Shane Sweetnam and James Kann Cruz won the $117,000 CSI5* Qualifier on Friday for the 2025 American Gold Cup at Traverse City Show in the US.
Aboard his 2024 Olympic Games mount, Sweetnam topped a 10-horse jump-off set by course designer and fellow Irishman Alan Wade, clocking a winning time of 33.71 seconds..
The US-based Cork-born rider said of his partner, James Kann Cruz,
“We are having a great career together and ‘Gizmo’ is fresh right now, so I wanted to give this class today some respect for $117,000 and try to win it.”
Of his 12-year-old Irish-bred gelding (Kannan x Cruising) owned in partnership with the Gizmo Group, Sweetnam added:
“He’s very sensitive. But if you do the right things, you get a reward for it, so it’s worth it. He feels great and jumped fantastic today, so hopefully we’ll have some luck on Sunday.”
Sweetnam won the American Gold Cup at Traverse City Horse Shows in both 2022 and 2024.
