Donna Crookston Dominates a Strong Field in the Advanced Single Horse Division at Tryon

Mill Spring, NC - October 1, 2021 - The Tryon CDE presented by Main Street Insurancehosted combined driving competitors at Tryon International Equestrian Center & Resort (TIEC) September 26-29, featuring three phases of competition over three days. Dressage and Cones phases of competition were hosted in Rings 6/7 at TIEC, while the Marathon competition took place on the White Oak Cross-Country Course. 

Image ©Sharon Packer - Donna Crookston and Viktor with groom navigator Jeff Legg

Donna Crookston (PA) drove to a win in the Advanced Single Horse Division of the Tryon CDE presented by Main Street Insurance, topping the biggest section of competitors at the second-ever fall CDE competition. Crookston took second place in both the Dressage and Marathon phases before dominating Cones competition to finish on a score of 146.70 for the win. In reserve, South Carolina’s Taylor Bradish ended her weekend on a score of 147.67, while third place went to Carrie Ostrowski (KY), who drove to a final score of 158.81 after three phases of competition. 

Crookston was pleased with how the weekend unfolded, particularly since it was her first competition attempt at a new 3* Dressage test. The class was live-streamed on the Tryon network. 

“I’m very, very happy with my horse. Dressage went well, much better than I expected for our first time doing the new 3* canter test. He was very, very good and we ended up second in Dressage. I was very happy with that.”

Crookston also earned reserve honors in the Marathon competition, and she noted that she was thrilled to be just behind Bradish, known for her Marathon performances. 

“On Marathon, he was super. We won three hazards and were second at one of them. He loves to run in the water, so he obviously won those water hazards! I think we were only four points behind Taylor [Bradish], which was quite good, I thought.”

The domination continued in the Cones phase, where Crookston clinched the win in the always challenging course designed by Marc Johnson, FEI course designer. She concluded what she had hoped would be a successful and educational weekend for herself and her horse before challenging the Garden State CDE, hosting the USEF Advanced Single Horse National Championships for 2021.

“I’ve shown here a couple of times now, and this was our first selection trial for next year’s World Championships, but primarily I wanted to get down here to compete for that new 3* test because Garden State is in a few weeks and that’s our national championship.

“Being here has helped me prepare really, really well. The obstacles here are absolutely super, and the footing is fabulous. You couldn’t ask for anything better, so it’s a great place to have the horse come and get a good experience. The stabling is great, too.” Crookston concluded, “The horses seem to be very comfortable here, and everything is very convenient. It’s very nice to be able to come and have everything on-site. Hopefully, we will be able to keep coming down here and using this facility for Driving because it’s just such a great place.”