Current leaders, Andrew Nicholson & Avebury. Photo by Kate Samuels.
The second horse inspection dawned bright and brisk this morning, with just forty-two horses completing the cross country course of the previous day. Four horses were sent to the holding box, including Roo Fox’s Fleet Street, Imogen Murray’s Wiseguy IV, Tom Crisp’s Cooly’s Luxury, and Matthew Heath’s The Lion. All but Fleet Street were accepted upon re-inspection. Sophie Jenman withdrew Geronimo before the trot ups, and did not present. There was a particularly tense moment when Jock Paget was asked to jog Clifton Promise twice, but they were accepted upon the second go-around and the crowd sighed with relief.
Two Americans presented at the jogs this morning, and both Allison Springer with Arthur and Marilyn Little with RF Demeter passed without problem. Sadly, however, Hannah Sue Burnett withdrew Harbour Pilot this morning, after he completed a superb cross country round yesterday. Both Karen and David O’Connor assured me this morning that while William was not suited to present today, the injury is minor, and he will be back at it before long.
[UPDATE 8:39 a.m. EST]: PRO has just confirmed via the Technical Delegate Phillip Surl that Marilyn’s 21 penalties will stand. The 21 penalties will leave her on a score of 96.9 for 24th place after show jumping.
Statement from Hannah Sue:
“After a stellar performance yesterday, we have sadly had to withdraw William from the rest of competition due to a concern to his soundness. We are confident that he will be ok but William’s well being is of utmost importance to me and my wonderful team. Thank you for the tremendous support. I’m so proud of my horse and my team this week.”
Marilyn Little & RF Demeter. Photo by Kate Samuels.
I also spoke with David and Karen about the twenty-one penalties that Marilyn was assessed for breaking the frangible pin at the corner of the Maltings complex yesterday, and they said that the jury is still out. They are hopeful that the penalties will be removed, as they feel very strongly that Marilyn was well on the left side of the fence, which was the delineation that Captain Mark Phillips set forth for penalization decisions.
Several riders ran into trouble here, including Meghan O’Donoghue and Pirate earlier in the day. The decision will be made before Marilyn’s show jumping round this afternoon, and could rocket her up the standings if the penalties are removed. You can see a GIF of Marilyn’s problem fence HERE on Sally’s open thread from yesterday.
Show jumping is held in two parts today, beginning at 11:10 a.m. BST (6:10 a.m. EST) for the first fifteen combinations, and after a lunch break the final riders will go, starting at 2:35 p.m. BST (9:35 a.m. EST).
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