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Eventing Competition Coverage: March 2010 Archives

Events This Weekend: Crunch Time

By John on March 31, 2010 9:36 PM, Filed Under

The Fork CIC3*: Homepage, Weather, LIVE SCORES, Ride Times



For US team hopefuls, if the WEGs are the Super Bowl, then The Fork is wild card weekend (that's the first round of playoffs for our readers who think of footballs as being made of pentagons and hexagons).  For all the other competitors, The Fork is a really big, really tough, and really exciting event.  The facilities are immaculate as always, and the organizers are doing a terrific job getting everyone settled into the barns.  Dressage begins on Thursday with David giving the test ride on Riddle Master.  I'd normally feel bad for the first rider to go after David, but it's Phillip on TruLuck.

45 of the 72 current Rolex entries are entered in the CIC3* or Advanced this weekend, which means we will get to see all but a couple US Rolex horses in action together.


Some key questions for the weekend:

(1) Which of Phillip's horses looks particularly strong?  Connaught is making his 2010 competitive XC debut and this weekend is his first major event since Rolex '09.  Only Kheops and The Foreman are sitting out.

(2) How do the horses handle the predicted 84 (F) degree Saturday highs around the hilly terrain?  Rolex tends to either burn or pour, and we will get an early look at fitness levels on Saturday.

(3) Who looks like they are riding to win, and who looks like they are riding to not pick up a stop?

(4) Do the veteran stars such as Courageous Comet and Northern Spy look past their prime or great as ever?

(5) How do Mandiba, and Neville rebound after their recent XC issues?  The pressure is definitely on.


Best of the Blogs: Boyd's Fork preview

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Pine Hill (TX): Homepage, Ride Times


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A special thanks to Lee Ann, Geoff, and Della for responding to Anon's request for info about Rolex entrant Peter Atkins.  Read their answers here

Lastly, be sure to vote in the final matuchup of our Bracket Battle as Dan and Podge face off for all the marbles.  Charisma leads as of Wednesday night by the slimmest of margins.  Be sure to read the comments before you vote, they are awesome.
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Weekend Results

By John on March 28, 2010 7:09 PM, Filed Under

Tiana Coudray wins Galway CIC3*: Press Release Recap, COTH CIC3* Racap, COTH Sunday Recap



Galway CIC3* (CA): Homepage, Live Scores, Beautiful Weather

Notes: The CIC3* course ran extremely soft with 13/16 riders having clean rounds, zero eliminations, and only one rider having more than single digit time penalties.  If history is any sort of a guide, The Fork is going to ride much differently next weekend, and it's fair to ask if the Galway CIC3* is a strong enough Rolex prep.  The CIC2* rode differently, with 5 out of 9 starters having problems around the course, and Max McManamy winning on Beacon Hill and Tiana Coudray getting eliminated with overnight leader Master Hill.

Pine Top (GA): Times/Scores, Homepage

Notes: Amy Tryon had a good round with Coal Creek, adding just 6.8 XC time penalties, but retired on XC with overnight leader Leyland.

Morven (VA): Homepage, Times, Scores

Notes: Sarah Cousins dominated the OI, taking 1st, 2nd, and 3rd on The Robber Baron, Tsunami III, and Joule.  Jamie Lee French also had an impressive weekend in the JYOP, taking the top two spots with Drummer Boy and Speak of the Devil.

Corona del Sol HT (TX): Times/Scores, Homepage
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Events This Weekend

By John on March 26, 2010 6:01 PM, Filed Under

Day 1 Recap Presser, Chronicle Day 1 Recap

Notes: So far, Tiana Coudray leads the CIC3* and CIC2* on Ringwood Magister and Master Hill respectively.  For those of you looking for the next big thing coming from California, Tiana is a name to keep your eye on.  El Primero and The Good Witch are also competing in the CIC3*.  Still no show for McKinlaigh this spring.

We have said that they do it right at Galway, and this promotional video is a great example of why.

Pine Top (GA): Times/Scores, Homepage

Notes: Amy has entered in the OP on both Leyland and Coal Creek.  Best of luck to Amy this weekend as her quest for the WEGs starts up a little later than most, but she is still a clear front runner on Leylan

Morven (VA): Homepage, Times, Scores

Notes: Area II, the heartland of US eventing kicks off this weekend with Morven Park.

Corona del Sol HT (TX): Times/Scores, Homepage

Overall, this weekend is a rest time for the big names, who will be either losing sleep over The Fork or losing sleep over The Fork while riding at lower level events.
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Sunday Results from Southern Pines and Poplar Place

By John on March 21, 2010 4:31 PM, Filed Under




Southern Pines

(1) In the advanced A, Becky Holder and Courageous Comet moved up to win after Kim and Tipperary Liadhnan pulled three rails.  Phillip and Woodburn remained in 3rd with just one rail.

(2) The top 4 in the advanced B remained steady, with four double clears at the top.  Pawlow finished off a very strong weekend, collecting the win with Will Faudree.

(3) Phillip rode three of his advanced horses this weekend (Woodburn, The Foreman, Kheops Du Quesnay) and finished all of them in the top four of their divisions.

(4) The advanced and intermediate show jumping at Southern Pines was held in the grass across the street from the sand rings, which may have contributed to the low number of clean rounds (just 13 in the advanced divisions) with several very high penalty rounds.

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Poplar Place

(1) At Poplar Place, Colin Davidson and Draco won the advanced on a 56.6, beating Karl Slezak and Charley Farley by less than a point.  Buck and Titanium added 16 time penalties on the XC and 3 in the showjumping, but finished a solid weekend in 5th.

(2) Leslie Law and Fleeceworks Mystere Du Val retired after falling at an irish bank on the advanced XC.  Several of the first few horses out on course had major issues with the fence, and it was removed from the course soon thereafter.  

Chelan Kozac has posted pics of her fall at the irish bank on her blog.  In her description, Chelan says "[expletive] the second to last jump was an Irish bank nay, an effing HUGE Irish bank!!  Three horses fell then they removed it."  Fortunately both Chelan and her horse were fine.

(3) Northern Spy and Heidi White took their time around the XC, but this is yet another pair with other goals in mind for the spring.

(4) In the CIC2*, Clark Montgomery won with Loughna Glen, adding 14 XC time to his dressage score.  Buck finished with Absolute Liberty, Haifa Bay, and All The Aces in the top five of that division.  

(5) In the CIC1* Rowdie Adams won with No Money Down, beating Cathy Wieschhoff and Simba by 3 points.  Go eventing.
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Southern Pines XC Recap

By John on March 20, 2010 8:32 PM, Filed Under
SoPo Live Scores, Poplar Live Scores

phillipduttoncrosscountry.jpg

(1) Phillip has the strongest arsenal of horses at this stage in the season that I have ever seen from a US rider.  Woodburn looked calm and very confident.  Phillip took his time with the Chip and lost the lead, but they obviously have bigger goals in mind.  Heck, Kheops du Quesnay even looked pretty calm.  Phillip also rode Jan's horses, making it 5 advanced rides on the day.  We get used to watching Phillip ride a ton of advanced horses at every competition, but that shouldn't make us forget how incredibly challenging it is both physically and mentally.

(2) It was an easy day for the advanced divisions, relatively speaking, with 35/47 starters having clear rides.

(3) Interestingly enough (considering #2) it was a tough day for the A and B listers.  Mandiba, Neville, Waterfront, and Coal Creek all had at least a stop, whereas only Woodburn, Arthur, and Leyland got around clear (that's 4/7 having problems for all the folk's keeping score at home).  

(4) Boyd and Neville had a very uncharacteristic stop late on the course.  By very uncharacteristic, I mean that it was Neville's second or third stop ever, and because of that, I don't think it raises significant concerns.  It just puts a little extra pressure on the next two or three XC rides for the pair.

(5) Rebecca Howard is out and about this weekend coaching, which is great to see.  This is a tribute to modern medical science, and Rebecca's determination/toughness/insanity: she walked around holding one of her arms up with the other.

(6) Riders who had noticeably excellent rides from what I could see included Kim and Tipperary, Lillian Heard on Share Option, and Holly Hudspeth and Last Monarch.  

(7) I'll single out Will Faudree and Pawlow for having an extremely good XC ride today.  After watching them have a stop at Pine Top, I had my questions, but after a great dressage ride yesterday and today's round, Pawlow looks every bit like a team contending horse here at Southern Pines.  

willfaudreepawlow.jpg

(8) Fence 11, a skinny to a corner combination caused by far the most issues for the advanced riders.  Karen and Mandiba collected 20 penalties there.  Like Neville, as long as its a one time thing, nothing to worry about.  Another rider with whom I spoke had a stop there, and said the striding didn't ride as it walked.  I'm not sure if that's the indian or the arrow, but I do know that that expression has nothing to do with this paragraph.

(9) Stephen Bradley and Amy Tryon's Coal Creek (see yesterday for an explanation) had a tough fall jumping up a bank out of the water.  Stephen jumped and Coal Creek didn't, instead chesting the bank, but both seemed fine.  Throughout the day a lot of horses seemed sticky jumping up the bank and over the log a bounce later.

(10) The crowd turnout was decent for the advanced, with many of the 250 spectators around the main water.
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Democracy: "The worst form of government except for all the others."

(11) As a tale of two rides, Stephen had a fantastic go with Leyland.  Stephen gave Leyland a very confident trip, and was one of just a couple of riders to pat their horse galloping away from the water jump.  I know there is a debate on whether a rider should pat their horse or just focus ahead.  As long as it's a confidence building round/training ride (anything up to 3*), I think the pat makes sense if the horse was good.  But, at the big events with everything on the line and your country's flag on your helmet, I feel that the landing after the water is a time to gallop on with a look at your watch.  Today though, there should have been a lot more patting.

(12) Statistically speaking, the Tremaine Cooper courses all rode pretty straightforward, with over 70% clean rides in all divisions.  Go eventing.

The COTH recap has some interesting quotes.,
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On Scene At Southern Pines 2: Dressage And Other Early Notes

By John on March 19, 2010 11:39 PM, Filed Under


It's closer to Saturday than Friday now, but I have a few notes from the first day of competition here at SoPo:  

(1) Amy Tryon has Stephen Bradley riding both her A-listed Leyland and the B-Listed Coal Creek this weekend.  This is due to a minor medical procedure Amy had done recently, and explains why we have missed seeing Amy at the early spring events.  Amy is out and about this weekend and was coaching Stephen up before the dressage.  From what I hear, Amy will be back just in time to pursue her spring goals, which is great news for the US.  It's a tribute to Stephen that Amy picked him to bear such a responsibility, and I imagine he will continue his good work from today into the weekend.

(2) Denny was just one of many wonderful volunteers who made today a great success.  Thanks to Denny and all of the other volunteers, CHP staff, and event officials for doing a great job throughout the weekend.

(3) While Saturday is always the ultimate test, it looks like Tremaine Cooper has done a super job designing the cross country courses.  The prelim course was large, but straightforward (half the prelim went today, with good results), the intermediate course looks very challenging, and the advanced looks inviting.  I do wonder if the advanced is as technical as some of the A and B listers expected, and I am certain that The Fork will be a big step up in technicality a few weeks from now.  However, the course design is getting good reviews in the barns, and I agree.

(4) One standout in the advanced dressage was Pawlow and Will Faudree, who really delivered a wonderful test and sit third in the advanced B.  Phillip also went very low with The Foreman, leading everyone on a 24.7.  When you look at the results tomorrow, just remember that winning Southern Pines 2 is not the ultimate goal for The Foreman this spring.

(5) I told Annie Yeager (Meister) that I would give her a shout-out because she is such a big fan of the site and because she helps one of guest bloggers with editing their entries.  So here it is Annie, thanks for reading.

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EN received the highest possible compliment in an email today, when the emailer finished off the email by saying: "love your site! it IS...eventing, the essential spirit and culture of it."  I probably shouldn't say who sent the email, but it meant a great deal to me.  

3D3W has an interview with Robert Kellerhouse, who is a big operations-side force in eventing, and I love the great opportunity Galway and the West Coast have with the new CCI3* this fall.  Also, 3D3W gave us a shout-out and a link today, which we always appreciate.  3D3W is a big part of the massive growth in online eventing media over the last 6 months, and is one of our most linked-to sites.
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Events This Weekend

By John on March 18, 2010 12:50 AM, Filed Under

Thursday is a travel day for me, so I leave Eventing Nation in the capable hands of our team of writers and our commenters who, I might add, have been absolutely on fire lately.  From the many funny comments on the Golf post (LisaB's made me really laugh), to the law student's comment on Need to Know about always reading contracts that you sign (I suggest asking for copies of anything you sign as well), to lec's several great comments, to the many many more, it's great to have so many wonderful contributors to the fun here on Eventing Nation.  Thanks guys!

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Notes: SoPo 2 is one of two really packed events left on the path to Rolex (The Fork being #2) and this field is absolutely loaded.  Phillip, Boyd, Karen, and Will all have their aces going this weekend.  Also, we get our first look at Amy Tryon's A-Listed Leyland and B-Listed Coal Creek.  Lot's of B-Listers and many other Rolex hopefuls are also competing this weekend, including The Godfather on the amazing Cruise Lion.  


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Before riding this weekend, you might want to check out the immediate USEF rule change: "inflatable vests are only permitted when worn over a body protecting vest."

Best of the Blogs: Why Ashley Adams won't be at Southern Pines this weekend.  

Oh, I almost forgot...go eventing.
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Events This Weekend Results

By John on March 14, 2010 5:29 PM, Filed Under


Scores: Rocking Horse, Full Gallop, Southern Pines, 3 Day Ranch, Meadow Creek

Rocking Horse: Ronald Zabala-Goetschel and Che Mr. Wiseguy won the open intermediate, moving up from fourth after the dressage, adding only 1 time penalty in show jumping.  Ronald had two other horses in the OI, Che Italica (7th) and Che Kairo (9th).  Buck won the open prelim-A on B-listed My Boy Bobby, finishing on his dressage score of 26.5 and beating Canadian Diana Burnett by five points.

I also hear Eventing Nation got several great shout-outs from the announcer at rocking horse this weekend.  Thanks Cyndi, and if anyone has a youtube video of somebody's ride that includes a shout-out to EN on the audio, send me an email and we will put it up on the site.

Full Gallop: Moving north 7 hours, Alexandra MacLeod and Arrow won the Intermediate-A, and Stephen Bradley won the Intermediate-B on Brandenburg's Joshua.  Phillip picked up 3 wins out of the 6 training divisions on Ularinka, Celtic Heritage, and D-Day VPH.
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Maui Jim Horse Trials Canceled

By John on March 13, 2010 12:09 PM, Filed Under


It's official, the Maui Jim horse trials (July 8-11) has been canceled.  Former Maui Jim organizer Katie Lindsay explains that the Maui Jim Horse Trials has been replaced by a lower level one day event that will not involve her or Maui Jim.  The courts are involved and, as is usually the case, the situation has gotten pretty messy.  Katie and all of the volunteers did a tremendous job every year of making Maui Jim one of the premier events in the US.  When you see a rider walking around with Maui Jims, they probably won them in Chicago.  Whenever stuff like this happens, it's a tragedy to see such a wonderful part of eventing get ruined by greed, Egos, bad blood, or all of the above.  Why can't we all just be friends? Full Press Release, COTH Thread

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Rocking Horse (FL): Homepage, Ride Times, Live Scores, Weather
Full Gallop (SC): Homepage, Ride Times, Live Scores, Weather
The Event at 3 Day Ranch (CA): Event Homepage, Times/Scores, Weather
Meadow Creek Spring HT (TX): Homepage, Ride Times, Weather, Kosse TX, Live Scores
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Events This Weekend

By John on March 11, 2010 9:45 AM, Filed Under
squirrelshelmethorse.jpg
a reminder from our woodland friends to wear your helmets Eventing Nation, courtesy of Sheryl

Rocking Horse (FL): Homepage, Ride Times, Live Scores, Weather

Notes: Another great Rocking Horse spring season concludes this weekend.  Buck's My Boy Bobby is entered in the OP-A, and David is entered on one ride.  Also, if you will be at the event look out for EN, rumor has it that we might get a special shout-out.

Full Gallop (SC): Homepage, Ride Times, Live Scores, Weather

Notes: Brandenburg's Joshua, Connought, and The Foreman are all entered at Full Gallop this weekend.  This should be a good early look at Brandenburg's Joshua and Connaught this spring.  If Connaught and The Foreman keep competing through the spring, Phillip will have one of the strongest arsenals in the history of US eventing going into the spring 3-days.


Notes: Remember competitors, the stalls don't come with bedding so pack your own.  This is a warmup for SoPo 2, which will have some big horses going in the Advanced.

The Event at 3 Day Ranch (CA): Event Homepage, Times/Scores, Weather

Meadow Creek Spring HT (TX): Homepage, Ride Times, Weather, Kosse TX, Live Scores

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Red Hills Finale: Mara Dean and Nicki Henley Hang on FTW!

By John on March 7, 2010 11:37 AM, Filed Under

Nicki Henley, photocred USEF

(1) Mara Dean and Nicki Henley added 8 penalties to their score in the Red Hills show jumping, but held onto their lead as Phillip Dutton and Tru Luck added 5 time penalties.  There were only 2 double clear show jumping rides in the CIC3*-W (Mandiba and Ballynoecastle RM).

(2) Will Coleman and Nevada Bay moved from 8th after the dressage to finish the CIC3*-W in 3rd place, adding just 10.4 jumping penalties for the weekend, by far the lowest total for the CIC3*-W jumping.

(3) For the A-listers, Tru Luck obviously had a good weekend, finishing in 2nd, and Ballynoecastle RM had a solid performance after taking it easy around the XC.

(4) For the B-listed horses, Arthur and Mandiba both finished in the top 6, and Kheops Du Quesnay had a stop on the XC and finished in 9th.

(5) Will Coleman also had a good weekend in the CIC*, winning on his dressage score with All The Buzz, and finishing two other horses in the top 5.  This is an additional sign that Will is starting to develop a consistent stream of very nice horses, and lookout as they keep leveling up.

(6) Michael Pollard jumped a clean round with Jos Calfun and passed overnight leader Hannah Burnett in the CIC2*, as Hannah added 6 penalties in the show jumping.  Michael also placed 3rd on Dazzling Decorum, who was placed 18th after the dressage but added just 3.2 time penalties on XC and jumped the only double clear in the CIC2* show jumping.  Hannah has two wins and a 2nd in her last three 2*'s with Nike, so we look forward to watching them at the next level sometime soon.

(7) Tara Zeigler and Buckingham Place added 26 show jumping penalties to win the CIC3* on 158.0.  From what I have heard from the show (and as The859 suggested in our comment section), the CIC3* division gets the one year Mercedes lease as a prize, instead of the CIC3*-W because HSBC has restrictions on what prizes can be awarded as part of the HSBC World Cup.  But, as they say, there's no room for commentary on the scoreboard, a win is a win, and I'm very happy for Tara.



Between 12,000 and 15,000 people attended cross country at Red Hills.

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Sporting Days (Aiken): Homepage, Ride Times, Live Scores, Weather

Flint Ridge (CA): Homepage, Times/Scores

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Red Hills Cross Country Open Thread

By John on March 6, 2010 3:07 PM, Filed Under

Photo of Mara Dean and Nicki Henly not at Red Hills, but you get the idea. Photocred Rock an Racehorses

*The word around the barns is that, despite 10 rider falls and 6 MR's, the incidents were generally mild, and having talked to several people I have not heard of any serious injuries to riders or horses.  Again, please note the 'word around the barns' part of this statement.

The WC course got great reviews, and it sounded like the CIC2* course was challenging, a statement that is supported by the calculations below.  Everyone seemed pretty pleased with the event.

I heard about a lot of falls on the flat, and one rider who fell off and ended up landing jogging next to his horse.  The mood from riders this evening seems very positive, and one rider explained to me that approximately half of the fences on the XC course were frangible.

(1) Mara Dean and Nicki Henley continues to lead the CIC3*-W after cross country, after having the second fastest 3* XC time and adding 9.2 points to their score.  The rest of the top 5 (Tru Luck, Nevada Bay, Merloch, Arthur) remains nearly unchanged, with Will Coleman and Nevada Bay jumping up from 8th on the fastest 3* round of the day, and Karen and Mandiba dropping to 6th with 30.8 time penalties.

(2) As usual, making the time was extremely tough around the terrain of Red Hills.  Out of 128 starters, there were only 4 rides without time penalties today, and three of those were by Will Coleman in the CIC*, which he leads on All The Buzz by 7.9 points.  Sometimes the fact that almost no one makes the time is an indicator of too tightly wheeling a course, but at Red Hills, the terrain causes so many challenges, from riders having to take extra rebalancing to horses being challenged in terms of fitness, that even a generously wheeled course could lead to these results.

(3) ENK apparently lasts for at least two days, as Hannah and St. Barths maintained their lead in the CIC2*.

(4) The CIC3* (non W) started the weekend with 4 horses and is now a 2 horse race.  Tara Ziegler and Buckingham Place lead Elissa Estes and Medici by the respectable horse trials score of 36.5 points.

(5) In the advanced, Laine Ashker and Anthony Patch jumped from 3rd to first as overnight leader My Boy Bobby withdrew and Ashley Adams and Vaunted did not complete the course.

(6) Looking ahead to the CIC3*-W show jumping, Mara and Nicki Henley have a 7.2 point lead over Phillip and Tru Luck going into tomorrow.  The Red Hills show jumping is always a challenge due to the fact that it is on a hill with the most elevation change that I have ever seen in a show jumping course.

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BY THE NUMBERS: 
-78% of all starters completed the courses at Red Hills
-60% of the starters had clean (finished with no jumping penalties) rounds
-4 double clears
-10 RF's
-6 MR's

-Completion percentage:  90% CIC*,  52% CIC2*,  76% CIC3*W,  57% A,  73% OI,  92% P
-Clean ride percentage:  71% CIC*,  36% CIC2*,  62% CIC3*W,  42% A,  65% OI,  71% P

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Red Hills Dressage Results: Mara Dean and Nicki Henley Leading

By John on March 5, 2010 6:30 PM, Filed Under


Photo of Mara Dean and Nicki Henly not at Red Hills, but you get the idea. Photocred Rock an Racehorses

(1) As expected, the CIC3*-W has a star-studded leaderboard with Nicki Henley and Mara Dean leading on a 42.6.  Tru Luck, Merloch, Mandiba, and Arthur round out the top 5, which is separated by 7.8 points.  For those of you who don't recall the name, Nicki Henley is a former Rolex horse with a lot of top finishes on his record, and he resumed eventing last fall after some time away from the sport.  Mara and Nicki Henley were in 3rd after the dressage and show jumping in the Advanced at Pine Top last weekend, which was a combined test for them.

(2) With so many great horses grouped so closely together, the CIC3* is anybody's game at this point, and I anticipate that it will come down to the always challenging Red Hills show jumping on Sunday.

(3) Mara Dean had a great start to her weekend on multiple horses, and is leading 3 divisions after the dressage; the CIC3*-W on Nicki Henley, the OI on High Patriot, and the OP on Chequers Macon.  This is especially impressive since Mara only has 4 horses competing, and the 4th is sitting 6th in the OP.  Mara is regarded by many eventers (including me) as one of the best dressage riders and coaches in our sport, and it's great to see her in a strong position going into the weekend.

(4) Buck Davidson's extremely talented and B-listed My Boy Bobby delivered a 34.7 to lead the advanced before withdrawing, which leaves Ashley Adams and Vaunted in the lead.  Buck and Ballnoecastle RM are sitting 9th in the CIC3* on a 56.4.

(5) EN guest writer Hananh Burnett clearly received the help of some serious EN karma by kindly sending us an update last night and she leads the CIC** with St. Barths on a 46.4.  No, I don't think that either fact; that they won both a CIC2* and a CCI2* last year before writing for EN, or that Nike has developed a freakishly nice trot defeats my theory that their lead is the result of ENK.  As anyone will attest, ENK is a scientifically proven fact.

(6) Will Coleman is dominating the CIC* with All The Buzz, Vancouver, and Drummer's Call all in the top 5. 

(7) Imtiaz Anees and Interwin are leading the 4-horse field in the CIC3* (non World Cup) by 8 points over Elissa Estes and Medici.


Red Links: Red Hills is part of the new HSBC World Cup, which Oliver Townend won last year, before deciding to ride Carousel Quest on the Pau XC.  Man, I have been desperately looking for a way to fit that video in recently.  

The top 10 ways Red Hills is not like your local event



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Sporting Days (Aiken): Homepage, Ride Times, Live Scores, Weather

Flint Ridge (CA): Homepage, Times/Scores
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Hannah Burnett Red Hills Report

By John on March 4, 2010 8:55 PM, Filed Under
EN guest blogger Hannah Burnett was kind enough to take time from her busy preparations for competing at Red Hills to send us a quick update from the competition.  Thanks Hannah and thank you for reading.


From Hannah:

Red Hills Horse Trials is back in full force this year and you can feel the excitement in all of the competitors, volunteers and officials. The grounds are, as always, immaculate and efficient. I had a look at part of the cross-country this afternoon before the delicious BoneFish catered welcome party. The CIC***W, CIC*** & CIC** courses look extremely inviting while still asking the appropriate questions for the level. Hugh Lochore has re-vamped the course and it has lots of brush and a good progression to get the horses in rhythm. The design uses terrain to put the horse on the line you're supposed to jump for angles and corners, instead of off-camber where it would takes away from the horse's understanding of the question.  Looking forward to seeing some good Dressage tests tomorrow--until then, this is Hannah Sue reporting for Eventing Nation Live at Red Hills LOL. 

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Visionaire has sent me some of the lower-level profiles, and they are fantastic.  Call me elitist, but I never would have thought that I would enjoy reading the stories that much, and I learned something from every single one.  As I told Vis. our guest bloggers better watch out because they have some competition!  Since those profiles seem to be turning out so well, we thought we might ask for some reader contributions from Red Hills.

If you are interested in contributing to EN's coverage of Red Hills, feel free to send us an email with your report or story.  If it's good, we'll ask you to post it as a comment, if it's great, we might post it right on the homepage.  We love volunteers here at EN so we will be especially likely to post something from a volunteer.  The only thing we ask is that you identify your role in the event, and that you qualify your statements.  As in rather than "Buck was angry" we are looking for "I feel Buck was angry because he had a big frown on his face."  So, this is just something fun we will try, and, as always, go eventing.
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Red Hills Preview

By John on March 4, 2010 10:25 AM, Filed Under
 

After a one-year hiatus, Red Hills, one of the USA's most renowned events returns to action this weekend.  Please enjoy this Red Hills preview, and scroll down for our traditional links for all of this weekend's competitions.


(1) Two A-listed horses (Ballynoecastle RM, and Tru Luck), and three B-listers (Arthur, Mandiba, Kheops du Quesnay) are entered to run, and Canada has top horses Madison Park and Colombo entered.  All of these horses are set to go in the CIC3*W, which will give us a great comparison.

(2) The weekend's weather forecast is perfect for eventing; sunny with highs in the 60's.

(3) Approximately 132 horses are set to run, and, using just the eyeball test, the Red Hills field looks less stacked than Pine Top entries, but Red Hills wins the horse-name contest with names like Rolex (talk about calling your shot), Clifton Pikachu (fun to say), Top Gun (great movie), Over My Head (not where you want the horse to be), Wonderful Will (nice ring to it), and Applause (clap now please).

(4) One of the characteristics that I, and other riders, enjoy most about Red Hills is that the organizers do a wonderful job of making it look and feel like a big time event.  From the great trade fair, to fences around the stables, to the free donuts, orange juice and massages for the riders, to awesome competitor parties, even the prelim competitors get the feel of being at a world class compeition.

(5) From everything I hear, the new course, designed by Hugh Lochore, is less menacing than in previous years.  Hugh has experience designing events from the CIC* to CCI3* level,  and, for what it's worth, has not designed a 4*.  

(6) However, the single characteristic that makes Red Hills so challenging, and the one thing that a course designer can't make easier is the overall topography of the venue.  The Red Hills XC and show jumping (to a lesser extent) is basically built on the side of a very large hill, and horses and riders have to fight the terrain throughout.  We will know more about the courses as riders start to walk them today.

(7) As long as there are no skinny vertical dolphins parked in small ponds at the bottom of hills with flags on either side, I think we will have a better event than a lot of people.  Heck, simple regression to the mean suggests that things will go better.

(8) Red Hills organizers have, as always, really rallied the local media and hopefully a big crowd will show up for Saturday.  Hopefully the spectators will be rewarded with a fun and safe weekend.  If you live near Tallahasse and have never been to Red Hills (which is no one reading this) then I definitely suggest you check it out.

(9) I will probably not be on scene at Red Hills due to responsibilities here in Aiken, although, looking at it, I could probably make the entire drive down to see the XC and back in about 30 hours.  Of course, we have lots of friends who will be there and we will keep you fully updated throughout the weekend either way.  Hopefully the only news will be some great rides and key wins.  Go eventing.

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Sporting Days (Aiken): Homepage, Ride Times, Live Scores, Weather

Flint Ridge (CA): Homepage, Times/Scores
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Monday News and Notes

By John on March 1, 2010 10:12 AM, Filed Under

Please scroll down for your Pine Top recap.  Pine Top scores.  The Cliff Notes (TM) version is that there were several falls, but all the A-list horses looked good.

Twin Rivers (CA): Scores, *USEA recap, Saturday rain from Grey Brook, USEA, full recap from Eventing with a Twist.

Coverage of West Coast training sessions from COTH

A reminder to be registered with the FEI before going to CCIs or CICs.  Apparently both Mark Todd and Zarah Phillips needed this reminder.

Florida is trying to pass a bill making horse slaughter illegal.

New Zealand gets into the extreme cowboy business.

WM knows that fears can be conquered.

In the category of weird riding stuff for sale, check out the 'Prestige Oh-$hit-Strap,' from Farmhouse Tack, available in either tobacco or black, and $3,500 britches on EBay.  Thanks to Amber H. for sending me the former, and Beth for sending the later.

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