Emily Beshear and Silver Night Lady Set Early Bar in Fair Hill CCI2*

Emily Beshear and Silver Night Lady. Photo by Jenni Autry. Emily Beshear and Silver Night Lady. Photo by Jenni Autry.

We waited until the end of the day in the Dutta Corp Fair Hill International CCI2* for dressage tests that really wowed the judges, and Emily Beshear and Silver Night Lady delivered a superb performance as the penultimate pair to go on the first day, scoring 43.0 to hold the overnight lead after the first 16 horses in the division.

Bill Levett campaigned the 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare at the CIC2* level in 2013, and Anita Antenucci imported her to the U.S. before Deep Purple Eventing ultimately purchased her as a ride for Emily in the spring. Fans of Shame on the Moon know that this makes two powerful grey mares in Emily’s barn, and she said she’s thrilled to have such talented horses at the upper levels.

“We were able to purchase her mid-May and she hadn’t competed in quite awhile, so I really just spent the summer and the fall getting to know her, and today was great,” Emily said. “She in the past has maybe been a little bit tense or nervous in the ring, and she was really focused and she really had a super test I thought. There was one little bobble where she spooked herself when the sand hit the edge of the ring, but I can forgive that.”

Emily said building the partnership with “Silvy” has not been as smooth as she would have liked, “not because she was difficult at all but she was used to Bill who was a pretty big guy. She’s a very powerful horse compared to my other mare (Shame on the Moon), so in a lot of ways she’s easier at the jumping phases, but the dressage has taken a little while.

“She’s used to someone who can support her, and she’s a big girl, so it’s taken me a little while in the ring to feel like she’s been able to put in a fluid, supple test. She has enough of a quirky personality like (Shame on the Moon) where she can be a little spooky and a little nervous, and I think she’s finally starting to trust me and get to know me. It’s working pretty well now.”

Michael Walton and Woodstock Wallaby. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Michael Walton and Woodstock Wallaby. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Michael Walton and Woodstock Wallaby went just before Emily and Silvy and delivered a lovely performance, scoring 48.8 to sit in second place overnight as our only other score in the 40s. McKena Knott and Flanigan held the CCI2* lead at the first break and finished the first day in third on 50.3.

It’s been an action-packed day at #DuttaFHI, with Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous holding a wide lead in the CCI3* in the early going on 41.5. Click here to read the full CCI3* report after the first chunk of the division, including quotes from Marilyn and Phillip Dutton, who sits in second with I’m Sew Ready on 49.2.

It’s also been a busy day with the USEA Young Event Horse East Coast Championships running the dressage and conformation phases for both the 5- and 4-year-old divisions. Tim Bourke and Foreign Quality lead the 5-year-old division on 42.6, with Matt Flynn and Get Gaudi in second on 42.3 and Daniel Clasing and Galileo WP in third on 41.3.

For the 4-year-olds, Rebecca Lee and Bradley Cooper lead on 43.9, with Jennie Brannigan and Hopscotch in second on 42.2 and Kelli Temple and Caleesi in third on 41.5. Our friends at the USEA are publishing full reports will all the details on breeding and background on these exciting young horses, and you can see beautiful photos on EN’s Facebook from Shannon Brinkman.

We’re just warming up here at Fair Hill! Keep it locked on EN. Go Eventing.

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