Tamie Smith and Mai Baum Keep Hold of Rebecca Farm CIC3*

Tamie Smith and Mai Baum. Photo by Sally Spickard. Tamie Smith and Mai Baum. Photo by Sally Spickard.

Tamie Smith left no stone unturned today on cross country with Mai Baum, her third ride of the afternoon. This pair has a healthy lead over the rest of the field, not quite making the time but still remaining on a score in the 40s.

I saw Tamie and Mai Baum through the two water questions near Spectator Hill, and they looked alert and every bit the professional pair they’ve become together this year. They had the fastest round of the day, picking up just 8.4 time penalties to add to her dressage score. This pair has quite a bit of breathing room in the show jumping tomorrow.

“Wow,” was the first thing Tamie said when asked about her ride on Mai Baum. “He’s a freak. He really is. He is an unbelievable horse.”

Tamie told us that she’ll head back east with “the Black Stallion” to aim for the CCI3* at Fair Hill in October.

Remaining in second place are Barb Crabo and Eveready, who picked up 16.4 time penalties for a two day score of 16.4. This is another pair who looked keen and fit throughout the course and never seemed to have any trouble.

Jen McFall and High Times. Photo by Sally Spickard.

Jen McFall and High Times. Photo by Sally Spickard.

Blenheim-bound Jen McFall and High Times will take third place into tomorrow after picking up some time on course, but they still looked to be having a pretty cracking round. Jen has been pleased with how well “Billy” seems to be growing up over the last few months, and this weekend will be a great gauge for the finishing touches before the big trip to England in September.

Anna Collier and Gleaming Road will also remain in their original position, fourth place, with 16 time penalties, the second fastest of the day behind Tamie and Mai Baum.

Completing the top five in the CIC3* are Alyssa Phillips and Bliss II, who jumped from 10th to fifth with 17.2 time penalties added.

Three pairs did not complete the course. Ashlynn Muechel and Morning Star retired after two stops at the water at 11, and Anni Grandia and Chaos retired after some trouble at fence 7, a keyhole to a brush.

Allison Sparks and Mystic Mojo are currently shown as eliminated, but this may be changed after an appeal. Allison was originally held up at fence 22 for continuing on with too many refusals, but she said she planned to appeal a 20 assessed I believe at fences 4 and 5. We’ll keep an eye on the scores and update you accordingly!

In all, the CIC3* seemed to ride fairly well, the time being the biggest concern. The water at fence 13 AB rode a bit sticky throughout the day — it came after a steep downhill approach following a drop log. Just one rider who completed picked up any jumping penalties, so overall the course rode quite well.

As always, I have photos of the top riders to add, so I will update this post as soon as the FEI divisions complete. We’re beginning the much larger CCI* division here in just about 10 minutes.

#RF: Website, Schedule, Ride Times, Live Scores, EN’s Coverage, Instagram, Twitter

Screenshot_3