Eventing Day: Amy Tryon...

Amy and Woodstock, RK3DE, 2006

I've watched Amy Tryon ride for years. She was always high on the radar...

There were some very great times during the Olympic and WEG years when Amy and POGGIO II well-represented not only the USA, but all we arm-chair Eventers who only dream of reaching that level of competition. It seemed she was at her happiest then. She also went through some painful times -- as do we all. She toughed it out and continued doing what she loved - very well.

I saw Amy two weeks ago at Galway Downs. It's unusual for me to be on the west coast at a horse trials, so it was nice to see familiar faces out there -- like Amy's. She was zipping back and forth between her horse's stables and her student's stabling. I bet she rode her little scooter 100 miles in the park that weekend. But she was her usual self. Quiet, driven, focused on what she needed to do. She smiled and waved, chatted a moment or two, but she had her agenda and that was her focus. She loved what she was doing.

Amy was a pleasure to watch on the cross-country course, in stadium, and in the dressage ring...

In dressage, she assumed a quiet softness that helped her make the most of any horse she was on.

On XC, she was all strength and determination. The focus on her horse was visible in every image and obvious in her results. She was a true Eventer.

Her stadium was marked by it's accuracy and precision.

I'd like to tell her family how much we in the Evening world will miss Amy. I can't do that personally, so I'll just say it here.

The last time I saw Amy, she was mounted -- heading out towards the start-box to ride cross-country. She smiled and gave a little wave. Thank you Amy, for all the great rides...