Chris Talley and Wyeth Clear 5’3″ to Win Bareback Puissance at Great Meadow

Chris Talley and Wyeth. Photo by Cindy Lawler.

The Land Rover Great Meadow International, presented by Adequan®–which, in case you haven’t heard, is the first FEI Eventing Nations Cup™ ever to take place in North America–officially kicked off yesterday with the first horse inspection followed by the opening ceremonies.

The evening’s events included a crowd pleasing bareback puissance competition with Brian O’Connor, Hannah Sue Burnett and Sinead Halpin commentating and the thrilled audience madly cheering the riders with each effort.

Bareback puissances have gained some notoriety at events around the country, and it seems that just like the adrenaline rush of cross country, the riders get hooked on the climbing height of a single vertical. Lainey Ashker and Jolly Good Sport are frequent participants in bareback classes.

We knew it was going to be a brilliant event when this video of Kelsey Roland and Enfield Glen practicing at home showed up on Facebook:

Eleven riders accepted the bareback challenge and in the end it was Chris Talley and Hannah Salazar’s Wyeth who cleared 5’3″ to win the class sponsored by Morningside Training Farm and take home a $2,000 prize. Here’s their awesome winning effort!

Many thanks to Cindy Lawler for sharing her photos of the bareback puissance with us in the gallery below!

Jenni Autry is on the grounds at Great Meadow so stay tuned for her reports throughout the day. Dressage is underway now and remember you can watch live on USEF Network.

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