Tamie Smith and Twizted Syster. Photo by Sally Spickard.
I’ve been watching Tamie Smith and Twizted Syster’s partnership all weekend, and I couldn’t helped but be impressed by the talent this mare shows. After putting in a relaxed dressage test that put this pair into fifth place, Tamie and “Chloe” moved up to fifth after a clear and fast cross country run, and finally clinched the win with a double clear trip around Richard Jeffery’s show jump course this afternoon.
Tamie and Chloe received some of the loudest cheers we heard all day – clearly this California pair is popular! This seven-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare jumped beautifully today, adding another accolade to her already impressive resume. Keep your eye out for this one, EN!
Buck Davidson and Quasar. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Overnight leaders Buck Davidson and Quasar unfortunately had just one unlucky rail down today, leaving them in second place overall. Quasar is still relatively young and a newer ride for Buck, so you can expect this pair to continue to build on this weekend as their time together continues.
Bailey Moran and Loughnatousa Caislean. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Young rider Bailey Moran and Loughnatousa Caislean had a rock star weekend as well, steadily moving up from sixth after dressage to take home the third place honors. This pair has only finished outside of the top 10 one time since moving up to the Intermediate level this year. I’m sure we can expect an Eventing Dad blog any day now full of proud father moments for Bailey.
Julie Richards rode two professional looking rounds aboard Beaulieu’s Cayenne and Urlanmore Beauty to finish in fourth and fifth, respectively. This is the first year at this level for both horses, and this weekend was Urlanmore Beauty’s fourth run at the level, including a CIC2* last month.
Two fences seemed to come down the most, both of which were red,white, and blue USEA jumps. The first was an oxer heading directly towards the spectators watching on a hill, and the second was the last fence on course, a vertical that was pointed towards the in-gate. The course was demanding and required a rider to really ride accurate turns and keep their horses in front of their leg.
Elisa Wallace and Corteo. Photo by Sally Spickard.
In second place after cross country, Elisa Wallace and Corteo knocked two disappointing rails to end their weekend in seventh. Elisa posted on her Facebook page later on that she was disappointed in her rails, but she can still go home pleased with the effort that Corteo put in this weekend.
A bit less than half of the division were able to turn in clear rounds. One pair was unfortunately eliminated: Caroline Martin and Roller Skate, who took a strong disliking to oxers and stopped twice. Caroline gave Roller Skate a pat as they exited the ring, and I’m sure this pair will bounce back just fine.
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