Traverse City, MI - Saturday night's all right for riding, especially if you're a member of the talented Genn family. In tonight's $30,000 D-BRAIDER Cherry Capital Classic Open Jumper Grand Prix at Horse Shows by the Bay, Ryan Genn made winning a family affair by taking home the prestigious top honors. Genn's father, Wilhelm Genn, won last week's Grand Prix on the same horse Ryan Genn rode this evening, the fast and focused Marlo. Both father Wilhelm and son Ryan had two clear rounds tonight, a feat matched by only one other rider in the large class of 28 contenders. Lisa Goldman and Morocco also had two fantastic rounds, ultimately finishing in second place. Warm temperatures that quickly cooled off into the evening hours made for an enjoyable night for spectators, who swarmed the Grand Prix ring to catch the final Horse Shows by the Bay Open Jumper Grand Prix.

Prior to today's big event, the Hunter/Jumper Association of Michigan held their medal finals in the Grand Prix ring. Following these well-attended equitation classes, the OVATION Leading Jumper Rider award was presented to Wilhelm Genn for his outstanding performance in the jumper ring, having accumulated the most points throughout series. "It always means a lot," commented Genn upon receiving his award, "because it means you were consistent, and that's our goal - that we're consistent, and that our horses jump well during the whole time that we're here." The Genns' winning consistency was certainly on display tonight, as son Ryan won his first grand prix on Marlo, the gray mare who prevailed last week with Wilhelm. Tonight, Wilhelm Genn also came in an impressive third on Copyright 3. Both horses are owned by Wilhelm Genn.

Wilhelm and Copyright 3 were the first horse and rider on the course, and got the large crowd fired-up by going quickly and cleanly through designer J.P. Godard's demanding course. The crowd grew even more enthusiastic when Lisa Goldman and her own Morocco took to the course and turned in an even faster clean first round. Despite these two initial successes, though, tonight's course tripped-up most of the other participating horses and riders. There was no shortage of dramatic moments: two broken rails, downed poles on a variety of fence types, several near-falls, and a bevy of spirited bucks made for an intense competition. There were also a few crowd favorites that kept fans smiling throughout the event. Rider Lacey Gilbertson celebrated her eighteenth birthday today, and the scoreboard lit up with balloons to wish her well. Gilbertson rode Namos, owned by Gilbertson, in tonight's Grand Prix. Also delighting the crowd was the relatively petite Tango, ridden by owner Sandra Dalman This small but capable jumper demonstrated immense power and agility in traversing Godard's course, really putting the "show" in "show jumping."

The event-filled evening saw only six make it to the jump-off round, including two Genns and a Goldman. Also coming back for a shot at the top prize was Laura Linback and Whittaker. Charles Jacobs and Leap of Joy, owned by Deeridge Farms, and Linback again on Uppsala. The jump-off saw a repeat of sorts in its first two on the course, as Wilhelm Genn and Copyright 3 smoothly and confidently nailed each obstacle. At 43.094 seconds their time appeared tough to beat, but Goldman and Morocco blazed through in a fiery 40.128 seconds, generating wild applause in the process. Both Linbeck and Jacobs knocked just a single rail, adding more suspense to the dramatic night. Genn and Marlo added to the excitement by unassumingly dominating the second round. They turned in an amazing jump-off time of 39.471 seconds, with both horse and rider making the whole feat look easy.

"It feels amazing," said Ryan Genn after tonight's big win, "especially because after he (Wilhelm) had won last week on the horse I was riding, everyone was telling me that was a tought act to follow. So this week I was probably the most nervous going into a grand prix that I had ever been. It all came up pretty perfectly, though. I came in on a great gallop and I caught fence one, it was right there, and I knew if I caught everything like that I had a good chance of winning. Fence two came up beautiful, three came up beautiful, and I took the inside turn. Everything just came up perfectly for us tonight, and Marlo is amazing. In the ring, she's perfect: really intense, always focused, and always ready to go to the next jump. She's always right there with you. She rides beautifully, and she's probably the most fun horse I've ever ridden."

The Genns purchased Marlo this past winter, and Ryan Genn rode her competitively for the first time during the Gulfport Winter Series. To prepare for such an intense jump-off, Genn said "In the warm up, we don't do as many jumps. We raise the jumps a little quicker, and I then I start to come off a little more pace and I do some shorter turns just so she knows what we're doing, and that's pretty much it." The Genns have been here at Horse Shows by the Bay since Series II, and this is Ryan's first time as a competitor. "We heard a lot of really good things about Horse Shows by the Bay," he remarked. "We heard that it was beautiful and had amazing new footing. Everything about it has been great, we love it here."

Charles Jacobs and Leap of Joy came in fourth in tonight's event, while Laura Linback and Whittaker earned the fifth place position. Linback also came in sixth aboard Uppsala. Seventh place went to Jacobs again on Flaming Star, owned by CMJ Sporthorse, LLC. Wilhelm Genn made another appearance in eighth place on his own Happy Z, while Scott Lenkart and Impulsive came in ninth. Theo Genn finished both tenth and eleventh on L'etoile, of The L'etoile Group and Paradox of Thomas Bruinsma, respectively. Blythe Marano, winner during Series I, rounded out the top twelve on Askaban, owned by Riverview Farm, LLC.

Tonight's class was sponsored by Karin Flint, who owns Flintfields Horse Park and Flintwoode Farms LLC. "Traverse City is such a nice location. They have enough hotels, they have enough activities for people to do after the horse shows. If, for example, only one member of the family rides but the whole family wants to take a vacation, they can rent a cottage or rent a boat and still horse show at the same time. Since we own this location, we have the opportunity to keep improving on it. I feel very blessed to have found this piece of property, because nobody can build on it. No developments can build on either side, so it's going to remain open and beautiful like it is. So to have a beautiful piece of land like this, and then to have fun developing it, has just been a dream come true for me."

One of the major developments recently completed has been the installation of new footing in the Grand Prix ring and the two main hunter rings. "It was an adventure, and I just loved the way it turned out," noted Flint of the new footing in the Grand Prix ring, an Ebb & Flow synthetic sand mix. "I did an awful lot of research. I called Europe. I texted Europe. I contacted anyone I could about horse show footing. I went to the World Games and talked to everyone there, and everyone who has got one of these rings said 'you really need to do the Ebb and Flow ring for the long haul.' There are five miles of pipes between these rings, and the water is constantly re-circulating. What we've tried to do here is be as green as we can. All of our trash is recycled, and the manure is completely recycled into fertilizer. I'm also currently talking to two biomass generator people about converting some of the waste. We're trying to stay as 'pure Michigan' as we can."

Flint continued, "Dave (Steffee) built us a beautiful field behind the Grand Prix ring using materials that we used in installing the new footing, and we now have a 5-acre field that we're letting grow. It's all Kentucky bluegrass, and we're hoping to have some large derbies out there, or we could have a polo match out there, or on a day like today when the grass is perfect, we could even say 'today the Grand Prix is on the grass,' and we can just pick up the bleachers and go." Flint added of the new footing, "I just hope that everybody is happy and that everybody is safe, and that it's good for the horses, and that everybody has fun. I just want all the families and the people who come here to have fun."

Safety and fun, said Flint, are two of Flintfields' biggest assets as a summer show destination. "It's so quiet at night, all you hear are crickets," laughed Flint. "You can also hear the horses snoring. Even though we have several night people, I sometimes walk my dog around at night and it makes me so happy to see that the horses are really at rest. Plus, the riders don't have to worry; they're not in the city, and there's little traffic. Developing these facilities has been a wonderful labor of love." In addition to being the owner of scenic Flintfields Horse Park, Karin Flint also developed the prototype for the D-BRAIDER grooming tool, the namesake of tonight's event. This evening's class also featured a Meijer-sponsored CANTER fundraiser and exhibitor party, inviting spectators to relax, refresh, and purchase raffle tickets for a good cause.

In today's other jumper news, division champions and reserve champions were awarded in several categories. In the High Junior/Amateur-Owner division, Erin Haas earned champion honors on Contino 46 of North Face Farm. Reserve champion went to Tracey Weinberg on her own Wild Card, and Ryan Genn on Wilhelm Genn's Marlo. The Low Junior/Amateur-Owner champion was Kimberly Seay on her own Belvedere, while Tracey Weinberg rode her own Linda Z into the reserve spot. Also earning reserve honors in this division was Hannah Olson on Cory Olson's Billy the Kid. The Adult Jumper champion was Lisa Baker on King Tobias, owned by Baker. Lauren Keck and Galoupard, owned by Melissa Hart, garnered the reserve title. Finally, in the Children's Jumper division, Kady Abrahamson continued her success by winning both champion and reserve champion honors on her own Irish Hunt and Chalvino Z, respectively.

On Sunday, July 31, the final day of competition at Horse Shows by the Bay 2011, notable events the $10,000 Children's/Adult Jumper Prix and VIP Sponsor Luncheon, as well as the $10,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Prix. There will also be a $5,000 Low Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic and a $2,500 Modified Child/Adult Jumper Classic. In the hunter ring, there will be a $2,000 Amateur-Owner Hunter Classic and a $1,000 Adult Hunter Classic. Over half a million dollars in prize money will be awarded by the conclusion of this month-long celebration of equestrian athletes.

For more information or to view schedules, please visit www.horseshowsbythebay.com or call 231-267-3700.