Leave it to Megan Jordan to be a back-to-back grand prix victor at the 27th annual Oregon High Desert Classics.

Jordan, aboard 19-year-old warmblood Top Shelf, grabbed first place at Saturday’s $25,000 Sheri Allis Memorial Grand Prix, making the duo undefeated grand prix champions in both weeks of the 2016 Classics.

“At this point in (Top Shelf’s) career,” Jordan said, “I say every time, ‘If this is his last ride then so be it.’ I’m pretty careful with him. I don’t know if I have to be, but I am.”

On a breezy evening at J Bar J Boys Ranch east of Bend, Jordan qualified for the jumpoff round with both Top Shelf and 13-year-old warmblood Atlantis. Atlantis and Jordan finished fourth, completing the course with a time of 39.042 seconds and one jumping fault. Jordan, of Oregon City, came back as the final rider of the evening aboard Top Shelf, who put up a time of 37.622 to the delight of a big crowd of supportive onlookers.

Only five horses qualified for the jumpoff round. Morgan Caplane, of Oakland, California, rode All Shenanigans to second place with a clean round and a time of 39.198, followed by Hugh Mutch, of Redwood City, California, atop Alimit with a time of 38.048 but one jumping fault. Amanda Moore, of Snohomish, Washington, came in fifth on HH Campino, posting a time of 40.723 with a jumping fault.

“I thought the course was harder this week by a margin,” Jordan said. “I thought the second half of the course (in the first round) got significantly less involved. But the first five or six jumps were pretty hairy. So I was surprised five horses qualified, actually.”

Of the field of 22 riders in Saturday’s Grand Prix, 17 were from out of state. According to Mutch, of Redwood City, California, the Oregon High Desert Classics horse show has left an impression that will keep him coming back in the years to come.

“This is a really great show,” Mutch said. “Dianne (Johnson, horse show manager) has been a great friend of mine for years. I see Dianne all the time as she stewards a lot of horse shows. She’s said to me over the years, ‘You should come up here.’ And this year it worked out.”

Mutch said that this is his first time at the High Desert Classics. He has represented the United States at the international level and said that the Bend event has a unique flare.

“I have a feeling the (Oregon High Desert Classics) is on our full-time schedule now,” Mutch said. “This is just a lovely setting. The town is unbelievable. The shopping, the food and the people have been so nice. The fact that I can get done at the show, get into an inner tube and float down the river for two hours without a phone in my hand is great.”

The second and final week of the 2016 Classics concludes today. The $10,000 USHJA International Derby kicks off at 8 a.m. in the grand prix ring and the $2,500 Mini Grand Prix will take place at approximately 2 p.m. Spectators are welcome free of charge.

“This is just a nice show,” Jordan said. “Bend is a nice place and I wish we had more time. People like coming here for a vacation and people like seeing the rivers and the mountains.”