Kim Severson & Hannah Sue Burnett Top Morven Park Leaderboards

Kim Severson and Cooley Cross Border. Photo by Valerie Durbon Photography. Kim Severson and Cooley Cross Border. Photo by Valerie Durbon Photography.

The rains came down in typical Morven Park fashion today as the fall horse trials kicked off in Leesburg, Virginia. To be fair, the precipitation that fell didn’t require anyone to build an ark, unlike last year’s deluge that saw a chunk of cross country canceled during the competition.

Kim Severson and Cooley Cross Border are sitting in familiar territory once again, leading the CIC3* after dressage and show jumping just as they did last year. The 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by the Cross Syndicate set the early bar in dressage with a 46.7 and held onto the lead with a double clear round over Chris Barnard’s challenging course.

Will Faudree and Pfun. Photo by Valerie Durbon Photography.

Will Faudree and Pfun. Photo by Valerie Durbon Photography.

Just five pairs in the division managed clear rounds inside the time in show jumping to shuffle the leaderboard. Will Faudree and Pfun delivered one of those rounds to move from fifth up to second place on their dressage score of 49.8. The 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Jennifer Mosing is our Dark Horse pick to take the win this weekend.

Booli Selmayr delivered her first double clear show jumping round at the CIC3* level aboard Jaeda to move from sixth to third on 53.4. This 12-year-old off-track Thoroughbred mare owned by Kelly Morgan was one of just four horses to make the time in her three-star debut at Plantation Field earlier this month, so look for her to be in her element tomorrow.

Booli Selmayr and Jaeda. Photo by Valerie Durbon Photography.

Booli Selmayr and Jaeda. Photo by Valerie Durbon Photography.

Will Faudree has a second ride in the top five in Hans Dampf, who sat in second place after dressage on 47.0 and added one rail and four time penalties in show jumping to move to fourth place on 55.0. Colleen Rutledge and Escot 6 round out the top five on their dressage score of 56.0, with a clear show jumping round inside the time boosting them up from 10th place.

Looking to the Advanced division, Lynn Symansky and Mary Ann Ghadban’s Cascani led after dressage on 28.8, but two rails and four time penalties over the tough show jumping course dropped them down the leaderboard to eighth. That boosted Hannah Sue Burnett and Under Suspection, also owned by Mary Ann Ghadban, up from second to lead on their dressage score of 30.7 thanks to the only clear round inside the time.

Rails came tumbling down in the Advanced just as they did in the CIC3*, with time penalties proving equally influential. Four combinations jumped clear rounds with time penalties, including Meghan O’Donoghue and Chase Shipka’s Palm Crescent to move from seventh to second on 34.5 with just one time penalty added to their dressage score.

Colleen Rutledge and Escot 6. Photo by Valerie Durbon Photography.

Colleen Rutledge and Escot 6. Photo by Valerie Durbon Photography.

Lauren Kieffer and D.A. Duras, owned by Debbie Adams and Jacqueline Mars, round out the top three, adding two show jumping time penalties to their dressage score to move up from equal fifth place to third on 35.2. Buck Davidson and Carlevo initially sat third in the division on 35.0 after show jumping but have since withdrawn ahead of tomorrow’s cross country.

Mara DePuy and Congo Brazzaville C lead the CIC2* after the first two phases on a score of 40.0, with Lauren Balcomb and Guido Hatzis in second on 47.7. We have to send a special shout out to Gabby Dickerson and Kim Severson’s former upper-level ride and 2014 World Equestrian Games mount Fernhill Fearless, who sit in third in the CIC2* on 52.1.

Jessica Phoenix and Bentley's Best. Photo by Valerie Durbon Photography.

Jessica Phoenix and Bentley’s Best sit 10th in the CIC3*. Photo by Valerie Durbon Photography.

Will Coleman and Cooley Off the Record lead the Open Intermediate A division on 25.2 after dressage and show jumping, with Lauren Kieffer and Landmark’s Ginger Rogers leading the B division on 21.5. Marilyn Little sits in second place in both divisions with RF Demeter and RF Overdressed, respectively. Kim Severson and Ringfort Fighting Chance are third in the A division on 25.7, with Jennie Brannigan and Waterford rounding out the top three in the B division on 30.7.

It’s a busy weekend at Morven as many pairs squeeze in their final prep run ahead of the Dutta Corp Fair Hill International. Click here for live scores from all the divisions.

You can preview Tremaine Cooper’s CIC3*/Advanced cross country course here thanks to our friends at CrossCountry App, and keep it locked on EN for more beautiful photos from Valerie Durbon Photography throughout the weekend. Go Morven!

Morven Park Links: Website, ScheduleEntry Status, Ride TimesLive Scores

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