Michael Pollard and Mensa Capture Richland Park CIC3*

Michael Pollard and Mensa at Richland CIC3* in 2013. Photo by Samantha Clark. Michael Pollard and Mensa at Richland CIC3* in 2013. Photo by Samantha Clark.

We’re officially handing the title of Number Nerd Queen to Maggie Deatrick, who successfully predicted the top two finishers in the CIC3* at Richland Park this weekend. We’re still scratching our heads to figure out exactly how she did it, but we’re impressed nonetheless!

Maggie predicted a top finish from Michael Pollard and Mensa with a score around 56.1 based on their past performances. Michael did one better and beat Maggie’s predicted score, ending the weekend with just two time penalties on cross country for a 51.6. Michael had one rail down over Marc Donovan’s show jump course yesterday and turned in one of the quicker cross country runs today to move from second into first overall.

Michael was thrilled with his weekend, and equally impressed with Maggie’s winning prediction. “It pretty much went right to plan,” he said. “(Mensa) was quite good on the flat, especially considering he’s had a pretty easy summer since I’ve been gone a lot. He had a great show jumping round, we had the second to the last fence down when he rolled the pole coming out of the double. We’ve been working a lot with Silvio, getting ready for the (WEG) Selection Trials, and while we didn’t get to use him there it definitely came in handy here. He jumped really well.

“Today he was just a dream; I was really able to run him out of stride and I was fast without really having to push anywhere, which is really what you want. We had a couple of hard rains in Thursday and it softened the ground just enough. The ground here is really well established and they do a great job with the footing. It’s nice to have a well put together event like this in the summer, so I love it.”

Michael will let Mensa have a lighter fall season, targeting Poplar and Morven Park. “I thought about trying to take him to Fair Hill, but with his age and him going so well I want to preserve him and see if I can’t get him back to Kentucky next year and work on a few things that will get him even better placed than this year.”

Sharon White and Under Suspection likely came out with a vengeance today over Ian Stark’s cross country course, and they also proved Maggie right, finishing second on a score of 53.1. Sharon also bested Maggie’s predicted score of 58.0, which is never a bad scenario in our opinion. Sharon is taking “Pippy” to Boekelo for a crack at the CCIO3* this fall, and this was a great prep run for the mare as she prepares for Europe.

Overnight leaders Emily Beshear and Shame On the Moon had a clean run today, accumulating 12 time to take home third on the weekend. As we stated before, this is the mare’s first three-star attempt, so Emily was likely going for education over time, and she’s sure to be thrilled with a solid showing for “Delta.”

Maggie’s dark horse pick, Mackenna Shea and Landioso, picked up fourth place, picking up just time to finish in fourth place. Mackenna and Landioso are also heading to the CCIO3* at Boekelo this fall on a USEF Land Rover Competition Grant, and this pair has to be feeling confident in preparation for their first trip overseas.

Sharon White’s second ride, Wundermaske, rounds out the top five, finishing on a 59.4. Dressage leaders Maya Black and Doesn’t Play Fair unfortunately picked up a Mandatory Retirement. We are awaiting word and will update this post once we have more information.

UPDATE 2:15 PM EST: Bloggers Row writer Courtney Carson let us know that Maya and Doesn’t Play Fair fell at a big table near the end of the course. Both were up and OK. We will continue to provide more updates as we have them.

Richland Links: [Website] [Entry List] [Live Scores] [CIC3* By The Numbers] [CIC3* Competitor Preview] [Advanced By the Numbers]

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