CO Mayo’s Cormac Hanley won the two-star $70,000 Core Specialty Equine Grand Prix at Tyron International in North Carolina, USA last Sunday. In the seven-horse jump-off, Hanley scored victory in a time of 34.80 seconds aboard Heathman Farm LLC’s Santiago VH Netehof.

It was the eight-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding’s first FEI win. “He has been a fantastic horse and is in great form this year. He stepped up to the FEI division in June, and he’s placed in almost every ranking class he’s done,” Hanley said.

“The first round was actually very difficult,” he added. “The standard here is very, very high. The designer had to build a big course. My horse, thankfully, handled it beautifully.”