Addington, Gamboa, Ruyle and Tresten Named 2023 Faces of Pin Oak
Each year, a select group of riders is chosen to represent the Pin Oak Charity Horse Show as the “Faces of Pin Oak.” For 2023, that honor and distinction has been given to hunter/jumper riders Peyton Addington, Nicolas Gamboa and Jacqueline Ruyle and Saddlebred competitor Chris Tresten.
“Chris Tresten is a top, Houston-based Saddlebred rider and a past Pin Oak president, and all three of the 2023 hunter/jumper Faces of Pin Oak are talented young riders who had success here this year and who, in addition to displaying good horsemanship, are great examples of sportsmanship and positive attitudes,” said Amy Uniss-Coleman, general manager of the Great Southwest Equestrian Center (GSEC), home to the Pin Oak Charity Horse Show.
During Pin Oak 2022, 17-year-old Addington rode Semi-Automatic C to the win in the Week II $30,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby, topping many professionals more than twice her age. Since then, Addington, who trains with Matt Cyphert and Audrey Norrell at Woodhill Farm in Argyle, TX, has continued to see great results in the hunter and equitation rings, including earning the Zone 7 Junior Hunter 3’6” division championship at GSEC in November.
For Ruyle and Gamboa, their 2022 Pin Oak victories came in the jumper ring, where they both had banner weeks.
Ruyle kicked off the three weeks of Pin Oak with a one-two finish in the $10,000 Welcome Stake aboard Cyramo Z and San Chano, respectively. The following week, Ruyle and Cyramo Z returned to the winners’ circle with a victory in the $50,000 Hildebrand Fund Grand Prix. In the months since, the Houston native, who trains with Bedoya Training Stables, has continued to climb the jumper ranks, earning her first FEI victory this summer, and she looks forward to returning to her “hometown” horse show venue for Pin Oak 2023.
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