A Soggy Start to the Yanmar America Tryon International Three-Day Event

Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Have you ever heard that it’s good luck if it rains on your wedding day? Well, I hope that’s also true for horse trials because boy did it rain during the Tryon jog. But this morning, all of the competitors in the CCI4* emerged from their hiding places, dried out, and ready to ride. After two full days of dressage, we can now say we have the official line up at the end of phase one.

Leading the way is Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake, owned by Mollie Hoff and Sherrie Martin on a score of 28.6. She’s closely followed by Phillip Dutton & Denim and Will Faudree & Mama’s Magic Way, who are currently tied for second place with a score of 28.9.

Caroline and HSH Blake (Tolan R – Doughiska Lass, by Kannan) are quickly becoming household names, having earned major achievements including fifth in last month’s Cosequin Lexington 4*-S and winning the Pan American Games as part of the USA’s silver-medal-winning team in 2023. Fun fact: “Blake” hasn’t placed below the top five in an FEI event since 2022. It’s looking as though Tryon will be no different.

Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

“Honestly, he’s just a unicorn. I’m pretty spoiled with him. He really does make me look good. Even though he’s only nine, he’s pretty trained now at the level because he did his first 4* last year. So he’s pretty trained. He’s just a pleasure to ride and I keep telling everyone he’ll only get better and better the stronger he is.”

Fresh off the top placing at Kentucky’s 4*-S, which was used as a set-up for this Long format by several pairs, Caroline’s got her eye on one goal in particular: building on her individual gold and team silver at the Pan American Games last fall with a selection to the U.S. Olympic squad. This weekend marks the final selection trial designated by US Equestrian for pairs hoping to catch the selectors’ eyes for a team spot (Badminton is also considered a selection trial by USEF).

“Since Kentucky, Blake had a really quiet week of hacking and no pressure, just enjoying trot sets and stuff like that. And then this week, we just did a lot of cavaletti work and again, a lot of hacking since we’ve been here,” Caroline said. “I put his dressage saddle on for the first time last night for ring familiarization. He was perfect. And then I actually told everyone that he felt the best he’s ever felt yesterday. So I was really excited going in today.”

Will Faudree and Mama’s Magic Way. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Will Faudree and Mama’s Magic Way (Mighty Magic – Straightaway, by Star Regent xx), owned by Jennifer Mosing, are having one heck of a comeback weekend. After withdrawing before cross country at the Defender Kentucky Three Day Event last weekend, Will and “Mason” rerouted to Tryon to give the 4*-L a go.

“Obviously, I didn’t have a good test at Kentucky and opted to reroute here, he’s 13. He’s done five five stars. He doesn’t need to go and prove that he can jump around at that level. And you know, it’s an Olympic year and you put that pressure on yourself and you want to go in and do it, but it’s hard,” Will said. “It was a hard decision and I’m so grateful to his owner, Jennifer Mosing, who supported me in that decision. And obviously, I was gutted. I was disappointed at Kentucky, but I just needed to put aside my personal wants, and do the right thing. For me, the right thing was to say, ‘Look, we know we can go out and jump around this level. We’ve done it a lot. At the end of the day, he’s only done one 4*-L in his life. And he’s done five five stars. So let’s just take the pressure back and take the intensity of the competition away a little bit.’”

Will Faudree and Mama’s Magic Way. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

While Will is competing here in the states, he still has one eye on the action happening overseas at the MARS Badminton Horse Trials. “I read an article that Pippa Funnell put out because she did not have a great test on Majas Hope. She made a comment, ‘You know what, he doesn’t need the experience to go run around this and why do I want to run when I’m not on my competitive mark?’ And, you know, I think that that’s very admirable and I don’t at all consider myself in the same league as Pippa Funnell by any stretch of imagination,” Will said. “But that was awesome to read because I felt she kind of took the words out of my mouth when she said that. You know, I love my horses. We put a lot into it. And sometimes it’s not your weekend.”

Today, Mason and Will were on their A-game, receiving a handful of 8s throughout their test. As for Will, he says that his biggest accomplishment was riding the test exactly like he rides at home. “My focus was to just practice just doing this like we’re at home and he really stayed with me. Every time he started to get a little bit amped up, I had to put my best Meryl Streep acting on because I just had to keep telling him that we’re just practicing. I had to become an actor because we do this work all the time and sometimes the excitement and the desire to be so good, gets the best of us. And you know, he’s a horse that is so incredibly talented and he loves it and he wants to do it.”

Phillip Dutton and Denim. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Phillip Dutton and Denim (Dinken – Celia II, by Ibisco xx), owned by Ann Jones, Ann Lapides, Caroline Moran, and Neill Sites, are currently dueling it out with Will for second place. Called “Denny” at home, the 9-year-old Holsteiner is a somewhat recent addition to Phillip’s string, as Phillip took over the ride on the bay gelding from Netherland’s Merel Blom-Hulsman in 2022. However, it seems to be all smooth sailing in Camp Dutton at the end of phase one.

“Denim was very professional in his dressage test. There’s a lot of areas that we can improve on– I’m really excited about his future,” Phillip said.

At the end of the day yesterday, Phillip was leading the 4*-L with Possante (Namelus R – Wendelien, by Otangelo), owned by The Possante Group. Tryon marks their fourth FEI event together for this new pair, although Phillip took over the horse from Great Britain’s Emily King in 2023. According to Phillip, “Possante is a big impressive horse on the flat. Once we get a bit more experience together he’s going to be very competitive.”

Liz Halliday and Cooley Quicksilver. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Slotting into fourth place after dressage, ahead of Phillip’s new placing with Possante after day two, are Liz Halliday with The Monster Partnership / Ocala Horse Properties’ Cooley Quicksilver (Womanizer – Kylemore Crystal, by Greggan Diamond) on a score of 29.2. This is the first Long format “Monster” has done since Maryland in 2022, when Liz retired on cross country. After a light 2023, the 13-year-old Irish gelding has been on top form in 2024 so far and stands a strong shot to contend for the title at Tryon.

Leslie Law and Lady Chatterley. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

In the 4*-S division, Leslie Law and Lady Chatterley (Connor 48 – Jucy, by Mytens xx), owned by the rider and Jackie and Steve Brown, are leading the way on a score of 31 even, after a rail knocked Tamie Smith and Kynan (Envoy – Danieta, by Zirroco Blue) out of first place. After retiring at the Cosequin Lexington 4*-S after a refusal on cross country, they rerouted to Tryon. They’re already off to a great start, beating out their Kentucky dressage score by 0.6 points. A very experienced pair, Leslie and “Fleur” have been competing at the 4* level since 2021, with some very impressive results, never placing lower than tenth. Chances look good that they’ll end the weekend with a podium finish.

“She really did a very good solid [dressage] test where she didn’t make any mistakes and you know, just a good solid test. She jumped a really good round. I’m very, very happy with that. She rode very well,” Leslie said.

Now, all riders have turned their eyes towards tomorrow and are on their final walks of the cross country course. The rain has somewhat complicated the footing in certain areas, which is sure to be a concern for everyone leaving the startbox. We’ll keep our fingers crossed for drier weather overnight. The Tryon 4*-L is proving to be a unique track best described by words typically used for a 4*-S.

“They made it way more twisty and turny than I expected. You double back on yourself quite a lot, which I feel like is unusual for a 4*-L. So I think it’s gonna be pretty hard on the horses. For a four long it rides like a four short, which is quite exhausting, mentally and physically,” Caroline said.

The rider with the most experience of our group of leaders, Phillip’s biggest concern at the moment is the footing. “The course looks pretty wet at the moment, hopefully we will have some drying weather between now and cross country start time. I think the beginning of the course is very inviting. There’s some difficult combinations spread throughout the course and the undulating terrain adds an element of difficulty to the test.”

You can take a look at the 4*-L track, newly designed by Helen West this year, who’s taken over for previous designer Capt. Mark Phillips, on CrossCountryApp here. Capt. Phillips is still involved with the course this year, assisting Helen.

Will Faudree and Mama’s Magic Way. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Maybe Will’s trademark Jolly Roger skull-and-cross bones will lend him some luck as he sets sail through the soggy course tomorrow morning. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow. We’ve got some work to do, but he’s fit and he’s ready,” Will said. “There’s a lot of terrain questions, a lot of uphill stuff and it’s very intense at minute three to five. And then you have a little bit of a– it’s not really a breather– but you have a minute where you just have two fences, you have a corner but it’s flagged very generously, and then a half coffin, which is tough. It’s a chevron to a ditch. It does take some riding, but then it gets quite intense again. So yeah, lots to do. Lots to think about. It wheels pretty tight, so I think the time is going to be tough.”

“I say I’m excited and looking forward to it. But if you ask me that at probably nine o’clock tonight, I’ll be wondering, ‘Why do I still do this?’ Will laughed. “No, we’re ready for the challenge and looking forward to it.”

Tomorrow the 4*-S will break ground on the cross country first, with a start time of 8:30 a.m. EST. The 4*-L will leave the start box at 10:20 a.m. EST. Keep an eye on EN for another report with all the action from the day tomorrow evening.

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