Jordan Linstedt and RevitaVet Capato. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Jordan Linstedt took her turn in the white box as part of the last group of riders in the inaugural CCI3* here at Rebecca Farm, and she made a lasting impression that earned her a 43.7 and the overnight lead after the dressage.
While the beefy courses promises that this will be anything but a dressage competition, Jordan is still pleased with how her and Barbara Linstedt’s 12-year-old Hanoverian gelding handled the atmosphere today.
“I was really pleased with him,” Jordan said. “He keeps getting better and better each time I go in the ring. He’s been a bit of a tricky one in the past, really spooky, comes up and gets real resistant with me. Today he felt great in there and the past six months has been better and better so I’m really excited.”
Many thanks to Chesna Klimek for the video of Jordan’s test today:
Jordan moved Capato up this spring to the four-star level, making his debut at Rolex and completing with one stop on cross country. Jordan said she felt the gelding came out of the start box at Rolex a bit greener than she expected, so her goal this year is to work on getting him more experience and confidence.
Most recently, Jordan and Capato won the CIC2* at Aspen Farms, which Jordan said was a confidence booster for her horse.
Buck Davidson and The Apprentice. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Buck Davidson held the lead as the trailblazer with The Apprentice in the division on a score of 44.1 until he was challenged by Jordan. Owned by Sherrie Martin, the 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding put in what Buck says was a great test.
“The Apprentice did for sure his best test,” he said. “I’m very proud of him today.” The Apprentice is another horse who ran Rolex and is back to full competition mode, and Buck says he made the long trailer trip to Kalispell quite well.
Petite Flower, Buck’s other ride for the week, unfortunately did not travel quite as well as her trailer mate. As of now, Buck is playing it by ear as to whether he will take the mare out on cross country tomorrow. Flower scored a 54.7 for seventh place overnight, and we’ll keep you updated on any further updates on her entry status.
Kurt Martin and Delux Z. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Kurt Martin received a Rebecca Broussard Travel Grant to help with the cost of traveling here to Kalispell, and he’s currently lying third with Delux Z, a 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding.
“He traveled really well,” Kurt said. “He had a couple of light days when he got here. He’s been quiet, sort of focused, which has been nice. The test was good work for him. I felt like last night whenever I rode the horse in the ring familiarization was the best work he’s ever done in his life, so I was really excited about that.”
Delux Z scored a 47.0, well within reach of the top of the leaderboard — but Kurt’s main priority this weekend is to take care of his horse. It’s a long course, with the optimum time in the 10 minute 40 second range, and this is Delux Z’s first CCI3*.
“I felt like (Delux Z) needed more time than to go to Bromont,” Kurt said. “Just education, taking my time going around courses. I don’t want him to come out and just rip around. It felt like this was a great opportunity — with the USEF giving a grant to travel, it was the only reason I’m here, I couldn’t have done it on my own.”
“I think (the course) has a good flow to it,” he continued. “Hopefully for where my horse is in his education, this will be good to pick up a rhythm and take quite a few fences out of stride. It’s a bit longer than I thought it might be, but I’m going to take care of my horse at the end of the course so that I can keep on with him in the fall. That’s the most important thing to me.”
James Alliston and Tivoli. Photo by Sally Spickard.
James Alliston brought two horses here to contest the CCI3*: Tivoli and Parker. Parker is currently the higher of the two in the standings, earning a 50.9 for fourth place leading up to tomorrow’s cross country.
Tivoli isn’t too far off, scoring a 53.7 for sixth place overnight. Tivoli suffered from a bit of tension in his canter work after some lovely trot work, but again we should see plenty of opportunity for moves up tomorrow.
Bella Mowbray and Star Vision. Photo by Sally Spickard.
We’d like to issue a warm EN welcome to the States to Australian rider Bella Mowbray, who is contesting her first FEI event here in the U.S. with Star Vision. A 16-year-old Thoroughbred gelding owned by Camilla Mowbray, Star Vision earned a respectable 53.7 to round out the top five after dressage. This is quite experienced pair at the three-star level, with several top 10 finishes and a couple of wins back in Australia.
Lastly, I must give a shout out to Bunnie Sexton, who put in a really classy ride on a keyed up Rise Against. Unfortunately, Bunnie’s score is not what she was hoping for, but she did a wonderful job of coaxing her horse into some moments of relaxation in a tense atmosphere. Well ridden, Bunnie!
Ride On Video was here to record the press conference this afternoon, so we’ll be adding that to this post when it becomes available. I also have many more photos to add, so please keep checking back for even more!
It’s been a wonderful day of dressage (and cross country!) here in Kalispell, and I’d like to thank the hard working staff and volunteers who have made this such a great event to work at. The WiFi is quick, the cold water is plentiful, and everyone from the volunteers to the stewards are professional and friendly. As always, thank you to Sarah Broussard for all of her hard work as hostess of what is surely everyone’s favorite summer event.
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