Avery Glynn Gives it her All in R.W. Mutch Equitation Championship
Avery Glynn wanted to end her Desert Circuit with a bang, and that she did. Saturday evening of Desert Circuit IX, she commanded the R.W. Mutch Equitation Championship, sponsored by Hayutin.
Glynn, 18, sees this accomplishment right up there with some of her greatest successes as a junior rider thus far. “I would definitely put it up there with the Ronnie Mutch trophy at Devon and winning the Hampton Classic Equitation Championship last year,” she remarked. “I have a special appreciation for this class though because the last time I did it I was a lot younger and a lot greener. This class was my enemy, so my last junior year I was pulling out all the stops. I’m really excited it went so well.”
In round one, Glynn laid it down over Joey Rycroft’s course with scores of 91 and 89 from the two panels of judges, taking an early lead. She and Zeren, owned by Mackenzie Greer, returned last in round two, a jumper-style course, and went above and beyond, earning scores of 96 and 92 for a two-round total of 369, leading the way by 15 points. Glynn captured the win with no additional testing.
Second-place honors went to Zoe Wolf and Catoon, who shot up the leaderboard with a score of 354 overall, while third place was awarded to Audrey Carmody and Colany 9 with a 346.5 final score.
“I felt like this was a course where I could go in and be bold,” she said of the round-two track. “I thought I could do the leave-outs in places and everything would flow nicely. They set a triple-bar as fence one which I like because you can really push up to the base of it. I picked up a gallop and kept it through the entire course. Everything just flowed nicely off of that.”
The R.W. Mutch Equitation Championship stands out among the equitation finals because riders may not consult their trainers or any professional for the duration of the class. Without their phones or any outside assistance, riders are on their own – still able to chat amongst themselves – to walk the course, warm up, and perform.
“I think it gives me time to focus and I can think to myself,” Glynn said of the independence the championship format offers. “I’m used to figuring out things for myself and I think it’s a great practice for everyone. It’s great for anyone who wants to be a professional rider. My parents are trainers so I think they’ve done a good job setting me up for classes like this.”
Zeren is a relatively new ride for Glynn, but he’s not a stranger to her, with experience on both coasts and at the championship level.
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