Boyd Martin and Trading Aces Allergic to Wood in Wellington

Boyd Martin and Trading Aces. Photo by Jenni Autry. Boyd Martin and Trading Aces. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Boyd Martin and Trading Aces held their overnight lead in the $50,000 Wellington Eventing Showcase thanks to delivering a clear show jumping round as the final pair to jump this morning. Running the entire show jumping order in reverse placing of standing definitely put a lot of pressure on the riders the closer we got to the top of the leaderboard, and rails proved to be very costly with a lot of prize money on the line.

Michael Pollard and Cyrano also jumped clear to remain in second place, and Laine Ashker and Anthony Patch scooted into third place with a clear round after Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous dropped one rail to move down to sixth place. Jennie Brannigan and Cambalda jumped a stylish clear round to move up one spot to fourth place, and Liz Halliday-Sharp and Fernhill By Night enjoyed a nice jump up the leaderboard with their clear round, moving from eighth to round out the top five.

Michael Pollard and Cyrano. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Michael Pollard and Cyrano. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Half of the field ultimately jumped clear, giving us 13 clear rounds over Richard Jeffery’s show jumping course. Kudos to Phillip Dutton, Boyd Martin and Julie Richards, who all jumped clear rounds with their multiple rides. Buck Davidson and Petite Flower, Kurt Martin and Anna Bella, Marilyn Little and RF Demeter also jumped clear rounds.

The scores are still very tightly packed at the top of the leaderboard, with just over 5 penalties separating the top five as we look ahead to cross country. Time penalties on Capt. Mark Phillips’ track this afternoon could ultimately mean the difference between taking home a lot of prize money or nothing at all.

Laine Ashker and Anthony Patch. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Laine Ashker and Anthony Patch. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Here’s a look at the prize money breakdown: 1st place: $15,000; 2nd: $11,000; 3rd: $6,500; 4th: $4,000; 5th: $3,000; 6th: $2,500; 7th: $2,000; 8th & 9th: $1,500; 10th-12th: $1,000. Needless to say, it’s going to a very exciting finale here in Wellington.

You can follow along with all the action on the live stream link here. The first horse goes out at 1:30 p.m. EST. And don’t forget to check out the preview of the course here. Stay tuned for much more from #WellyEventing.

Wellington Eventing Showcase: Live ScoresXC Live StreamEN’s CoverageEN’s TwitterEN’s Instagram

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