plenty of atmosphere; Clayton Fredericks’ course, built by the dream team of Tyson Rementer and Levi Ryckewaert, is beautifully presented. The course offers quite a bit of terrain, which is a rare find in Florida and a fantastic opportunity to build fitness early in the season.
In addition to hosting horse shows, weddings and events, Grand Oaks is a resort featuring an RV park and 18 homes and cottages for rent (some with barns attached!) and a clubhouse, with amenities including a restaurant, The Bistro; Player’s Club Lounge, with weekend entertainment; and a coffee shop. Recreation includes indoor pickleball courts, fishing, croquet, a golf putting green, 7 miles of walking and bicycling paths, and a salon and massage therapist. Stalls and paddocks are available, and the venue also boasts the area’s largest covered arena (170′ x 300′). Can we all just move in for the winter, please?!
Will we see you there? If you’re going to be in the area but not riding, Grand Oaks could use a few more volunteers! You can sign up at Eventing Volunteers.
Best of luck to all competitors this weekend! Go Eventing.
Grand Oaks H.T. [Website] [Entry Status] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]
