Area II Young Riders sit in Gold position after cross country. Photo by Kim Parisan.
The CCI* division at NAJYRC in Lexington was most certainly not a dressage competition. It was a wild day of cross country, and the leaderboard saw some dramatic changes by the time the division completed. At day’s end, five of the top 10 riders going into show jumping were able to move up from well outside the top 10 after dressage after producing clear rounds across country.
Overnight leaders Kaylawna Smith and London Calling OHF were confident going into today, and they delivered a clear round but incurred 10.8 time penalties to move them into eighth place. After seeing the difficulties the course was causing, there is no doubt that Kaylawna is pleased with her performance today, although time has proven to be costly for those who did come home without jump faults.
With Kaylawna adding to her dressage score, the door opened for the number one spot to be taken over, and the lead changed hands a few times throughout the day. At the end, though, it was Moira de Ste Croix-Laframboise and Blue Ben, third after dressage, who will take the lead into show jumping after producing a double clear run.
Alexis Nelson and Total Eclipse moved up from a tie for fourth to second after laying down a double clear cross country. Margret Schaeffer and Grey Area jumped from 16th to third, and Caroline Day with Malibu also enjoyed a big bump, moving from 14th to third going into show jumping tomorrow.
Roughly a fourth of the competitors had double clear rounds today, and all were rewarded with jumps up in the standings. Three riders moved up a whopping 24 places after double clear rounds: Nicole Hatley and Ace (39th to 15th), Michaela Yowaiski and Darla Doll (43rd to 19th), and Woods Baughman and Truckee Bash (37th to 13th).
Overall, 31 competitors completed the cross country today. Eight riders fell on course, four were otherwise eliminated, and one elected to retire.
As the individual board shuffled, so did the team standings. Area II now finds themselves in gold medal position after all four of their riders produced clear rounds, with three double clears. Well done, ladies! Area VIII moved from fifth to second in the team standings, and Area V is now in bronze position, dropping a spot after holding silver after dressage.
In the team lead after dressage, Area IV had one rider fall, but will be able to drop that score to remain in fourth place. [CH-J* Team Standings]
It’s going to be an exciting finish in Lexington tomorrow for the CCI* riders. The CH-Y** riders will take to the cross country course next, so stay tuned for much more from NAJYRC.
NAJYRC Links: [Website] [Schedule] [NAJYRC Entry List] [CH-J* Ride Times] [CH-Y** Ride Times] [Live Scores]
