Buck Davidson and Ballynoecastle RM are tied with Jennie and Cambalda for the CIC3* lead
With no breaks between divisions, riders starting out of order, and the occasional friend needing help in the vet box, Saturday afternoon has turned into a whirlwind here at Richland Park. Here’s a quick look at the CIC3* results and we will be back after the Pan American Games division with a recap of that and all of the advanced divisions. And sometime this afternoon we’ll write about Germany’s historic dominance today at the Europeans.
–Jennie Brannigan rode around the CIC3* cross-country course with a vengeance. Jennie clearly wanted to prove that there were no lingering issues from their tough cross-country at Luhmuhlen earlier this summer and she did just that. Jennie had one of six double-clears today and they made it look easy moving up to first place.
–Buck and Ballynoecastle have had some ups and downs on the cross-country this year, but they too made a statement today and with a double-clear round they are tied with Jennie. Jennie’s coach Phillip occupies the next two spots with Ben and William Penn, giving True Prospect a commanding position going into the show jumping. Phillip’s 4th place horse, William Penn was particularly impressive with his long stride which should make it easy for him to make the time throughout his career.
The cinematography starts at the first water complex:
–Jan Byyny rode the corners just as she told us she would and she moved up with Inmidair to 5th place.
–Nina Ligon’s Fernhill Fearless looked quite good and that horse is really starting to build a reputation as a top cross-country horse. They moved up from 19th into the top 10 with a double-clear. Veronica looked very focused through the sunken road and my feeling is that she has a very promising future on the cross-country. Can’t Fire Me also looked lovely and was very keen to recover from a stumble in the second water.
–Seven riders had issues on the CIC3* course, with four stops, two retires, and one rider fall.
–The first water complex caused most of the issues today. Lucia retired there, as did Buck and LA Albert. Lisa Barry took an unfortunate tumble in the water and they were having a very nice ride up until then. Doug Payne had a stop at fence 5 but looked good elsewhere, although Running Order was a bit sticky in the water again.
It’s so far so good for Ian Stark’s advanced course with two more divisions to go. See you soon and go eventing.
