Michael Morrissey Finds Success on “Home Turf” in the $340,000 American Gold Cup CSI 5*

By Jumper News USA on September 26, 2024

Traverse City, Michigan, USA – September 22, 2024 – Michael Morrissey (USA) was on cloud nine last weekend during the grand finale of the 2024 Traverse City Horse Shows at Flintfields Horse Park, finishing third in the feature class of the week, the $340,000 American Gold Cup CSI 5*.

In front of an enthusiastic crowd he aced the jump-off course designed by Cedric Longis (FRA). Morrissey (USA) climbed atop the podium in third riding Incento S.A., an 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Cardento 933 x Voltaire Pref) owned by Ash Atkinson. The pair is a new match and the American Gold Cup was a lofty goal set just hours prior.

**Shane Sweetnam** (IRL) & **James Kann Cruz**

“I felt like I’ve won the class being on the podium,” said Morrissey after crossing the timers in 44.32 seconds for third. “A couple days ago I wasn’t planning on jumping this class. I wasn’t even planning on jumping a five-star until a couple of weeks ago, and wasn’t riding this horse until three weeks ago, so it’s been a dream.

“My goal was to try to go double-clear and hope that all these fast, top-ten world ranking guys would chase each other and knock the jumps down,” he continued. “Every time we jump bigger, the horse jumps better, so I said we would see what we got. I really wanted to jump the American Gold Cup because it’s a special class for me and my family, and I didn’t expect to be sitting here, but it’s really nice.”