Tryon Summer 4 Derby Results: Tryon Summer Series presented by The Farm House
Liza Boyd and Ondine D’Orleans Top $20,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby
Ceyda Sezer and New Beginnings Emerge Victorious in $5,000 USHJA Open National Hunter Derby
Alston McLane and Star Struck are Champions in $5,000 USHJA Junior/Amateur National Hunter Derby
For Immediate Release
Leyla Caynak and Sarah Madden Taylor for Tryon International
Mill Spring, NC - July 4, 2025 - Friday afternoon, 16 pairs took to the Tryon Stadium for the $20,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby. Receiving top honors with a total two-round score of 382 was Liza Boyd (USA) aboard Finally Farm LLC’s Ondine D’Orleans. Posting the second highest combined score of 374.25 was Josh Dolan (USA) aboard Something Blue (Carambole x Special BP), the 2014 Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Meg Robinson. Front Page (Vigo D’Arsouilles x Cartagena Indias Ecaussinnes), the 2014 Belgian Warmblood gelding owned by Cynthia Sulzberger and ridden by Colin Syquia (PHI), earned third place with an official score of 372.
Liza Boyd and Ondine D’Orleans
©Sarah Sturgis for Natalie Suto Photography
Boyd and the 2014 Belgian Warmblood mare (Vigo D’Arsouilles x Coco Chanel Z) posted a handy round score of 200 over the Andy Christiansen course design, and she reflected that multiple weeks of preparation culminated in the perfect performance. “We're always planning, like a couple weeks in advance for a class. Last week I brought her here, and we did a 1.0m jumper class and a ticketed jumper warm-up, just sort of feeling like we were in the atmosphere and checking where we were.
“This week,” Boyd continued, “we did the 3’6 Performance Hunters, and actually got a 55 in one of the rounds I trained on her. You can’t ask these High Performance horses to peak every single class, similarly to how the winner of the Grand Prix probably isn’t trying to win the 1.30m class. So, that was our strategy, to train her a little bit yesterday, and then try to peak today. It’s nice when a plan works!”
Josh Dolan and Something Blue
©Trinity Keterer for Natalie Suto Photography
Reviewing the course, Boyd noted that Tryon International’s caliber of course design makes the venue ideal for preparing for Derby Finals, and that her horse’s heart was displayed throughout the track. “Andy [Christiansen] does a great job. I think that Tryon always gets great course designers, and this is such good preparation for Derby Finals. It was a good, good cast of horses.
“It's kind of fun when you see these horses that were really bred to jump 1.60m. They have all the power and scope, and you needed power and scope today in the handy, out of the in and out, off the rollback, and elsewhere. Ondine helped me a bit there,” Boyd acknowledged. “I have to say, a good horse helps their riders, and when you need her to dig in, she definitely covered up a little bit of a weakness I had there, and took good care of me, because I probably could have used a little bit more leg for the back pole. She'll get extra carrots tonight!”
Colin Syquia and Front Page
©Trinity Keterer for Natalie Suto Photography
Boyd emphasized that her family loves coming to Tryon, exploring the region and enjoying all the venue has to offer. “We love it here. The restaurants are great. My girls can run around. We stay in the campers, and our clients stay in the cabins. On Monday, we actually went to The Biltmore and saw the King Tut exhibit. We frequently go to Landrum, Tryon… There are just so many great things to do in this area, let alone all the shops at the horse show itself. We couldn't be happier to be here,” she emphasized. “JP Godard does an excellent job, and I feel really prepared for Derby Finals. I appreciate some good money classes for the Hunters, where we're highlighted and seen.”
Up next, Boyd will head to the Netherlands to compete at the Global Hunter Challenge with MTM Crossed My Mind. “I’m very excited to see Europe with Hunters!” she concluded.
Liza Boyd and Ondine D’Orleans in their presentation ceremony.
©Trinity Keterer for Natalie Suto Photography
For full results from the $20,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby, click here.
Ceyda Sezer and New Beginnings Emerge Victorious in $5,000 USHJA Open National Hunter Derby
Completing a Hunt & Go format during the $5,000 USHJA Open National Hunter Derby, 17 riders and their mounts toured the Derby Field course designed by Andy Christiansen, with the top three combinations scoring within 0.5 points of each other. Ceyda Sezer (Roswell, GA) and her own New Beginnings (Prince van de Wolfsakker x Doreen van het Lindehof) emerged victorious on a total score of 176.5. Sarah Hellman’s 2008 Holsteiner gelding, Not to Worry (Casall x Flora VI), and Tiffany Cambria (Upperville, VA) combined for a score of 176.25 and the Reserve Honors title. Completing the podium with their two-round score of 176 was Colin Syquia (Wellington, FL) and the 2019 Selle Francais gelding Jasper de la Tour (Dollar du Rouet x Hymne van Spieveld), owned by Constance Hunter.
Ceyda Sezer and New Beginnings
©Trinity Keterer for Natalie Suto Photography
Sezer and the 2106 Belgian Warmblood gelding have a special bond, she shared. “Magic [New Beginnings] is really special to me. I imported him as a five year old, and I've been bringing him up through the ranks, and our goals are to step into the international derbies soon.” Their win was a big one for them, she added. “This is our first win together! We've been second a handful of times, so this one meant a lot, as it was very competitive. There were a lot of really beautiful horse-and-rider combinations out there.”
Tiffany Cambria and Not to Worry
©Trinity Keterer for Natalie Suto Photography
With only a .25 score difference between top and reserve Honors, Sezer decided to stick with her plan of riding a good canter rhythm from start to finish. Explaining her first round, she said, “I thought the course was beautifully designed to be a really nice hunt, and it flows really nicely. My plan was just to have a good canter from the beginning and just keep that nice rhythm throughout.”
Utilizing their rhythm as their advantage for a winning round, Sezer revealed, “I really thought the rhythm was our edge. I just kind of committed to the canter that I had, and really tried to not change that while giving him the space that he needed to be able to do the turns on the grass.” She added, “Magic just loves the field and feels very comfortable there, and it's just so fun to ride out there, but I just wanted to make sure I was there to support him with a nice rhythm and navigate the turns once he got into the Handy portion.
Colin Syquia and Jasper de la Tour
©Trinity Keterer for Natalie Suto Photography
Speaking to her Tryon experience and the venue’s close proximity to their home farm, Sezer concluded, “We love Tryon, [and so do] my clients, the horses, and my staff. It's only three hours away for us from our home farm, and the horses settle right in. We love the footing and that there's the grass field option. It's just run so beautifully, with a lot of thought given to the customer experience and the comfort of the horses as well!”
For full results from the $5,000 USHJA Open National Hunter Derby, click here.
Alston McLane and Star Struck are Champions in $5,000 USHJA Junior/Amateur National Hunter Derby
Jumping their way across the Derby Field and championing the $5,000 USHJA Junior/Amateur National Hunter Derby was the 2013 Belgian Warmblood gelding, Star Struck, piloted by owner Alston McLane (Birmingham, AL). The duo competed against 14 other mounts, but their 177-point performance earned them the champion title. Completing two phases with a score of 176.5 was RJ Maya (Wellington, FL) aboard Aspenaire (Classic x Quibelle), the 2018 Westphalian gelding owned by Zion Equestrian Group LLC, earning reserve honors. Third place went to Carleigh Carter (Virginia Beach, VA) with her own Bon Voyage (Captain Chancy x Cayetano L), the 2012 Holsteiner gelding, on a combined score of 167.
Alston McLane and Star Struck
©Natalie Suto for Natalie Suto Photography
McLane and Star Struck are a relatively new partnership, she revealed, and Friday marked their third Hunter Derby together. “It went way better than I thought, definitely. This is only my third Derby with him, and I've only had him for a few months, and I couldn't have asked for better. I'm so happy!”
Headed into the handy portion of the Hunt & Go format, continuing straight from the classic round into the Handy test, McLane’s strategy was to maintain her confidence, she shared. “I was just trying to keep doing what I was doing, because so far it was working, just being confident in myself, and it worked out great.”
RJ Maya aboard Aspenaire
©Trinity Keterer for Natalie Suto Photography
Despite being a fresh partnership, McLane noted that her horse is highly attuned to her, as if they’d been together for much longer. “He is so good at listening to me and is so responsive,” she raved. “He knows exactly what distance I'm going to take. He knows me so well.”
Carleigh Carter and Bon Voyage
©Trinity Keterer for Natalie Suto Photography
Currently enjoying a two-week stint at Tryon International, McLane expects to be back again throughout the season at what she described as her favorite show venue: “We're staying here two weeks right now, and we will be back again. I love literally everything here. It's my favorite place to be. It's so fun!”
McLane concluded that her team is a huge part of her success, and thanked them by name. “I want to thank my coaches, Jill Dean and Cooper Dean, and then my awesome groom, Maddie Lee. They all made it happen.”
For full results from the $5,000 USHJA Junior/Amateur National Hunter Derby, click here.
The Tryon Summer Series presented by The Farm House will continue through July 20, and Prize Lists and entry information can be found at www.Tryon.com/compete. Enjoy all your favorite Saturday Night Lights festivities, including Hobby Horse competition presented by Chick-fil-A Forest City, free carousel rides, and pop-up vendors. Join us in the Tryon Stadium at 8:15pm for the $120,000 Fabbri Boots Grand Prix CSI 3* and enjoy watching top horses and riders soar around the course! More details available at www.Tryon.com/snl.
Photos ©Natalie Suto Photography (Trinity Keterer, Sarah Sturgis, and Natalie Suto) as noted) unless otherwise noted. These photos may only be used once, in relation to this press release. Competitors may view and purchase competition photos at www.nataliesutophotography.com. With questions regarding photography at TIEC, contact media@tryon.com.