In an exciting conclusion to the $30,000 Texas Children’s Hospital Grand Prix, Jacqueline Ruyle and her horse, Cyramo Z, claimed victory by just 0.004 seconds at the Pin Oak Charity Horse Show.

Ruyle and Cyramo Z were one of eight entries to advance to the April 1 jump-off at the Great Southwest Equestrian Center. As the second pair to return for the Oscar Soberon-designed short course, Ruyle and Cyramo Z blazed across the finish in 37.423 seconds.

Arizona’s Allison Kroff and her horse T-Quick Hurricane Z, owned by TC Sport Horses LLC, flew through the finish in a nearly identical time of 37.427 seconds to take second place. Finishing in third place were Martien Van Der Hoeven and her horse Mefisto Il Mondo, owned by Brieanne Dofort.

“It’s awesome.” Ruyle said. “My family’s here. My brother’s here, and his new wife is here. It’s really cool because my family can just drive in and watch; people that really haven’t seen me compete before can watch.”

Saturday night marked Ruyle and Cyramo Z’s second Pin Oak grand prix victory in as many years. The duo first topped the $50,000 Hildebrand Fund Grand Prix in 2022. Since that inaugural Pin Oak grand prix victory, Ruyle and Cyramo Z’s winning resume has grown. In July 2022, they earned their first FEI win, and they have since racked up several others.

“[Cyramo Z] is so fast and so brave,” Ruyle said of the horse. “We had a very successful winter circuit in Wellington. We won almost every class we entered – we won the welcome, we won the prix, we won the next welcome. Actually, I just found out today that I had the fastest jump-off time of all the WEF 2023 circuit, so that was a huge accomplishment.”

With Ruyle, Kroff and Van Der Hoeven rounding out the top three, fourth place went to Maddie Chenoweth on Navaro Van’t Verahof, owned by Triple C Equine LLC. Taking fifth place were Tessa Downey and Isabelle, owned by Horse Orchard LLC. As the highest-placed under-25-year-old rider, 17-year-old Downey also earned the win in the $10,000 U25 Grand Prix, sponsored by American National and held concurrently with Saturday night’s featured class. For full results of the $30,000 Texas Children’s Hospital Grand Prix, visit the website HorseShowsOnline.com.

Running through April 16 at the Great Southwest Equestrian Center in Katy, the 77th Pin Oak Charity Horse Show features top hunter, jumper and equitation competition while benefitting the Texas Children’s Hospital. For more information, visit the website PinOak.org.