Press release from Traverse City Horse Shows

Katie Dinan (USA) had a difficult task ahead of her in Sunday’s $145,100 CSI3* Grand Prix to close the Traverse City Spring Horse Shows, presented by Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel. Not only were the six jump-off contenders ahead of her extremely fast, she also had a surprise rainstorm show up right when it was her turn to bring it home as the last to go.

At the time, Hallie Grimes (USA) led with Chaccato PS, owned by Can We Keep It? LLC, on a time of 39.91 seconds over Anderson Lima’s (BRA) short track. Dinan held second with Dijon Terdoorn Z, making for a repeat situation to the week prior, when she got her first major Sunday grand prix win.

“I thought, let’s just do this; it’s not going to get better,” Dinan explained of how she felt going in the ring. “We have to be really thankful for the amazing footing here. I wasn’t worried about that. It had just started raining and we have great ground here so I knew we’d be fine.”

Making neat turns and letting her 17-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Namelus R x Gerlinus) do his thing over the jumps, Dinan came home in 39.84 seconds. But she didn’t know that when she crossed the timers.

“It was exciting and suspenseful because I came out of the ring and had no idea what place I was in,” Dinan said of the brief loss of power right before her round as a storm moved in. “I was obviously really excited to find out I won. It was close; it was a really fast group of riders so to win against that caliber of rider means a lot to me.”

Taking the win with Brego R’N B and third place with Dijon Terdoorn Z (Diamant de Semilly x Lord Z), both owned by Grant Road Partners, LLC, echoed the result she had during Traverse City Spring II. Grimes claimed second with Chaccato PS (Diablo Blanco x Argeliths Stakkato).

Giving her extra confidence in the pouring rain, Brego R’N B is a trusted partner for Dinan through the highest levels, so she knew he was up for the challenge. “I tried to not focus on everything going on around me and just get the jump-off done,” she said. “It’s a real tribute to Brego who’s so brave and so game. He has such a big stride and I’m usually holding him back. I think he really loves it in the jump-off when he can finally go.”

“I love Traverse City,” she said of her time spent in Northern Michigan. “It’s a great town. There are some great restaurants. We went to Farm Club both Saturday nights before the [Sunday] Grand Prix. After we won last Sunday my team agreed to go back this week. So now we’re going to be Farm Club regulars. 

“We’re here to focus on the show but you can enjoy being in a nice town and being by the water,” Dinan continued. “And that the people in the town are more excited about the horse show and coming here. It’s always nice when the horse show is embraced by the community.”

Coming off an incredible two weeks, Dinan could not be more pleased. “I’m super happy for my horses; they deserve it,” she said. “I’m really happy for my team. Consistency is something I really strive for and I’m really happy for these two weeks.”

At the end of the day, Dinan recognizes she wouldn’t have achieved either win without the team behind her. “My coach, Beat Mandli (SUI), has trained me for almost 10 years now, and he still is patient with me. Lou who grooms Brego and Dijon and our other groom Kelly. Everyone who does the sport knows it’s a huge team effort and it wouldn’t be here without them and my parents who are my biggest supporters.”