For the win
It’s hard to quantify how hard it is to win a 4*, but to finish first and second takes absolute perfection. Mary King was great in all three phases to get into position after the dressage, seize the lead on the cross-country, and the clinch the win in the show jumping. Dominant, perfect, incredible–there’s just no adjective to describe having your two horses finish as the top two horses at Rolex. Mary is such a classy rider and a great representative of eventing that she is a worthy Rolex champion.
Rolex Final Results:
1. Mary King and King’s Temptress (GBR) +0 47.7
2. Mary King and Fernhil Urco (GBR) +0 49.7
3. Sinead Halpin and Manoir de Carneville +0 53.1
4. William Fox-Pitt and Neuf des Coeurs (GBR) +0 54.0
5. Clayton Fredericks and Be My Guest (AUS) +4 57.0
6. Oliver Townend and Sonas Rovatio (GBR) +0 58.2
7. Jessica Phoenix and Exponential (CAN) +0 60.0
8. Hannah Burnett and St. Barths +8 61.3
9. Boyd Martin and Remington +0 61.4
10. Rebecca Howard and Riddle Master (CAN) +0 68.5
–Another wonderful story this weekend is the performance of Sinead Halpin in her first 4*. Sinead has a lot of experience, including working in England for 4th placed rider William Fox-Pitt a few years ago, but she rode with poise well beyond her experience. Sinead was solid and completely composed in all three phases–until the tears started flowing from the joy of finishing the show jumping that is. I told Sinead on Thursday that I wanted a top-3 performance from them and she laughed, but no one is laughing at that now. Some people might be surprised by this result, but Sinead is such a tough competitor that it shouldn’t be any surprise. Sinead is evidence that the US has a great group of riders ready to break through into the international team ranks.
–The Brits are going to start coming to Kentucky more often I would imagine. William won Rolex 2010, Team GBR won team gold and individual silver at the WEGs, and they took Rolex 2011 as well as 4 of the top 6 spots.
–The international riders dominated the top of the leader board. 5 international horses finished in the top 6. The USA finished 3 horses in the top 10, and Canada finished two in the top 10.
—There were some real bright spots for the USA today. Aside from Sinead’s finish, Boyd had a super ride on Remington, Michael Pollard and Icarus jumped clear with 3 time penalties to finish his weekend on a good note, Heather Morris and Slate River jumped double-clear as did Kelly Prather and Ballinakill Glory.
–Kentucky native Hannah Sue Burnett was the second best placed US rider. St. Barths pulled two rails in the show jumping but this was a great first 4* for Nike and they are one of the most promising US pairs for the future.
–Boyd got a huge cheer from the crowd and galloped around after he finished his great ride–Remington can do better than 9th, but it’s the horse’s second straight top-10 finish in a 4* after Pau last year.
–New Zealand’s Joe Meyer and the tiny 19 year old Snip built up a huge group of fans this weekend. They finished with one rail but got one of the biggest cheers from the crowd. Joe was grinning ear to ear.
–Another rider to finish with a big smile was Jessica Phoenix. Exponential jumped with his usual amazing power and their clean round was never really in doubt. They were the top placed Canadians and finished in 7th.
—Mark Todd and Grass Valley withdrew before the show jumping and after the jog, reportedly due to soundness. They were in 17th place and didn’t have a lot to gain from jumping today.
—11 of 28 show jumpers had double-clear rides. 7 of the top 10 horses after the cross-country had double-clears, which might have put pressure on Mary if she hadn’t already won when she rode Fernhill Urco with 7 to go.
–Mary is the first rider to have ever finished first and second at the Rolex 4*. For her win, she takes home an $80,000 check and brand new Rolex. Second place won her around $30,000–not a bad day at the office, even when it is converted to Euros.
–Kim Severson and Tipperary Liadhnan had a tough day with 6 rails to drop to 16th. I think a lot of that has to do with just not having the best fitness and competition prep for Rolex–Paddy looked slightly tired out there.
–It was a great weekend for the ladies–obviously the top three places went to lady riders and two mares finished in the top 5.
–Congratulations to Hilary DeAngelis of Concord, NH for winning our Point Two cross-country pick ’em contest. Hilary will also by announced as the winner on the Eventing Radio Show, which will broadcast starting at 4pm.
–Rebecca Howard won the Omega Alpha best dressed rider award. We’ll announce the winner of the EN Omega Alpha Rolex Challenge shortly.
–Michael Pollard and Icarus won the best turned out award–way to go Ms. Katie!
–Sinead won the best conditioned horse award as well as the award for the highest placed first time 4* rider.
That’s all for now. Thanks for joining us here at Eventing Nation for a great weekend at Rolex and stay tuned throughout the day and tomorrow for much more coverage from Rolex. Go eventing.
