UPPERVILLE, Va.--JJ Torano, still just 15 years old, won his second and third FEI classes at the Upperville Colt & Horse Show on Thursday and Saturday, June 4 and 6, and he did it on two different horses.
JJ Torano on Lyon 50 (Photo by Cealy Tetley)Torano on Lyon 50 won the $31,500 FEI/CSI4 Upperville Power & Speed Stakes on Thursday afternoon, but in a result that left spectators checking the scoreboard twice, Chloe Reid and Chelsea 179 matched Torano stride for stride, and Toano and Reid both finished clean with identical times to tie for the win.
Competing over FEI course designer Alan Wade’s first international class of the week, both stopped the clock at 29.5 seconds.
McLain Ward on Lilesta GE, a brand new ride, finished third behind Torano and Reid, finishing clean in 30.64.
Torano then won the $31,500 Upperville Speed Stake on Saturday, but this time riding Dora Du Valon.
Torano was clean in 60.96 over Wade's speed course for the win.
Reid on Chelsea 179 was second, almost two seconds back in 62.43, and Stella Wasserman on Myla was third in 62.53.
Torano was also clean on Lyon 50 but finished slower, seventh in 63.89.
"I'M STILL 15, but I'll be 16 on the 10th," said Torano. "I started my partnership with Dora in January, just before I got hurt, so she got some time off then."
Torano broke his collarbone when a horse fell with him in a national grand prix at the Winter Equestrian Festival and missed a few weeks of competition.
"Dora is a really game horse," said Torano. "She's a real winner and very fast. She gave me my first FEI win at Devon."
"I felt like I was pretty fast all the way around," said Torano of his win Saturday.
Torano may be the busiest rider at Upperville, competing successfully in FEI jumpers, national open jumpers, junior/amateur jumpers and hunter classes throughout the weekend.
He also rides for various owners, and while Lyon 50 is owned by North Run, and Dora is owned by the Torano family's Jet Show Stable, other jumpers and hunters are owned by others.
"I'm a bit busy, but it keeps me going," said Torano.
On Friday, the FEI/CSI4* competition came down to fractions of a second, with Ireland’s Philip McGuane on Crislin van den Bosrand Z winning the $62,500 Upperville Welcome Stake.
McGuane won by less than one one‑hundredth of a second (0.01) over Sloane Coles on Ninja JW van de Moerhoeve, who had set the early pace as the second to return in the jump‑off.
Cole's time held through five more trips before McGuane delivered the round that ultimately beat her.
Daniel Bluman of Israel on Hummer Z went first in the jump‑off and finished third, just 0.22 seconds behind Coles in a class that stayed tight from start to finish.
Wade’s course had 10 horses from 37 starters returning for the jump-off, with Bluman clean in 33.97 seconds to take the lead.
Coles of The Plains, Va., was soon the one to beat, bettering Bluman’s jump-off time by a close .22 seconds, finishing in 33.75,and McGaune returned to win the class in 33.74.
