Devin Ryan and Eddie Blue Shine in 2017 American Gold Cup CSI4*-W – Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping-New York
with equinista, LA Sokolowski-Pomeroy
It was everything a World Cup grand prix should be — bold, beautiful, tears-in-the-eyes and heart-in-the-mouth to watch – and for LI Show Jumpers LLC’s Devin Ryan and eight-year-old grey KWPN (Zirocco Blue VDL) gelding Eddie Blue, theirs to win. 
Two double clears and a 37.75-second jump-off on Sunday afternoon, September 17, in the $216,000 American Gold Cup CSI4*-W Old Salem Farm, New York stop on the Longines FEI World Cup Jumping tour, only begins to tell the story. The course design team of Alan Wade and Nigel Jess presented a fair yet challenging track that whittled an international (Argentina, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Mexico and the USA) field of nearly forty down to four: Devin Ryan and Eddie Blue, Mario Deslauriers and Bardolina, McLain Ward on HH Callas, and Jack Towell on Lucifer V.
It’s a safe bet, given the caliber of company, that the pair were not presumed favourites, but after Ward’s clean and aggressive go still failed to catch their time, Towell’s smooth effort incurred a time fault, and Deslauriers’ young mare (age eight like Eddie Blue) unseated her rider and briefly stopped hearts by galloping, reins amok, past spectators down the long side of the field until safely captured by top-hatted ringmaster Alan Keeley, it was a performance by the World Cup-qualifying tyros that proved absolutely golden.
Also recognized on Sunday, with the Old Salem Farm Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, was Sandra Ruiz. For the past 33 years, the two-time (1979, 1993) Pan American Games squad rider has co-owned and operated Sanmar Farm alongside Peggy Jones in Culpeper, Virginia, and in 2015, was inducted into the Virginia Horse Show Association Hall of Fame. Presenting the award was its founder and Old Salem Farm trainer Frank Madden, joined by OSF manager Alan Bietsch, and Michael Morrissey, president of Morrissey Management Group.
Elite Equestrian magazine was a proud media sponsor of the American Gold Cup on the 2017 Longines FEI World Cup Jumping series…………………….
LA Sokolowski-Pomeroy, the Original Equinista
2017 AHP Chris Brune Spirit Award recipient
4x American Horse Publications Media Awards (2010, 2011, 2016,2017) winner, 8x finalist since 2008
