A Romantic Sunset AEC Course Walk with Eventing Nation

Tyler, Texas at sunset. Tyler, Texas at sunset.

I get the whole ride-off-into-the-sunset thing now. If I was a Texas cowgirl — or a Texas eventer, for that matter — I’d go chasing that hunk of burning fireball off the edge of the earth every day of the week. I guess that’s one way to keep your horse fit.

My Adequan USEA Gold Cup Final course walk yesterday evening started out pretty normcore …

Pretty clouds, meh.

Fluffy white clouds, meh. I’ve seen a million of them.

… and ended up like that sunset scene in the The Notebook.

A

Edge of the earth, basically.

B

That moon makes me want to slow dance beneath it, or jump a great big trakehner.

All pastel-hued backdrops aside, it’s an interesting course. Relative to most Advanced courses, Texas Rose Horse Park doesn’t have a ton of room to work with, so the Capt. Mark Phillip-designed track snakes its way around, twisting, turning and doubling back on itself. Buck Davidson, who sits in second and third place after dressage on The Apprentice and Wundermaske, respectively, described it as a “more of a show jumping course.”

Indeed, the course will favor horses that are rideable, quick on their feet and swift through the air, as opposed to big galloping, lofty types. Riders looking to make the time will be shaving their turns, setting up efficiently and stepping hard on the accelerator upon landing. As Buck explained, “The accuracy isn’t so much there, but you have to be able to turn quickly and get on with the next fence.” (You can read the rest of Buck’s thoughts on the course, as well as those of dressage leader Jacob Fletcher here).

The line I’m most looking forward to watching is #15-#16-#17. While not technically a combination, the three offset fences — a narrow brush to an oxer to a narrow brush — reminds me of a triple exercise Phillip Dutton has used in clinics that has, say, the right standards of the first and third jumps in line with the left standard of the second jump. Since there’s no obvious line to keep your eye on, it catches out horses who tend to get ahead of their riders and take matters into their own hands and rewards those who keep their feet moving while staying 100 percent tuned in to rider guidance.

The first of 11 Gold Cup combinations, Joe Meyer and Sanskrit, set out of the box at 3:40 p.m. CST (4:30 p.m. EST). We’ll be bringing you all the action as it unfolds, so keep it locked here!

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