Advanced Dressage Wrap-Up from Carolina International

Kylie Lyman and Lup The Loop scored a 28.5 for 2nd place. Photo by Kate Samuels.

While all eyes are on the CIC divisions here this weekend at Carolina International, there is a strong contingent of competitors at the national level with 25 riders contesting the Advanced. Some of the division did their test during my ride, so I missed some of the combinations, but was able to catch a good selection of riders before and afterwards.

Buck Davidson is leading the pack with the very experienced Petite Flower, who is contesting her second Advanced of the year after taking a break from competition following Rebecca Farms CCI3* last summer. They looked wonderful in warmup, and I can see how they scored an accurate and brilliant test to garner a 25.4, which puts them a full 3.1 points ahead of the next closest rider. With a division that is as tightly packed as the CIC3*, this shows just how good Buck and Flower were looking this morning.

The range of scores is very close, with all but five riders placing in the 30s, which means that the competition isn’t over yet. Kylie Lyman had a very rhythmic and relaxed test on the big moving Lup The Loop to score a 28.5, which puts them right behind Buck. Lillian Heard has four rides in this division, but her best placement was with Rolex bound LCC Barnaby with a 29.6 to put them in 3rd place. They are closely followed by Boyd Martin riding Crackerjack for a 29.9 and Welcome Shadow for a 30.7.

Boyd Martin & Welcome Shadow, 30.7 for 5th place. Photo by Kate Samuels.

This division does their cross country course tomorrow much later in the afternoon, starting at 3:25 p.m. Their course differs significantly from the CIC3* course, but is nonetheless challenging as well. They do show jumping on Sunday starting at 8 a.m. in reverse order of standing.

Advanced Top 15: