Kim Severson and Cooley Corraghy Diamond. Photo by Haley Boothe / Impulsion Media.
Kim Severson was the rider we’d tapped to be in the lead today after the first half of dressage at the $200,000 US Equestrian Open of Eventing Final at Morven Park. This afternoon, Kim and Cooley Corraghy Diamond (owned by Ros and Bill Johnson) took a smooth lead on a score of 29.8, the sole sub-30 of the first day of competition. This weekend marks the first CCI4*-L for the 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding and also Kim’s first entry at the Long level since 2018. That year, she was still competing Cooley Cross Border at the now-five-star level.
“Cory” has in particular needed strengthening in his flying change work, Kim noted earlier this year, and the hard work at home was rewarded today with two 7s and an 8 on their first of two changes in this 4* Test B. Several pairs slated to go on Friday come in with lower 6 Run Averages than today’s best score, so we anticipate there to be quite a bit of change as we head further down in the order.
“I think that’s the second time he’s ever gotten both changes in the ring,” Kim said. “It was a real struggle for him, but he’s very obedient, and he’s a very good boy, and I just tried to be as accurate as I could possibly be and give him the best possibility to show himself off.”
Woods Baughman and Hopak de Greenbay Z. Photo by Haley Boothe / Impulsion Media.
Katie Lichten comes into the weekend on good form through the summer, finishing top five in the Adequan Advanced Final at the American Eventing Championships in August with HTS Jensen R. Now she’s in early second on a score of 31.4, about 1.5 points improved on her 6RA and the best score at four-star this year. Woods Baughman enjoyed a smooth ride on Hopak de Greenbay Z, earning a 32.4 for third overnight. This weekend marks the pair’s fifth CCI4*-L start — they’ll be looking to improve on the 14th place they earned at this event last year.
Here’s a look at your Thursday top 10:
Click the image to enlarge.
The running order for the Open Final is set by points earned during the Qualifier season. Tamie Smith, the Series champion, will ride last tomorrow afternoon as well as on cross country Saturday. With the riders ranked higher coming later on tomorrow, it’s sure to be a refreshed leaderboard in many ways. Morven Park, however, is not something to bet on by dressage. I’d be looking at the best-rated cross country horses in the field for your top finishers come Saturday — but of course, anyone can step up at any given moment, and that’s one of the greatest things about sport.
Friday’s action continues at 1:00 pm EST live on ClipMyHorse.TV. You can stream the CCI4*-L and CCI4*-S live on ClipMyHorse.TV and other FEI divisions will be available for free on the Morven Park YouTube page here. Friday, the USEA/USEF Developing Horse National Championships begin their competition with dressage, so you can catch a glimpse of some future stars on the free live stream. If your USEF account is linked, you’ll be able to watch the ClipMyHorse.TV stream free as well (more information on that here).
Looking down from this year’s Morven Park Leaf Pit question. Photo via CrossCountry App.
I’ll be back with much more in our end of dressage report tomorrow evening. Until then, go ahead and take yourself for a virtual walk around Derek di Grazia’s gorgeous cross country course on CrossCountry App here.
Morven Park Fall International + US Equestrian Open of Eventing Final (VA): [Website] [US Equestrian Open] [Start Lists & Scores] [Free General Admission + Hospitality] [EquiRatings Prediction Center] [Eventing Manager – Code PCTD to join EN’s league!] [ClipMyHorse.TV Live Stream] [CrossCountry App XC Maps] [EN’s Coverage] [Volunteer]
