Doug Payne and Lysander. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Doug Payne led wire-to-wire in the CIC2* at Plantation Field International Horse Trials this weekend, ultimately winning with his own and Kristin Michaloski’s Lysander on a final score of 34.1, one of just two sub-40 finishing scores in this division. Doug said yesterday that he planned to take a crack at making the time today, and he and “Big Leo” jumped clear with 2.4 time penalties to seal the deal.
He had the advantage of going out first on Debi Crowley’s Vandiver, who jumped clear with 1.2 time penalties to finish ninth, which allowed him to tweak his plan to best suit Big Leo’s giant 18.1-hand frame.
“Having a little insight around the course already once, I knew the time was going to be very tight. I’ve been working hard with Leo to open him up and still be able to get him back,” Doug said. “I really couldn’t be happier. He’s coming along and continuing to improve and get more confident.”
Doug knowns the horse well, having produced the 8-year-old Thoroughbred/Holsteiner gelding from a 3-year-old. We’ve followed Big Leo’s career here on EN for more than three years now, so it’s awesome to see him win such a big two-star class.
Doug said it was also pretty special to have the horse’s breeder, Elizabeth Callahan, meet them at the vet box after the clear cross country round to congratulate them. Three cheers for being born in the USA! Big Leo will next head to Morven Park for the CIC2* before going on to the Dutta Corp Fair Hill International CCI2*.
Alex O’Neal and Rendezvous With Charly. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Alex O’Neal is also targeting the CCI2* at Fair Hill with Rendezvous With Charly, and he had exactly the round he told us he was hoping for yesterday, jumping clear with 3.6 time penalties to finish in second place on 39.7. He took over the ride on the 9-year-old German Sport Horse gelding from his fiancé, Ellie MacPhail, earlier this year, and Alex’s partnership with “Rudy” only continues to improve.
Caroline Martin sat seventh after dressage with Effervescent, a 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse Gelding she owns with Sherrie Martin, and she kept climbing up the leaderboard all weekend. Being one of only five riders to make the time in the division ultimately moved them from fifth to finish in third place on 40.9.
Caroline Martin and Effervescent. Photo by Jenni Autry.
The following four horse and rider combinations also made the time of 5 minutes, 52 seconds: Kylie Dermody and Sacramento (6th), Waylon Roberts and Faolan (8th), Kristen Bond and I’m Sew Ready (10th), and Ema Klugman and Bendigo (22nd).
The vast majority of the field jumped around Mike Etherington-Smith’s course in good form, though there were a few notable incidents. Hannah Sue Burnett and Jitter Bug had a rotational fall at the ditch and brush at fence 15, and Hannah was transported to Christiana Hospital for treatment. We are waiting official confirmation of her condition and will update you when we know more.
Miranda Webb and Expresso also recorded mandatory retirement when the horse refused and slid into the ditch at the trakehner at fence 6. Miranda was totally fine — and actually grabbed onto the log as Expresso slid into the ditch to pull herself to safety. Colleen Rutledge parted ways from Routlette at fence 7, a drop rail, when the horse left a leg; she is totally OK after the fall.
Stay tuned for the full report in the CIC3*, and click here to catch up with all of EN’s coverage from the Best. Event. Ever.
Plantation Field: Website, Final Scores, EN’s Coverage, Twitter, Instagram, @jenniautry
