Avery Klunick and In It To Win It, Richland CIC3*. Photo by Kasey Mueller.
The Dutta Corp Fair Hill International CCI2* and CCI3* is officially here, with jogs beginning today, followed by two days of dressage to get everyone started. Jenni will be on task all week, and even there for the jogs tomorrow at noon sharp, taking pictures and keeping us up to date with all the happenings. The field in the CCI2* is huge, and the CCI3* is nothing to scoff at either. Yesterday I previewed the first half of the competitors, and today we continue with the second half listed in order of go.
Dutta Corp Fair Hill International Links: [Website] [Entries] [Schedule] [Preview Part One]
Click here to see the preview on the first half of the CCI3* field.
Allie Knowles & Sound Prospect: Allie got the ride on this horse last fall, and they completed the CCI2* here in 28th place. They moved up to the Advanced level this spring and have gotten quite a few miles at the three-star level, although their only clean cross country trip was at Jersey Fresh in the CIC3*. They completed Bromont CCI3* in 14th place, scoring a 59.8 on the flat, incurring a stop and 8.8 time on cross country, and jumping double clear on Sunday. While there is no doubt that they both have talent, they struggle with clear rounds on cross country and will be happy to cross the finish line.
Werner Geven & Vandiver: This is Werner’s second ride in this division and so will hopefully benefit from his stablemate’s experience around the course prior to his round on Saturday, as well as their own previous experience here last year. They were 24th here last year, scoring a 66.2 on the flat, incurring two stops and 41.2 time on cross country, and pulling one rail in stadium. Hopefully another year of experience will help them improve upon that performance.
Avery Klunick & In It To Win It: Now famous from their epic save at the AECs, Avery and Winston are part of the West Coast takeover here at Fair Hill this weekend. They came east in the summer to compete at Bromont CCI3*, where they finished in 21st place, scoring a 64.8 on the flat, running a clear cross country round with 19.6 time and unfortunately adding five rails to that on Sunday. As their second CCI3* together, they’ll be looking to lower that final score a little bit, but I have no doubt that they’ll get around.
Rachel McDonough & Irish Rhythm: Yet another Canadian in our midst, Rachel and Oli will be competing in their second Fair Hill International CCI3*, as they finished 13th here last year with a 64.8 on the flat followed by only two time penalties on cross country, and only one rail on Sunday. They also completed Rolex this spring with a 67.8 on the flat and just four rails to add to that score overall.
Holly Payne & Never OutFoxed. Photo by Kate Samuels.
Emily Rusinyak & Reatta HW: A young rider in this division, Emily and Reatta competed in this year’s NAJYRC CCI2*, finishing in 7th place with a 60.6 on the flat, 2.4 time on cross country and three rails on the final day. This will be their first CCI3*, as they just moved up to the Advanced level this year, completing three Advanced horse trials and achieving their qualifying CIC3* result at Poplar just a few weeks ago. They don’t have the quality in the first phase yet, but the mare has an almost flawless cross country record, and they will be happy to have conquered the course together.
Jimmie Schramm & Bellamy: Jimmie will tell you that Fair Hill is her “nemesis event,” but if you see her, tell her that it’s all in her head! They were 13th together this spring at their first CCI3* at Bromont, scoring a 55.2 on the flat, adding 26.4 time penalties on cross country and just one rail on Sunday. Their dressage has been getting steadily better and better, with scores consistently in the mid 50s, which will serve them well. They have a very good cross country record, minus a blip at Plantation at the double corners, and Bellamy is very careful over show jumps. Jimmie has to get out there and git ‘er done on Saturday and forget that she thinks FHI is cursed.
Sally Cousins & Tsunami III: Our resident weekly tips guru is out competing this weekend on her very experienced OTTB mare Sue, and they’ll be sure to get the job done. This will be Sue’s sixth CCI3*, including a 16th place here in 2011. They completed Rolex this spring with a 63 on the flat and only two rails to add, resulting in an 18th place at the end of the weekend. They won’t be competitive after dressage, but with their combined experience, they should be able to finish close to that score and climb up the leaderboard.
Holly Payne & Never OutFoxed: One of my personal favorites, Fox is a child prodigy at only the age of 8, here competing in his second CCI3*. They were 12th this spring at Bromont CCI3* with a dressage score of 66, double clear cross country and three rails on Sunday. Fox can get, shall we say, a little wound up for the first phase, but he and Holly are a thing to marvel at on cross country, and he’s usually a very careful jumper. The atmosphere at FHI might be a little much for him, but this young horse has a lot more to offer in the future and will be getting some good miles here this weekend.
Hallie Coon & Namaste’: Hallie and Yogi are competing in their first CCI3* this weekend, having completed two CIC3* competitions this spring since moving up to the level. They were recently 5th at Poplar CIC3*, scoring a 58.6 on the flat, and adding 28 time penalties on cross country as well as two rails in show jumping. Those jumping penalties were uncharacteristic, however, as Yogi is an incredibly careful jumper and usually much quicker in the second phase. A finishing score in the 60s or 70s is well within their reach.
Libby Head and Sir Rockstar at Fair Hill CCI3* in 2013. Photo by Alec Thayer.
Boyd Martin & Master Frisky: This is Boyd’s third ride in the division, and this horse’s first CCI3* attempt, as well as only his fourth FEI competition ever. They were 5th last year here in the CCI2*, with a 46.9 on the flat and only 2.8 time penalties added, and have since then moved up to the Advanced level. They achieved their qualifying score at Plantation CIC3* recently, with a 55.8 in dressage, 16 time penalties on cross country, as well as two rails and four time penalties in stadium. This young horse will surely benefit from Boyd’s experience and two previous rides as he tackles this big course.
Buck Davidson & Wiley Post: I’ve learned the hard way to never discount Buck, even on the most unlikely of mounts. Max has been competing at the Intermediate level for a number of years, and successfully made the move up to Advanced this year. However, he has only completed one CIC3* at Chattahoochee Hills in the spring, and he incurred a stop on cross country there. His cross country record lacks consistency, but with Buck, you never know when he’ll pull a rabbit out of the hat.
Liz Riley & It’s The Truth: Liz has just made the decision to enter into this game as a professional, and Fair Hill will be a big test for her, with two horses in the CCI2* and one in the CCI3*. Tom is a very generous horse, and while he lacks some of the sparkle of other horses, he is a good campaigner with the capability to get around this big course. They were 21st here in 2012 in the CCI2*, and recently 19th in the CIC3* at Plantation, scoring a 60.3 on the flat, going clear on cross country with 8 time penalties and pulling two rails in stadium.
Ashley Leith & Tactical Maneuver: This pair moved up to the Advanced level this spring at Carolina International and just gained their qualifying CIC3* result at Morven Park two weeks ago. They scored a 61.2 in dressage there, had three rails over the tough show jumping course and 30.4 time penalties on cross country. This will be their first CCI3* together and certainly a challenge for this young horse.
Libby Head & Sir Rockstar: Everyone’s favorite rags to riches glory tale is Libby and Rocky, who is quite possibly the smallest horse in the field but will no doubt smoke the course with ease. They were 12th here last year with a 60 in the dressage, clear cross country with 0.4 time penalties and two rails on Sunday. They cruised around Rolex this spring with a 63.8 on the flat and just 7.6 cross country time penalties added. Rocky can be opinionated in the dressage, but he can darn well finish on that score, and that goes a long way at an event like this.
Kurt Martin and Anna Bella at The Fork CIC3*. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Lisa Barry & F.I.S. Prince Charming: Lisa and Peanut have been competing at the Advanced level since early 2013 and finally got to their first CCI3* this summer at Bromont, where they were second. They scored a 60.4 on the flat and went clear with 2.4 time on cross country, finishing the weekend with a double clear show jumping round. They won’t be competitive after the first phase, but they are another pair that is fully capable of finishing right near that initial score, and that can sneak them right up the leaderboard.
Ellie MacPhail & RF Eloquence: Ellie and Bob are another pair that are looking for their first CCI3* completion, having just moved up to the Advanced level this fall at Chattahoochee Hills. They won their Advanced debut, as well as their CIC3* debut at Poplar in September, and cantered around Morven two weeks ago in the Advanced. However, Fair Hill is a whole ‘nother can of worms, and this will be an entirely new challenge for this relatively inexperienced pair. They scored a 46.7 in dressage at Poplar CIC3* and added only 17.8 time penalties to that score to take home the win.
Caroline Martin & Quantum Solace: Caroline and Nacho won last year’s NAJYRC CCI2* with a score of 52.2 after all three phases and have been performing consistently well at the Advanced and three-star level for some time now. They were 5th at their first CCI3* this spring at Jersey Fresh, scoring a 56.2 on the flat, and adding only 8 time on cross country and 4 time in show jumping to that score. Nacho’s dressage can sometimes let him down, but his jumping and enthusiasm for cross country is unmatched, and they have the potential to sneak up the leaderboard this weekend.
Kurt Martin & Anna Bella: Kurt and Anna are one that have the potential to play spoiler here this weekend. They won the Fair Hill CIC3* this spring ending on their best dressage test to date, a 46.5, so we know that she likes the grounds already. They haven’t quite found that brilliance again on the flat, but she’s a jumping machine who rarely incurs any penalties in either phase. They were recently 14th at Plantation CIC3* with a 59.4 in dressage and just 14.8 time penalties added.
Katy Groesbeck & Oz The Tin Man: Another West Coast transplant, Oz has the distinction of being the oldest horse in the division, rocking along at the age of 17. They had some very good success on the West Coast before coming here to FHI last fall to conquer their first CCI3*, but were sadly eliminated on the cross country, and so they have some unfinished business here. Katy has been working with Buck Davidson and has been blogging about her learning curve on the Chronicle this year, and I think she’s ready for a second attack on Fair Hill. They were 6th at Bromont this summer with a 50.4 on the flat, 8.8 time penalties on cross country and two rails on Sunday.
Matt Brown and Super Socks BCF. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Colleen Rutledge & Covert Rights: Colleen and CR led the Morven Park CIC3* from start to finish in a commanding fashion, scoring a 45 on the flat, rolling one rail in stadium and blazing around the cross country to garner only 9.4 time penalties. This will be CR’s first CCI3* competition, but at the young age of 8, he’s already way ahead of many of his competitors.
Matt Brown & Super Socks BCF: Fair Hill is being positively overtaken by West Coasters this year, and Matt Brown is certainly one of the biggest threats to the top prize with Flaxen. This 8-year-old Irish gelding has had great success this year, including a win at Rebecca Farm CIC3* this summer, where they scored a 47.3 on the flat and added only 7.2 time penalties on cross country to take home the win. They consistently score in the mid to high 40s, with an occasional low 50s dressage penalty, and have a very good jumping record, with no stops at the FEI levels. If they can adjust for the terrain and likely bad footing at the end of the division, there will be no stopping this pair.
Jon Holling & Zatopek B: Jon and Zak have a lot of potential, but unfortunately have been caught out by some bad luck on cross country at the FEI level this year. They recently rocked around the AEC Advanced course to finish in fourth place, but their only clear run at the three-star level this year was The Fork in April. They were 11th here last year with a 57.8 on the flat, clear cross country with 6.4 time and just one rail on the final day. Zak went to Rolex in the spring and seemed to come undone on the cross country, and it’s high time they got their mojo back, hopefully at Fair Hill this weekend.
Buck Davidson & Petite Flower: Buck and Flower are coming off a strong win at the AECs just a few weeks ago, but they are very much hot or cold at the FEI level. Last year they came to this event and retired on cross country, only to re-route to Galway CCI3* and win the whole dang thing. They haven’t notched a clean FEI round this year yet and withdrew after cross country at Jersey Fresh this spring, where they had two stops on course. This little mare can be either super competitive and in the hunt for the win or positively off the board with a bad cross country round, and it’s really a toss up which is more likely.
Boyd Martin & Pancho Villa. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Philippa Humphreys & Sir Donovan: Philippa Humphreys is doing a very ambitious thing this weekend, competing at her first CCI3* with two horses. Luckily, she has Don to show her the way, as he’s completed six CCI3* competitions before, including FHI in 2009, 2010 and 2012. They were recently 31st together at Plantation CIC3*, with a 62.7 in dressage, 21.2 cross country time penalties and just 7 time penalties in show jumping.
Amanda Wilson & Cool Decision: Amanda and Cody attempted their first CCI3* this time last year at Fair Hill, but unfortunately retired on cross country after scoring 67.6 on the flat. They opted to get some more miles at the Advanced and CIC3* level this year before returning for redemption and are hoping to finally conquer this big bad course. They were recently 41st at Plantation CIC3* with a 65.1 in dressage, six rails and five time in stadium, and a clear cross country with 15.2 time penalties.
Boyd Martin & Pancho Villa: Boyd started the division, and he wraps it up too with his fourth and final ride. Pancho was leading the CCI2* last year with a beautiful 41.4 after dressage only to have two stops on cross country, dashing his hopes of a win. He’s run a handful of Advanced horse trials this year, moving up this summer at Horse Park of NJ. They achieved their qualifying result at Plantation CIC3*, finishing in 20th place with a 56.7 on the flat, 16.4 time penalties on cross country and just one rail in the stadium.
