Fourteen-year-old JJ Torano of Wellington, FL, was the first to win a blue ribbon in the Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel International Ring on the final day of week four at the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival, presented by B&D Builders.
After scoring his first grand prix win earlier in the week, Torano guided Favorite Edition Z to top call in the coveted Dudley B. Smith Equitation Championship on Sunday.
“I was definitely feeling good after winning the grand prix on Friday, and I always feel like I have a good chance at winning if I’m riding him,” detailed Torano of The Lucky Four Group’s 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding, Favorite Edition Z (by Favorit Ask). “He went great for me—he has been foot perfect since I’ve had him. I can’t think of anything he hasn’t done for me since starting our partnership.”
The class consisted of three challenging rounds of competition judged by Tammy Provost and Samantha Schaefer. After two jumping rounds, the top three in the standings were invited back for a test over Andy Christiansen’s (ECU) track that included a trot fence, hand gallop, halt and counter canter questions. Torano delivered consistently across all three rounds, returning in second place for the final test.
“After the trot jump in the test, I landed the correct lead and did a flying change to the counterlead on the inside turn, I think that’s what really put me on top today,” Torano explained of his winning round. “We practiced a lot of things that could be in the test in the warm-up, but most importantly John [Brennan] and Missy [Clark] told me not to go crazy with it. They said to play it semi-safe going back in second place, so I did just as much as I needed, and it worked out.”
Torano is starting an already successful equitation career under the direction of Brennan and Clark’s North Run based in Vermont, alongside Torano’s father and U.S. grand prix rider, Jimmy, of JET Show Stables based in Florida.
At the completion of the test, Las Vegas, NV, native Ariana Marnell was named in third aboard North Run’s 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, Ironman (by Vittorio). Schuyler Dayner of Odessa, FL, who had been leading at the beginning of the test, accepted the second-place ribbon on Don Stewart’s nine-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding, Talk (by Thunder vd Zuuthoeve), leaving JJ to take home the blue ribbon.
For JJ, the class marks what he hopes is just the start of a prestigious equitation career with Favorite Edition Z as he looks towards indoors and various equitation finals in the fall. Competition will resume at the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival on Wednesday as elite young riders from across the globe gear up for another exciting year of the FEI North American Youth Championships.
For full results, click here.
