Kylie Lyman and Lup the Loop. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Kylie Lyman piloted Joan Nichols’ Lup the Loop to a clear show jumping round with one time penalty on a drizzly morning at Carolina International to win the Advanced division on a final score of 38.7. Heavy rain fell overnight here in Raeford, North Carolina, which saturated the footing in the ring and added an additional challenging element to Marc Donovan’s course.

“He was extra fresh, and he’s always a very careful horse and thankfully he stayed careful in the mud. I got a little caught out earlier on Sacramento, who is normally super bold but put an extra step in the triple, so I was going to be sure not to let that happen with this one, who is so careful,” Kylie said.

“I got a little worried about the time and I tried to stay patient but still let him do his job. He’s a pretty hard horse to make a mistake on. He’s such a good jumper and wants to do his job, and he makes my job extremely easy.”

“Loopy,” an 8-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding (Lupicor x Farney Clover), took the win in just the second Advanced event of his career. Kylie moved him up to the level at Pine Top last month, where she said they both made mistakes on cross country. But they tasted redemption yesterday across Ian Stark’s course, jumping clear with 9.2 time penalties to move up to lead the division overnight.

Lauren Kieffer and Landmark’s Monte Carlo. Photo by Jenni Autry.

“He was unreal. He galloped well. He jumped way too big over some of the big open oxers, but he was perfect,” Kylie said. “Pine Top was his first Advanced, and I had two really stupid mistakes on him, so I went out yesterday determined not to do that again. … It was a good kick in the pants for this weekend.”

This is an exciting horse for Kylie, who has several really nice horses stepping up to the Advanced level right now. For being a young horse at only 8 without a ton of mileage, Kylie said Loopy is very mature and focused. He showed off that workmanlike attitude on Friday during his dressage test, when he scored 28.5 to sit in second place after the first phase.

“He was fantastic. He’s a big flashy mover, but he’s hard to keep motivated in the ring. I thought he was the most forward but still relaxed and listening. I couldn’t have asked for more from him. He went in and tried the whole test,” Kylie said. “He’s a tough horse sometimes to keep what you have in the warm up to carry over into the ring. Sometimes he can get a bit behind me, and then I start working too hard and he gets even more behind me.”

With a successful Advanced run under their belt, Kylie said she will look to aim Loop for his first CIC3* at The Fork in two weeks, with their main goal to aim for the CCI3* at Bromont in June.

“Originally I thought about doing the three-star here, but after both of us being a bit green at Pine Top, I thought another Advanced was definitely necessary,” Kylie said. “It took the pressure off this weekend to just focus on getting another good run, and this was obviously pretty exciting to have him go and do so well. Now I hope we can continue on and keep Bromont our plan.”

Boyd Martin and Welcome Shadow. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Lauren Kieffer and Jacqueline Mars’ Landmark’s Monte Carlo, jumped one of the four clear rounds inside the time to finish in second place on a final score of 39.4. “Patrick,” a 10-year-old Irish/Thoroughbred cross gelding by Formula One had the second fastest trip across the country yesterday, coming home with just 6 time penalties to move all the way up from 12th place to second.

Boyd Martin and Crackerjack, a 13-year-old Thoroughbred cross gelding owned by Lucy Boynton Lie, also jumped clear and inside the time in show jumping this morning to finish in third place on a final score of 41.5. “Crackers” is one of the horses Boyd currently has cross-entered at both the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event and Badminton Horse Trials.

If you’re just tuning in to EN this weekend, Allison Springer and the Arthur Syndicate’s Arthur clinched the Setters’ Run Farm CIC3* win, Will Faudree and Jennifer Mosing’s Caeleste won the Southern Pines Equine Associates CIC2*, and Katie Lichten and Harold Lichten’s RF Luminati won the Attwood Equestrian Surfaces CIC*. Click here to catch up on all our #2016CI coverage.

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Allison Springer and Arthur. Photo by Jenni Autry.

It’s been a long time coming for Allison Springer and Arthur to get back on top of a major podium. They last won a CIC3* at Red Hills in 2011, and they added another three-star victory to their longtime partnership today at Carolina International, defending their overnight lead with a clear cross country trip and just 3.2 time penalties to finish first on 46.6.

Is the Arthur Syndicate’s Arthur just getting better with age? At 17 years old, he delivered the only finishing score in the 40s in a 64-strong field of the top combinations in the country. The win today means this stalwart Irish Sport Horse gelding is now officially qualified to make his seventh appearance at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event next month.

“I’m thrilled with him. He had a great weekend. I certainly had to work for it, but I always do with him. But he’s a horse that is so capable of winning,” Allisaon said. “It’s only in the past really since (the 2012 London Olympics) that I’ve had more horses to ride. You have to have more horses, and that gives you such experience. I think just that — more experience for me as a rider — is what I need to make him a winning horse.”

Maya Black and Doesn’t Play Fair. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Allison also referenced words of wisdom Phillip Dutton gave to her in years past: “Phillip said, ‘You want Plan A to work, but the best riders in the world recover and get it done.’ And I perhaps haven’t been great at that in the past, and I think this was fun today. This is not a horse that’s easy to go fast on a short course like this. But I thought, ‘Why not, Let’s do it!'”

Maya Black and Dawn Dofelmier’s Doesn’t Play Fair rallied in a big way after pulling two rails on Marc Donovan’s show jumping course yesterday. That knocked them out of a three-way tie for the lead following a stellar dressage test on Thursday, but Maya put the pedal down today to pilot the 11-year-old Holsteiner gelding to one of only three double clear rounds in the division, moving up to finish in second place on a final score of 53.0.

“Ideally we want all three phases, but I at least feel a little bit like I’m back to how I used to be, which was having a good dressage and a good cross country, so at least now I have one thing to focus on, so that’s a plus,” Maya said. “He’s not really an easy horse to just go out and canter around on, so when I run him and since I don’t have a lot of other upper-level horses myself, I kind of need the practice galloping and jumping out of speed. For me, my plan was to go out and ride it how I needed to ride it.”

Lynn Symansky and Donner. Photo by Rare Air Eventing Photography.

As for Maya’s thoughts on Ian’s course: “I thought it was fun. There was definitely a lot to do. It was interesting coming back to another Ian Stark course because when I was bringing ‘Cody’ along, (Ian) designed at Galway, which is where I did my first one-star and two-star with Cody, so I’ve brought Cody along with this kind of course in mind. He does well with it.”

It was a good day to be sitting on a Thoroughbred as the three-star riders tackled the forward, aggressive pace Ian Stark laid out on this brand new track, and Lynn Symansky and the Donner Syndicate’s Donner had one of the faster rounds in the division to cross the finish flags with 4.8 time penalties. They finished third on 53.0 — an excellent prep for either Rolex or Badminton, where they’re currently cross-entered.

“This type of course doesn’t suit him quite as well. Sometimes having a few more galloping fences and having it hit hard toward the middle and the end suits him a little bit better. He’s more of a longer-type-of-course horse. In the beginning he was just a little bit sticky and a little bit surprised,” Lynn said.

“I haven’t done that much with him this year. I did Wellington and then an Intermediate at Rocking Horse, so this was his first real proper run. He needed it, and I needed it too. He got better and better as the course went on. There was certainly enough to do. And then it led up as the course went on; I think that’s (Ian’s) style as a course designer.”

Colleen Rutledge and Covert Rights. Photo by Jenni Autry.

As for how she thinks this new course benefits horses and riders aiming for Rolex: “I think it depends how it ended today. I think if you had a good go around you are pretty confident, but not too confident. You don’t want to be too confident (going into Kentucky). It definitely tested where we need to go home and do some homework or where we can ease off going into Kentucky.

Lynn is waiting on the announcement of which riders with receive USEF High Performance Grants for major spring competitions, as she’s applied for a Badminton grant. “It would be awesome to go back to Kentucky. We have so much local support, and it’s great for the Donner Syndicate to be able to go to Kentucky and cheer him on. There something to be said for that as well. It’s a win-win for wherever we end up going this spring.”

Phillip Dutton and David Garrett’s Indian Mill completed their first three-star as a combination in good form, moving up from 10th place after dressage with a clear round and 6 time penalties to finish in fourth place on 53.5. The 11-year-old Thoroughbred gelding, a former ride of Paul Tapner, is also currently entered to compete at Badminton in May.

Boyd Martin and Master Frisky. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Laine Ashker piloted her own Anthony Patch to a beautiful clear round with 4.8 time penalties to round out the top five on a final score of 55.5. That’s three Thoroughbreds finishing in the top five of a massive three-star division. And that also means two 17-year-old horses finished in the top five. If experience comes with age, “Al” is looking in fantastic form to tackle the sixth CCI4* of his career at Rolex.

Colleen Rutledge and Covert Rights made the biggest move up the leaderboard in this phase, shooting up from equal 24th place to finish in sixth on 55.8 with a clear round and just 1.2 time penalties. Katherine Coleman and Longwood also made an impressive jump of the leaderboard with one of the three double clear cross country rounds, moving all the way up from 49th after dressage to finish in seventh place on 56.1.

Sound Prospect became the fourth Thoroughbred to finish in the top 10 with Allie Knowles in the irons. The 14-year-old gelding owned by Sound Prospect LLC cruised around for a clear round with 6.8 time penalties to finish in eighth place on 57.4. Sinead Halpin and Manoir de Carneville completed their first FEI competition since the 2014 World Equestrian Games in textbook form, finishing ninth with 9.2 time penalties on cross country.

Liz Halliday-Sharp and HHS Cooley. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Phillip Dutton finished a second ride inside the top 10 aboard Mr. Candyman, who had the honors of being the guinea pigs as the first out of the start box on Ian Stark’s hefty new three-star track. The course certainly caused its fair share of drama. Most notably, Buck Davidson had to withdraw both Ballynoe Castle RM and The Apprentice, who were sitting third and fifth, respectively, after he fell from Carlevo at 8b, a triple brush coming out of the Tobacco Barn.

Buck confirmed to EN that he is totally fine after the fall, but since he did hit his head as he fell, the medical staff on site felt it would be best for him to withdraw the remainder of his rides. “Things can always be worse, and I’m headed home to see Aubrey and Andrea a day early,” Buck said.

Master of All Things Rick Dunkerton kindly provided the fence report to EN so you can break down where the majority of the problems occurred on course. You can click here to see the live scores. Sixty-four horses and riders ultimately set out on course, with 59 completing. About 20 percent of the division completed with jumping penalties.

Ryan Wood and Woodstock Bennett. Photo by Jenni Autry.

There were two other rider falls on course. Rachel McDonough and Irish Rhythm parted ways at the third fence when the horse left a leg, and Rachel confirmed they are both totally fine and still planning to aim for Rolex next month. Daniela Mougel and Cecelia fell at the same fence as Buck Davidson did from Carlevo after a lengthy hold on course; she was also up and OK after the fall.

Looking to the Advanced division, Kylie Lyman and Joan Nichols’ Lup the Loop took the lead following cross country with a clear round and 9.2 time penalties. Lauren Kieffer and Jacqueline Mars’ Landmark’s Monte Carlo sit in second on 39.4, with Boyd Martin and Welcome Shadow in third place on 40.3.

At the conclusion of three full days of competition and with the finale of the National divisions still to come tomorrow, we really can’t say enough about what an unbelievable event this has been. Every year the dynamic duo of Jane Murray and Bobby Costello, who chair the organizing committee, join forces with a slew of other talented officials and volunteers to bring a top-notch event to the Carolina Horse Park.

Kylie Lyman and Sacramento. Photo by Rare Air Eventing Photography.

Allison Springer galloped Mr. Sydney Rocks this morning at Cloud 11 ~ Field of Dreams, the title sponsor for this amazing event, and put it aptly: “It is the field of dreams. It’s so extraordinary. I think we’re all blessed to have Will (Faudree) and Jennifer (Mosing) and their vision and what they have over there, and I think we all can’t thank them enough not only for that but making this event so special and wonderful.”

The much anticipated Spanning the Globe Competitor’s Party is getting ready to kick off now, so stay tuned for much more from #2016CI. If you missed the two-star report on Will Faudree’s inspiring comeback win with Jennifer Mosing’s Caeleste, click here to read it. And click here to catch up with all of EN’s coverage so far. Go Eventing.

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Allison Springer and Arthur. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Every downed rail and precious second over the optimum time proved costly today on Marc Donovan’s CIC3* show jumping course at Carolina International, where Emily Beshear and Shame on the Moon, Maya Black and Doesn’t Play Fair, and Allison Springer and Arthur all entered the ring in a three-way tie for the lead following dressage.

Allison and Arthur jumped first and delivered a clear round inside the time, solidifying their place at the top of the leaderboard for another day. Maya and Dawn Dofelmier’s Doesn’t Play Fair jumped next, with a very keen “Cody” pulling two rails to drop them down the leaderboard. Emily and Shame on the Moon were the last of the three to go, and while “Delta” jumped a beautiful clear round, one time penalty ultimately has them settling for second place after show jumping.

That leaves Allison Springer and her stalwart partner Arthur, now a ripe 17 years old but still looking very much in his prime, as the leaders heading into cross country tomorrow, where Ian Stark has laid out quite a challenge for the 72 horses and riders in the CIC3* division. Buck Davidson and Carl and Cassie Segal’s Ballynoe Castle RM — EN’s prediction to take the win tomorrow — moved up to third place with a double clear round and now sit on a score of 47.0.

Phillip Dutton moved from 10th up to fourth with David Garrett’s Indian Mill, an 11-year-old Thoroughbred gelding previously campaigned by Paul Tapner. Phillip has another ride inside the top 10 in Patricia and Dave Vos’ Sportsfield Candy (9th on 48.8), but Buck is definitely dominating this three-star leaderboard, with Sherrie Martin’s The Apprentice in fifth (47.9) after adding two penalties to their dressage score and Carlevo LLC’s Carlevo (48.3) in seventh with one rail down.

Emily Beshear and Shame on the Moon. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Just 16 pairs in all jumped clear rounds inside the time in the CIC3*, which is less than 25 percent of the division. The optimum time also proved tight, with more than 30 percent of the division incurring time penalties.

In addition to the names already mentioned above, the following pairs also delivered clear rounds inside the time allowed of 76 seconds: Lynn Symansky and Donner (5th), Sinead Halpin and Manoir de Carneville (8th), Doug Payne and Vandiver (9th), Liz Halliday-Sharp and HHS Cooley (12th), Allie Knowles and Sound Prospect (13th), Boyd Martin and Master Frisky (15th), Matt Brown and Super Socks BCF (22nd), Holly Payne Caravella and Santino (23rd), Selena O’Hanlon and Foxwood High (27th), Katherine Coleman and Longwood (28th), Phillip Dutton and Z (31st), and Sara Moore and Polaris (61st).

While rails fell throughout the course for both the CIC3* and CIC2*, one particularly bending line proved especially tricky for both divisions. Set as fences 10, a square oxer, to fence 11 — a triple combination with a vertical, square oxer and vertical —  in the CIC3*, riders could go for six or seven strides here.

Those who made a decision soon after clearing the oxer and achieved a straight approach into the triple combination were rewarded with a clear trip through this challenging set of jumps. Check out this video on EN’s Instagram of Justine Dutton and Jak My Style showing us a textbook ride through there.

Buck Davidson and Ballynoe Castle RM. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Looking to the CIC2* division, and Liz Halliday-Sharp and Fernhill By Night defended their overnight lead following dressage, jumping a lovely clear round inside the time early this morning to remain in first place on 42.8.

Liz said yesterday that she stepped “Blackie,” a 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Deborah Halliday, back to the two-star level this weekend to give him a good confidence-boosting ride on cross country. They’ll plan to step him back up to the Advanced level at The Fork in two weeks, which will be Blackie’s final prep run before taking another crack at Rolex.

Will Faudree is continuing his comeback to competing in textbook form. He jumped a super clear round this morning aboard Jennifer Mosing’s Hans Dampf, a 10-year-old Oldenburg gelding, to move up to second place in the CIC2* on their dressage score of 44.1. Will said after his dressage test on Wednesday that he’s feeling great following his neck surgery last September and is looking forward to cross country tomorrow.

Liz Halliday-Sharp and Fernhill By Night. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Peter Barry and his own Long Island T, a 10-year-old Oldenburg/Thoroughbred gelding better known as “Ludwig” in the barn, also jumped clear and inside the time to move up to third place in the two-star on 44.2. Just 5.8 penalties separate the top 10 heading into cross country tomorrow, so the scores are very tightly bunched on what is sure to be an exciting day on Ian’s new course.

Hannah Sue Burnett is holding fourth and fifth places in the CIC2*  with Cooley Dream LLC’s Cooley Dream (44.9) and Mary Ann Ghadban’s Under Suspection (45.0), respectively, after jumping two double clear rounds, which moved both horses up by two spots on the leaderboard.

Peter Barry and Long Island T. Photo by Jenni Autry.

If you’re just tuning into EN, click over to Kate’s Advanced dressage report from this morning. Buck Davidson and Caroline and Sherrie Martin’s Petite Flower lead the division on 25.4, followed by Kylie Lyman and Joan Nichols’ Lup the Loop in second on 28.5, with Lillian Heard and her own LCC Barnaby in third on 29.6. That division will go cross country tomorrow after the CIC3* and show jump on Sunday morning.

Katie Lichten and RF Luminati move into the lead in the CIC* after a fast and clear XC round. #carolinainternational

A photo posted by Eventing Nation (@goeventing) on Mar 25, 2016 at 1:38pm PDT

Looking to the CIC*, Katie Lichten and RF Luminati, a 10-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by Harold Lichten, jumped clear and inside the time to move up to first place on their dressage score of 39.4. Jenny Caras and her own Fernhill Full Throttle now sit in second place on 44.3, with Matt Flynn and Flynn Sport Horses’ Wizzerd in third on 44.8.

We’ll be holding a press conference later this afternoon, so stay tuned for comments from the division leaders. It’s been a very busy weekend so far at #2016CI, so thank you for bearing with us as we do our best to bring you as much coverage as we possibly can. Click here to catch up on all of EN’s reports so far. Go Eventing.

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Team Rosie! From left, super groom Ali Smallpage, CIC* leader Kristine Burgess, and super mom Lianne Burgess. Photo via EN's Instagram.

Today we salute 17-year-old Kristine Burgess, who battled the stomach flu at Carolina International to win the CIC* dressage on 38.5 aboard Roza CMF in a field of 77 horses. Kristine missed her pre-ride this morning due to relieving the contents of her stomach on the side of the road on the way to the venue, and her super groom Ali Smallpage stepped in to lunge “Rosie” instead.

“In my warm up I did a lot of medium trots to get her in front of my leg, but I was still feeling pretty sick,” Kristine said. She trains with Becky Holder, who has been helping her to “fix the slight areas where I could pick up points in the test.” Becky also helpfully told Kristine that “it was OK to throw up over the side of my horse during the test if I needed to.”

A 9-year-old Oldenburg mare owned by Kristine’s mom, Lianne, Rosie is competing in her first one-star this weekend, and Kristine hopes to gain their qualifying score at the Ocala Horse Properties CCI* next month to represent Area IV at the North American Junior & Young Rider Championships this summer.

A USEF Eventing 18 rider, Kristine is no stranger to Young Riders, having competed in the one-star championships for the past two years, riding BFF Tiara in 2014 and Regatta in 2015. She and Rosie had a good run at Pine Top last month, finishing fourth in a competitive Junior Young Rider Open Preliminary division. After Carolina, they’ll next head to The Fork, then on to Ocala and ultimately to Young Riders.

The Burgess family hails from the great state of Minnesota, and Kristine has been down training with Becky at her winter base, Windhaven Farm located in Wadesboro, North Carolina, since January. Conveniently located just about an hour from the Carolina Horse Park and The Fork Farm and Stables, Kristine said it’s been an ideal preparation for Rosie’s spring campaign.

Kristine and Rosie — all smiles after their leading CIC test! Photo courtesy of Lianne Burgess.

By Rosentantz out of a Lord mare, Rosie was bred in Germany and later imported to the States as a youngster. Lianne said it was “love at first sight” when she first tried the mare, and she and Kristine have both regularly competed Rosie since they bought her in 2013 as a 6-year-old that had just moved up to Training level.

Lianne will eventually take the ride back, but for now she is fully supportive of her daughter’s Young Rider quest and said she was thrilled to see them perform so well today: “It was a beautiful test and so consistent. I was so excited.” This competition is the mare’s third outing since undergoing splint removal surgery last fall, and she’s quickly come back into form.

Kristine said she was feeling a bit better this afternoon, and chatting about her strategy for how she’ll approach Ian Stark’s new cross country course tomorrow certainly seemed to be good medicine. “It looks really fun; I’m excited to get out there and ride,” she said. “It looks like it rides pretty forward and aggressive, and she’s really good on cross country.”

We profiled Kristine on EN earlier this year, so you can click here to learn more about her. We wish Team Rosie the best of luck as they continue on at Carolina. Even a bad bout of the stomach flu can’t keep a good eventer down! Click here to view the rest of the CIC* scores. Katie Lichten and RF Luminati sit in second on 39.4, with Makenna Rold and Fernhill Imperial in third on 40.1.

If you’re just tuning in to EN, don’t miss this social media roundup with behind-the-scenes photos from #2016CI, and you can also few plenty more photos from the day on our Instagram. Click here to view all of EN’s coverage so far, and don’t miss the full report from the CIC3*, which currently has a three-way tie for the lead after dressage. Go Eventing.

#2016CI Links: Website, Entries, Ride Times, Schedule, Live Scores, Live Stream, EN’s Coverage, Twitter, Instagram

Emily Beshear and Shame on the Moon. Photo by Jenni Autry.

It’s an unprecedented three-way race for the three-star win at the Cloud 11 ~ Gavilan North Carolina International Horse Trials, with leading ladies Emily Beshear and Shame on the Moon, Maya Black and Doesn’t Play Fair, and Allison Springer and Arthur all tied for first place on a score of 43.4 at the conclusion of dressage.

Allison set the tone early this morning as the first test of the day, delivering a solid if spooky performance that shows 17-year-old Arthur is in good form and raring to go as they prepare for the 11th CCI4* of his career and his seventh appearance at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event next month.

While Allison is sharing the three-way tie for the lead, she said the test certainly could have been better, and her pre-ride in the pitch black before her 8 a.m. test did nothing to help soothe Arthur’s nerves. “He is fully capable of much nicer trot work, but the stuff he does well he does really well,” she said. “I think like most eventers you always think it could be way better. The changes felt good and certain things felt good, but he felt super spooky.”

This is Arthur’s first appearance at an FEI competition since this event last year, when he and Allison parted ways in the galloping lane — a result she is hoping to improve on this year.  The Irish Sport Horse cross gelding owned by the Arthur Syndicate stretched his legs at the $75,000 Wellington Eventing Showcase last month, and this is his next competition on the road to Rolex.

Allison has been working hard on her show jumping with Katie Monahan Prudent and said she was very pleased with how Arthur jumped in Wellington despite having a rail down. Marc Donovan is much loved as a show jumping course designer by the riders, and Allison said she is looking forward to the challenge he lays out for them tomorrow.

“Show jumping is never the most amazing thing to do on Arthur, but I know him so well,” she said. “I have a good mindset with him. I know what I need to do to warm him up; I know how I have to ride him. That’s all I can do.”

Allison Springer and Arthur. Photo by Jenni Autry.

As for Allison’s thoughts on Ian’s beefy new cross country track: “The course looks awesome. Its very different — a completely different track, but I like it. There are a couple of things that are very different, but you kind of always feel that way with an Ian course, but I have so much confidence in him as a course designer,” Allison said.

“He’s a horseman, and (his courses) always seem to work out well. … It’s definitely a bit of work to do, but it should be fun. …  He’s so good as a course designer because some of (the fences) are really rider frighteners; it’s impressive to look at. But he prepares you for a smart, forward, correct riding.”

It’s been a long time coming for Maya Black and Doesn’t Play Fair to get back to a dressage score in the low 40s, and she said after her test that it felt great to produce that quality of work she knows “Cody” can achieve. That’s their best score in the sandbox since Richland Park CIC3* in 2014 when they scored 42.4.

Maya knows this 11-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by Dawn Dofelmier inside and out, and it’s great to see them back at the top of a big leaderboard — a place we know they’re very much capable of being as the 2014 winners of the Plantation Field CIC3*. Though their names currently on showing on the Rolex entry list yet, Maya confirmed to EN that she and Cody are aiming for a return trip to Kentucky.

“You feel like every year you get better, but sometimes it doens’t show like that in the ring. Over the winter I worked a lot on how to make his brain better in the ring. The last few years I was really trying to improve how he moved, and we would have that at home but then struggle with his attention in the ring,” Maya said.

“Now I feel like he’s at home working much more relaxed and able to have bigger movement, and I’ve been working on figuring out techniques where I can ride him without placing so much pressure on him.”

Maya Black and Doesn’t Play Fair. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Maya started training with Karen O’Connor both on the flat and over fences while being based in Ocala this winter, and she said that has helped immensely in getting Cody back to this point. “There are still things to improve, but I felt like he’s starting to take a breath in the ring. … I know how good he can be, but it’s been a little bit of a struggle trying to show that he can be that good.”

Cody will head to The Fork next as his final prep for Rolex, and Maya said she’ll see how show jumping goes over Marc Donovan’s course tomorrow before deciding whether she’ll put the pedal down on cross country. Last year she and Cody had a rather memorable show jumping round due to her saddle trying to exit stage right, so she’ll be entering the ring with a much tighter girth and a non-slip pad tomorrow.

Emily Beshear and Deep Purple Eventing’s Shame on the Moon proved once again today that they are serious combination for the future of U.S. eventing. This is the first FEI outing for Emily and “Delta” since the 10-year-old Trakehner/Thoroughbred cross mare delivered an impressive seventh-place finish at the Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials in her overseas debut last fall.

“I was really pleased with how focused and relaxed she stayed in the test,” Emily said. “Last year at this event she was very tense and reactive having the tent so close to the ring, so it was nice to see how much she has matured.”

Looking to the rest of the leaderboard, Liz Halliday-Sharp and Deborah Halliday’s Fernhill By Night are the leading the CIC2* on 42.8. Liz stepped “Blackie,” a 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, down to the two-star level this weekend for a confidence-boosting trip before he moves back up to Advanced at The Fork.

Liz Halliday-Sharp and Fernhill By Night. Photo by Jenni Autry.

“I thought it was a good test and he tried hard. There were a couple bits where I could have probably ridden him better; any marks we lost weren’t his fault. I’m trying to give him a bit of confidence and practice a few new things we’ve been working on with Phillip Dutton,” Liz said.

“The aim is Rolex for him, but it’s no secret he can be tricky on cross country. I think he wants to be a good boy, but we need to get him thinking a bit faster. The (cross country) course is good. The two-star is strong enough. It should set him up well to go back to Advanced at The Fork. We’re here for education and a good run to keep getting his confidence up.”

We also have a fun report still to come on 17-year-old Kristine Burgess, who battled through the stomach flu today to lead the CIC* with Lianne Burgess’ Roza CMF on 38.5 in the mare’s first one-star. They are on a quest to represent Area IV at the North American Junior and Young Rider Championships this summer, and they look to be well on their way if today is any indicator.

Yesterday’s leaders Ryan Wood and Summit Sporthorses’ Powell now sit in fourth place on their score of 44.1 in the horse’s three-star debut, with Buck Davidson rounding out the top five on Carlevo LLC’s Carlevo, who went early this morning and delivered an impressive 44.4 performance. Kudos to new father Buck — he also has The Apprentice and Ballynoe Castle RM in the top 10.

In looking at the live scores, you’ll notice many names that appear further down the leaderboard than where we typically see them. Though the judges were arguably more forgiving in their scoring today, it was a tough day in the sandbox for numerous combinations. Many riders are currently nursing their score with an ice cold Southern Pines Brewing Co. beer in the Sagmae Competitor’s Lounge.

One consolation is this certainly won’t be a dressage show. Marc Donovan’s show jumping course on the grass at Carolina is notoriously tough, and Ian Stark’s new track has his signature style written all over it. It requires a forward, attacking ride. The questions come early and fast — with fence 1 just six strides out of the start box — and the jumps are pee-your-pants big.

Three cheers for #2016CI leader Kristine Burgess, who battled the stomach flu today to lead the big CIC* division on 38.5 with Roza CMF. Here she is with her mom, Lianne, who owns “Rosie,” and super groom Ali Smallpage!

A photo posted by Eventing Nation (@goeventing) on Mar 24, 2016 at 2:43pm PDT

Stay tuned for the full three-star course preview courtesy of EN’s own Kate Samuels, who counted the number of big ditches on the course and promptly headed for the bar. If you’re just tuning in to EN, don’t miss this social media roundup with behind-the-scenes photos from #2016CI, and you can also few plenty more photos from the day on our Instagram.

Our friendly neighborhood videographer David Frechette is currently uploading videos to his YouTube channel, so keep checking back for more action from the day. Tomorrow will be a jam-packed day, with Advanced dressage and CIC2* show jumping running simultaneously at 8 a.m. EST, followed by CIC3* show jumping at 10:45 a.m. EST. Remember you can watch show jumping live on EQSportsNet.

Thanks for making EN part of your Carolina International experience. Good luck to everyone tomorrow, including the CIC* riders, who will be the guinea pig test pilots over Ian’s new course. Godspeed, brave souls. Go Eventing.

#2016CI Links: Website, Entries, Ride Times, Schedule, Live Scores, Live Stream, EN’s Coverage, Twitter, Instagram

EN readers are in for a treat over the next four days as EQSportsNet will be live streaming coverage from Carolina International with commentary from Karen O’Connor and Charlotte Skinner-Robson. All phases of the hotly contested CIC3* will be streamed, as well as show jumping and cross country for the CIC2*.

We’ve been receiving questions on how to watch the live steam, so Helen Murray of EQSportsNet kindly put together a guide to get you started. It is free to watch all of the live event coverage. If you want to watch on demand after the event, you need a Full Access subscription for $25 per month. All Full Access subscribers can also request videos of their individual rides at no extra cost.

#2016CI Links: Website, Entries, Ride Times, Schedule, Live Scores, EN’s Coverage, Live Stream

Broadcast schedule

• Wednesday, March 23: CIC3* dressage begins at 10 a.m. EST
• Thursday, March 24: CIC3* dressage begins at 8 a.m. EST
• Friday, March 25: CIC2* show jumping begins at 8 a.m. EST, CIC3* show jumping begins at 10:45 a.m. EST
• Saturday, March 26: CIC2* cross country begins at 8:30 a.m. EST, CIC3* cross country begins at 11:10 a.m. EST

How to subscribe to EQSportsNet

1. Visit EQSports.Net and click on the SUBSCRIBE option in the top navigation or the drop-down in the top right of the page.
2. There are two options for access to EQSports.Net
   • Live Access — This provides you with a pass to watch live event coverage for FREE.
   • Full Access — This pass gives you access to watch both live broadcasts and all on-demand content for $25 per month (includes more than 11,000 full programs and video clips.)
3. Register using Facebook, Google, Yahoo or sign-up by entering your email address and a password of your choice.
   • Full Access subscribers will be asked to make a payment using any of the secure payment methods of your choice. A confirmation message will appear on the webpage.
4. You will be redirected to the EQSports.Net site, where you will have either Live or Full Access. (Ensure you are logged in if you don’t have instant access.)

How to access the stream once you have subscribed

1. Make sure you login, which can be done on the drop down on the top right of the homepage.
2. Once you are logged in, you can access the stream by either clicking Live Access on the top of the homepage or by clicking the Carolina International banner one the homepage carousel.
3. When the stream is live, just press the play button in the video player and enjoy!

Requesting downloads of rides

If you have a Full Access subscription and are an owner or rider of a two-star or three-star horse, you can request a link to download a copy of your rides. Please fill out this form to request a downloadable file from your ride. (Note that CIC2* dressage will not be live steamed.)

If you have any questions during the sign-up process, please contact [email protected] or fill in a support request.

Happy watching, EN! Go Eventing.