“Peter Gray and Jon Holling (Equiventures) join Young Riders & friends for the competitors’ party during the Ocala Properties Florida International Three Day Event and Horse Trials at the Florida Horse Park.” — Photo by Allisson Mercier
Well folks, the Florida International CCI/ Horse Trials has finally come to a close in what is really the end of the Florida winter season. With Rolex in just a couple weeks, most of the snowbirds will start packing up their operations and get ready to head back up north. We definitely need to give shout outs to everyone who made the weekend run so smoothly. Jon and Peter and everyone at Equiventures do a commendable job every year in the organizing and managing leading up to the event, along with putting on a great competitors party!
For the most part, all of yesterday’s leaders kept a pretty tight hold on their overnight placings- In the CCI*, Robin Walker and Florenz added 4 penalties to their score but it was enough to keep them in front to win the division. Buck jumped a double clear aboard No More Rocks to hold onto second, and Sable Giesler moved up to third after an impressive double clear aboard Evil Munchkin. In the one star, every horse that ran yesterday moved onto the show jumping, no one withdrew and no one was spun at the jog.
In the CCI**, Leslie Law and Rehy Lux won, adding nothing to their score of 40.6. Becky Holder and Can’t Fire Me also jumped a double clear, and managed to slip into second above Joe Meyer and Intrepid who negotiated the course to finish with one fence down, in third. Leslie had a tough round aboard his second ride, Leader des Bieffes, who were in fourth coming into the show jumping but moved down to eighth after pulling three rails. Canadian Jessica Phoenix came fourth in the division aboard Rolex, a horse she’s only competed a handful of times earlier this season. Similarly to the one star division, every horse in the CCI** that presented to the Ground Jury passed, the only horse to withdraw after yesterday was Callie Judy’s Sportsfield Rafiki.
In the Open Intermediate, Buck Davidson jumped a double clear aboard Park Trader to win. Lisa Fergusson and Smart Move, the overnight division leaders, showed a bit of weakness in the show jumping today with two fences down. The deficit was still enough to keep them in second, however. Emily Renfroe and Walk the Line moved one fence in their round to move down one spot into third.
The Preliminary show jumping rode really tough, there were only five clear rounds in all of the divisions. That being said, Lauren Kieffer had a great welcome back from her wrist injury with a big win in the stacked OP division aboard Pas de Panique, a catch ride for owner Maria Brazil. And she also claimed the second out of those five clears with another ride. Bruce Davidson Sr. was second aboard Expensive Playmate, and son Buck finished right behind him in third, riding Oscar.
Natalie Miller Epstein had a great weekend with a one-two finish in the Training Rider division on Suits U and Insync. She scored a near identical 29.1 and 29.6 and finished the weekend on both of those scores. If only all weekends ended up that well!
That’s about all the scoop I have from the Florida Horse Park. Till’ next time, Go Eventing.
