Tessa Downey Rises to 2023 USHJA Gladstone Cup Equitation Classic - East, Presented by Intermont Equestrian at Emory & Henry College Win

Traverse City, Mich.—June 29, 2023—The 19th annual USHJA Gladstone Cup Equitation Classic - East, presented by Intermont Equestrian at Emory & Henry College, saw Tessa Downey lead the victory gallop aboard HH Moonshine at Traverse City Horse Shows' Flintfields Horse Park. Held on Wednesday, June 28 ahead of a week of top Junior competition in Michigan, Downey jumped 11 places across three rounds to take the coveted Classic win.

At the conclusion of 107 horse-and-rider combinations competing in the Classic Hunter Style Round, Downey, of Houston, Texas, sat twelfth on the leaderboard with her own HH Moonshine. With a score of 86.35, the duo was securely above the Handy Hunter Round cutoff score of 80 but more than five points off of leader Carlee McCutcheon.

Judges Robin Rost Brown and Andrea Wells saw the top 38 competitors return for the Handy Hunter Round, all of whom were sitting within 12 points of each other. Featuring a demanding course that included trot and hand gallop fences, the second round stood to separate the top six to return for the Final Round, and Downey's handy track did just that. The Zone 7 rider posted a 93, the highest score of the class and a secure lead heading into the final on a two-round total of 179.25.

"My goal was to win this Equitation championship, so I really rode to win and I was instructed to 'go as tight as you can and take all the tight turns.' So for example, there was an outside or inside option to jump one. I chose the inside, spookier option and I think that decision really paid off because it really set the mark for the rest of the class," Downey said.

Downey, Eve Westfall, McCutcheon, Olivia Sweetnam, Blythe Goguen and Caroline Signorino made up the top six that would swap horses and return for the Final Round of the Classic. Taking to the ring in reverse order, impressive rounds from the first five put the pressure on Downey, who returned aboard Westfall's mount Kasteel WS. Despite her unfamiliar mount, Downey held on to her lead and collected a $5,000 scholarship to Intermont Equestrian at Emory & Henry College, a gift certificate from CWD, a cooler and a keeper trophy. 

"I ride with Peter Pletcher and Ken and Emily Smith at Ashland Farms. Ashland is famous for their sales business, so I've had a lot of opportunities to ride many different animals— green, seasoned, all the kinds—so all the credit to Ken, Emily and Peter for putting me on animals and just making me comfortable in that scenario," she said.

McCutcheon, of Aubrey, Texas, finished second with Kennedy McCaulley's Chacco Star. After taking an early lead in the First Round with a 92, the pair added an 83.75 in the Handy Round to sit third on 175.75. She returned in the Final Round with Sweetnam's Ustica to move up one spot and collect the reserve ribbon and an Essex Classics gift certificate. At the conclusion of the class, Chacco Star was named Best Equitation Horse by the judges.

Finishing in third was Westfall, of Boulder, Colorado. She and Trotting West Equestrian LLC's, Kasteel WS began the day with the other of the two scores in the 90s in the First Round, close to McCutcheon's lead. A Second Round score of 86.25 kept the duo in second place with a 176.25 before Westfall entered the Final Round on Downey's mount to end in third.

Sweetnam, of Wellington, Florida, captured fourth, followed by Goguen, of Lexington, Kentucky in fifth. Signorino, of Basking Ridge, New Jersey, rounded out the top six. Each, along with the rest of the top 10, received sashes and saddle pads from USHJA.

The USHJA Gladstone Cup Equitation Classic, presented by Intermont Equestrian at Emory & Henry College, is a three-round class that combines the precision of equitation and handiness of hunters over a course set at 3'6". Held during the East and West Coast Adequan/USEF Junior Hunter National Championships, the Gladstone Cup is open to any rider that is an Active USHJA junior member at the time of the competition and has won a USEF Hunter Seat Medal, ASPCA Maclay, USEF Show Jumping Talent Search, either phase of WIHS Equitation Classic at a National or Premier show or Overall WIHS Equitation Classic during the qualifying year. This year's West Coast competition will take place at Blenheim EquiSports in San Juan Capistrano, California, on July 23.

New in 2023, the USHJA Gladstone Cup Equitation Classic for Amateurs will debut on the West Coast on July 26 during the Blenheim Racing Festival in San Juan Capistrano, California. The East Coast Classic for Amateurs will be held during HITS on the Hudson VIII, September 6-9 in Saugerties, New York.

The USHJA sends special thanks to the entire Traverse City Horse Shows team and Morrissey Management Group for hosting the Classic. The USHJA also thanks Official Sponsors CWD, Nutrena, and Parlanti; Presenting Sponsor Intermont Equestrian at Emory & Henry College; and Award Sponsors Essex Classics.

For more information about the USHJA Gladstone Cup Equitation Classic, presented by Intermont Equestrian at Emory & Henry College, visit ushja.org/Gladstone.

Photos by Andrew Ryback Photography

USHJA Gladstone Cup Equitation Classic - East, Presented by Intermont Equestrian at Emory & Henry College Results

Rider | Horse | Trainer
Round 1 | Round 2 | Two-Round Score*
*The Final Round was not scored.

1. Tessa Downey | HH Moonshine | Peter Pletcher, Ken and Emily Smith
86.35 | 93 | 179.35

2. Carlee McCutcheon | Chacco Star | Max Amaya
92 | 83.75 | 175.75

3. Eve Westfall | Kasteel WS | Stacia Madden
90 | 86.25 | 176.25

4. Olivia Sweetnam | Ustica | Allison Sweetnam
89 | 84.75 | 173.75

5. Blythe Goguen | Class Act | Kelly Goguen
87.65 | 85.5 | 173.15

6. Caroline Signorino | Gerardus | Brendan Williams
87 | 85.25 | 172.25