Probably. New Zealand’s 2010 Burghley CCI4* champions Caroline Powell and the 19 year old Lenamore have been given a green light to prepare for Olympic selection by Equestrian Sport New Zealand and Lenamore’s owners, according to a Kiwi publication. Lenamore’s owners, Lexi Jackson, Janie MacKinnon, and Caroline, had decided to retire Lenamore from team selection two years ago, according to the Horse and Hound, but they reversed that decision for the Olympics. They were hoping to see how the awesome Lenamore looked after Badminton this year. However, with the cancellation of Badminton, Lenamore will now head to the CIC 3* at Chatsworth in the UK with his new membership on the Kiwi high performance 2012 squad. Caroline is quoted as saying: “He’s small and nippy enough to cope with the undulations on the cross country course, and I think he would do well.” Horse and Hound reports that Lenamore has competed in 14 four-stars with eight top-10 placings including the aforementioned Bughley 2010 win. [NelsonMail, Horse and Hound]
In my opinion, Lenamore’s addition to team consideration definitely strengthens the already formidable group of New Zealand Olympic hopefuls. This also helps boost the Kiwis after they were dealt a hard blow last week when Mark Todd’s ride Land Vision withdrew from Olympic contention. You can’t help but cheer on Caroline and Lenamore in their pursuit of their second Olympics together. Lenamore is a consummate professional and Caroline has clearly done a wonderful job looking after Lenamore over the years. She is rewarded for that horsemanship with a chance to ride Lenamore at the Olympics. It looks like ESJ’s Kiwi team predictions for London are standing strong with Andrew Nicholson and Nereo, Clarke Johnstone, Jock and Promise, Toddy and Major Milestone, and Caroline with Lenamore.
Kate Samuels has been kind enough to write for EN off an on over the years including several great reports from the US training sessions earlier this year. After a fair amount of begging from yours truly Kate has kindly joined our guest blogging team. I want to give a special thanks to Kate for not writing one of the many stories she has about me from our days eventing out of Emily and Jeff Beshear’s Brickland Farm in Virginia. For much more from Kate check out her website here. Thanks for writing this Kate and thank you for reading.
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From Kate:
Eventing Nation, I am honored to be here, and I have to say, the begging was flattering John, but eventually I had to write something just so I would stop getting 1AM texts about blogs. My name is Kate Samuels and I was given an obese Shetland pony before I could even manage to verbalize the notion of desiring one. While other kids growing up learned to roller-skate and use the Ouija board at sleepovers, I was already honing my skills for survival in the equine world. Their art might have been useful for show-and-tell, but mine was based around how to get this tubby little monster to do anything but ignore me and eat. Let me tell you, tricking ponies is a very serious art.
Luckily for me, I grew up in rural Virginia with my horses at home, and no distractions of siblings or proximal children of my age. I spent every waking hour possible on the sincere pursuit of learning how to affect a rapport with my horses through sympathy and understanding. I really didn’t have an option; the pony clearly out-weighed me in both physical and mental capacities. These days, the first part hasn’t changed a bit, but I like to think the second part is nearing a more level playing ground.
At the ripe old age of 24, I realize that my upbringing with horses was a tad unconventional, and influenced by some of the most interesting characters in the horse world. My mom, a lifelong horsewoman herself, gave me two gems of truth at age four:
1) “If you want to run around the barn barefoot, fine. If a horse steps on you and breaks all of your toes, don’t come crying to me.”
2) “Whoever said a horse was dumb, was dumb.”
These have really carried me through about 90% of my adventures with horses so far. At age 13, she got me a job at a local training track, which reminded me that I was neither stronger nor smarter than the vast majority of my equine companions. But, I had an inquiring mind and a fierce desire not to get sand in my teeth.
My next mentor was the owner of said training track, a certain Felix J. Nuesch. Felix is 80 years old, five feet tall with clogs on, and pretty much the most accomplished and hardworking horseman you will ever meet. He was enrolled in the Swiss Cavalry at the age of 14, came to the U.S. at age 22 with exactly 42 cents in his pocket, and has built his empire from almost nothing. Felix was a nationally ranked Three Day Eventer in the 60’s and 70’s, a jockey in both flat and jump races until the 80’s and has been breeding, training, racing, and riding his own Thoroughbreds since he set foot on this side of the ocean. He has had cancer three times, removing parts of his throat and five years ago his ability to eat solid foods. I exercise his horses all morning at the track now, and yes, he rides along with me. After his ride, he hops in his diesel Mercedes with his jack russel, Buddy, riding shotgun. Waiting for Felix at home are his mares and foals, and his TVG.
Felix taught me in the old-school cavalry manner. First lesson? “For Christ’s sake kid, nobody ever drowned in their own sweat. Just do it already.” He’ll tell me stories of the time he made a bet with his fellow cavalrymen and jumped a chestnut mare through a home-made hoop of fire and singed off his eyebrows and her mane, and from there, pretty much any of my complaints or fear seem insignificant. Under his tutelage, I learned a systematic approach to creating horses that are quiet, supple, obedient and pleasant for their riders…even if they are completely neurotic racehorses that have mouths like two blocks of cement.
As for right now, my days are filled with racehorses in the mornings, and his highness himself, Nyls du Terroir, the rest of the day. Nyls is my muse, my entertainment, my salvation, and my really awesome Advanced event horse too. For those of you who haven’t had the honor of meeting him let me give you a taste. Nyls is 17.1 hands of pure mischief. His favorite activities include escaping from stalls and fields constantly, slurping coffee out of mugs while your back is turned, picking up large branches in the field and chasing the other horses with them, and, most importantly, eating everything that can fit into his mouth. Nyls has eaten a curry comb, about eight pairs of wraps, and a single flip flop to date. He also staunchly refuses to let anybody pet his face, but assumes that it is his right (as King of the world) to search all of your clothes for fun buckles, zippers or straps that he can snap, pop, and crackle. He is forgiven for his behavior, however, because his other favorite activity is jumping with his knees up to his eyeballs. Literally. After one Advanced cross-country course, my coach told me that I needed to work on my horse jumping flatter. I bet that was the first and last time she every had to say that to a student.
Nyls and I have been married for 7 years now, and we love each other dearly, but that’s not to say we don’t have our daily disagreements. He says he wants to stop on the trail and eat this Rhododendron bush, I tell him it’s going straight to his waistline, you know, the usual. I got him when he was three, and it has been pretty much a fairy tale since then, minus the frog kissing or having strange men climb up my long hair. He took me to my first Preliminary, my first CCI* win, my first CCI** reserve championship, my first NAJYRC (bronze individual and silver medal team), got me on the Developing Rider’s List three years in a row and then clean around my first five Advanced horse trials. Not to brag, but he’s pretty stellar. He eats cross-country jumps for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Anybody who knows him also knows he eats just about everything else he can get his tiny lips around…but we’re working on that.
So, my fellow equestrians, I suppose the long and short of it involves you reading my blog, and following my adventures as a young three day eventer trying my hardest to make it in this crazy world and not squat with my spurs on. My experiences with both horses and people in the past twenty-four years have been nothing if not educational, and frequently humorous. I’ve known John for quite some time now, and I’m pretty sure I’ve got some stories about him that can’t be legally published, but I’ll just slip them in there with a pseudonym. Until next time….
I want to wish a special EN happy birthday to our good friend Hawley Bennett. Hawley is campaigning out east this spring in hopeful preparation for a trip to the Olympics for Canada. She’s obviously enjoying her time at MCTA this weekend, shown above in birthday celebration with friend and coach Buck Davidson. Hawley’s birthday is today.
In other MCTA news, did you think Sally Cousins would take a week off after a great trip around Rolex last weekend? Of course not. Sally was out and about this weekend winning the advanced horse trials at MCTA aboard Westerly. Buck finished in second on Titanium. Buck withdrew Titanium and Absolute Liberty from Rolex Saturday morning due to his collar bone not quite being healed–it’s great to see them out and about this weekend. Lucia Strini won the MCTA intermediate aboard Carlingford Merlot, finishing ahead of Boyd, Sally, and Jan respectively. How many sports have their top athletes out an about working hard at the next competition literally days after finishing their biggest competition of the year?
Bonnie Moser won the training three-day at Southern 8ths Farm, finishing on her dressage score of 31.6 with Isbond. Risa Moon and Lily B were the only other training three-day pair to finish on their dressage score, and they took home the red ribbon. Elliott Blackmon and Tully Cross Prescott led wire to wire in the novice three-day, finishing on an impressive 26.1 DC McBroom and Twain placed 2nd on 33.2. The scoring is still updating for the beginner novice three-day, but it looks like Sarah Zimmer and Mardi Gras are leading that division.
Southern 8ths Heart of the Carolinas [Scores] [Website]
Is this a photo from Badminton or the UNH horse trials? Photo courtesy of Rob Stevenson
University of New Hampshire Spring HT [Scores] [Website]
Speaking of Badders, if you are having Badminton withdrawal and want some laughs, and I know you want some laughs, check out the #fantasybadminton hashtag on Twitter for some fun about what might have been. We’re missing an awesome day of cross-country today.
Allison Springer is in the running for USOC female athlete of the month–votehere (must be logged into Twitter)
Your helmet cam interlude, EN Karma to the first commenter who can name the country:
If you haven’t seen the Derby video yet, here it is for your viewing pleasure:
The above photo was sent in by Stefanie Shea. Stefanie wrote: “Trio, my OTTB wanted to wish everyone at Eventing Nation a happy Cinco de Mayo. It also happens to be his 13th birthday.” That’s all for now. I hope you are having a great weekend. Happy belated Cinco de Mayo EN! Go Trio and go eventing.
Ahhhh, you thought I meant that other kind of steeple chase? Especially since it’s the day after the Derby? Nope. You can thank me later. Go Steeplechase.
Right about now we should be writing about the awesomeness of Badminton 2012, but ye good ole British weather had something to say about that. Fortunately we have a great weekend of eventing here in the United States to write about including our very own three-day, the beginner novice, novice, and training three-day at Southern 8ths farm [Scores]. But, before we move completely into the weekend I want to take one quick look back at Rolex, specifically the Monday morning horse inspections conducted by the US team vets.
On Sundays after big three and four star events the US Eventing Team will ask certain pairs to stay for Monday morning team vet inspections. The goal is to evaluate how the horses are feeling, thus gaining insight into how they will handle the following fitness work and stress of the upcoming team competition. For us fans, the list gives us insight into who has caught the team’s proverbial eye for Olympic selection. But remember it doesn’t necessarily mean anything other than team vets looked at certain horses Monday morning at the Kentucky Horse Park and some pairs who had a tough weekend at Rolex will get a shot to redeem themselves at Bromont. This year’s lucky few to be held after Rolex:
Will Coleman and Twizzle
Phillip Dutton with Mighty Nice and Fernhill Eagle
Boyd Martin with Remington and Otis Barbotiere
Becky Holder with Can’t Fire Me
Allison Springer with Arthur
Karen O’Connor with Mr. Medicott
Marilyn Little-Meredith with RF Demeter
A few thoughts…
–This year the formula was simple–the top 8 US horses placed at Rolex plus Can’t Fire Me.
—Thank goodness the team chose to look at Can’t Fire Me, and I give them a lot of credit for doing so. Can’t Fire Me was pulled up by cross-country control at the second to last fence with a visible cut on his knee. After inspection by a competition vet he retired just two fences from home. The decision was clearly made in the interest of horse welfare, which is the standard by which all decisions should be judged. That being said, it was a tough break for Becky and Can’t Fire Me since they were so close to competing that tough course with a great round. The word around the barns Sunday morning was that Can’t Fire Me would have been OK to jog, which was great news for the future but it also magnified the heartbreak. The decision to look at Can’t Fire Me shows a lot of intelligence and discretion by the selectors and it shows that they are doing a good job of not putting too much emphasis on the final score board.
–I was harsh on Mark last night, but there is no doubt that the US Eventing Team is performing great right now. This has to do with a variety of factors but if we’re going to criticize the coach when the team isn’t doing well, we should give him credit when they are riding well. To see just how far the US Team has come, compare the Monday jog list with what our team looked like 7 months ago. Twiz and Arthur were effectively out of the picture after tough 2011 seasons, Mr. Medicott and Demeter belonged to other nations, and Marilyn was still very much a show jumper trying to become an eventer. Can’t Fire Me, Mighty Nice, and Fernhill Eagle were talented young horses with a long way to go before their first four-stars. After watching those 9 horses jump so well around such a tough Rolex course, you could send the five of them to London and I’d have a lot of confidence that we would finish with a very solid team score.
–Remember that some of our best horses including Neville, Manior de Carneville, Buck’s string, and Mystery Whisper didn’t even compete at Rolex.
–Taking a broader look back at Rolex, 2012 will be one of those years that we look back on and say “wow, do you remember that 2012 course?” Completing Derek di Grazia’s 2012 course is something that those horses and riders will be proud of for the rest of their lives. Simply getting to a four-star is a tremendous achievement, but completing Rolex 2012 is a badge of honor.
–I’m told Phillip won the planking.
Last, but not least, I want to wish a very happy wedding to our very own Leslie Wylie, who is getting married on Saturday. Hearts are breaking all over the world this weekend. That’s all for now Eventing Nation. Stay tuned to EN throughout the weekend for all of your eventing news, results, and ridiculousness. Go eventing.
As eventers, the question isn’t whether we will experience setbacks, but what we do once we experience those setbacks. EN reader Sammi was kind enough to send us a story that I found inspirational and I hope you do to. Thanks for writing this Sammi and thank you for reading.
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From Sammi:
This is one of my favorite ears pictures that I have ever taken, from the first ride back after a bad accident. On January 14th, 2012, I was at a schooling horse trial and while warming up for XC and as I was taking my last warm-up jump before heading to the start box my horse Drake and I had a full rotational fall. He just barely clipped the jump with his left front hoof, but the portable XC jump wasn’t properly secured to the ground causing it to flip. Drake couldn’t get his hoof free in order to put his landing gear down and that’s when we flipped. I stayed in the saddle all the way to the ground causing him to land on me. All of that resulted in my pelvis being broken in 3 places, a broken wrist, and a dislocated collar bone. Many thanks to my helmet and vest for protecting me, all the doctors were amazed that I didn’t have any head or internal injuries at all. Luckily I was able to cushion the fall for Drake and he was fine. The doctors told me it would be 6-8 months until I could ride again. But a few days, just under 3 months from the accident date I was released to begin riding again! I got on one of my mom’s dependable school horses and walked and trotted around for about 50 minutes, smiling from ear to ear the whole time! Now to just get my strength back so I can get on my own horses again and get back on the XC course!
I’d like to say I’m shocked, but I’m not. Gordon Rayner of the British Telegraph is reporting tonight that 63 year old Captain Mark Phillips, Chef d’Equipe of the US Eventing Team, is divorcing his current wife Sandy Phillips for US show jumper Lauren Hough. Lauren, 35, has been assisting with coaching of the US Eventing Team this year including the spring training sessions and lessons with Sinead Halpin at Rolex. Mark’s divorce from Sandy is of course Mark’s second failed marriage, he separated from the Great Britain’s Princess Royal before marrying Sandy.
According to the Telegraph: “Sources close to Capt Phillips said he broke the news to his 58-year-old wife and their 14-year-old daughter Stephanie earlier this year…The couple’s separation and forthcoming divorce were confirmed to The Daily Telegraph in a statement from Capt Phillips’ solicitors at the law firm CKFT.”
The Telegraph further reports that Mark is now planning to leave his home in England and establish residence in Wellington with Lauren. “He has reportedly told friends that ‘I might only be alive for another five or ten years so I might as well be happy’.” Lauren Hough, 35, is a former US Olympian in show jumping. Lauren is just a few years older than Mark’s daughter Zara and over 20 years older than a daughter he has with Sandy.
Mark Phillips is a good coach, even a great coach even for some riders, but his personal behavior as the leader of the US Eventing Team is consistently reprehensible. There’s no point to rant about morality and there have been rumors about this for some time. Certainly, nobody is perfect and I will say that I do think Mark has been improving in recent years. But, whether Mark likes it or not, whether he believes it or not, whether he cares or not, his position as a leader in this sport means that he should hold himself to a higher standard. In my opinion this has never and will never be the case and for that reason alone 2013 and his departure from the US Eventing Team can’t come soon enough.
Just when you thought the Rolex Contest Bonanza was over, we bring you one final chance to win a super duper prize: a 20-lb (144 servings) bucket of yummy Horse Quencher, guaranteed to entice your picky horse into drinking. Horse Quencher is a mix of all natural grains and flavorings that, when added to water, make horses eagerly drink. You’ll find Horse Quencher especially helpful for travel, competitions, cold weather and illnesses, and also great to pair with electrolytes to aid in recovery after exercise. And, since it’s made of all-natural ingredients found in most horse feeds, you can be sure Horse Quencher is safe for competition.
This contest is an easy one– submit a caption for Samantha’s cross-country photo below and email to [email protected] with “Caption” in the title. Entries due Friday at midnight (EST).
EN’s good friend Doug Payne continues to take helmet cams to the next level. Today Doug was kind enough to send us a narrated first person look at his trip around the Rolex CCI4* course, which was both Doug’s and Patti Springsteen’s Running Order’s first four-star. I spoke with Doug earlier today and he was so proud of Running Order at Rolex. He told me that he was considering a trip to Burghley this autumn but that he is leaning towards staying stateside and doing the Fair Hill CCI3* because that will give him more runs this autumn. The Burghley track involves just doing Milbrook and then shipping out for England, whereas the typical Fair Hill track has more prep runs. For much more from Doug visit his website. Go eventing.
Mark Todd and Land Vision, photo via our friends at the Badminton Press Office
Samantha mentioned the sad Land Vision news early this morning. Few things are more physically demanding for a horse than getting ready for a four-star. With all of the attention surrounding the Olympics this year, the equestrian public is going to get a front and center view as some horses sadly have to drop out of their path to the Olympics. This morning Mark Todd announced on his blog that his 2011 Bamdinton winner and top Olympic prospect NZB Land Vision “Ben” has withdrawn from the Olympics due to the “reoccurrence of an old tendon injury. ” It sounds like the long term prognosis is as good as they can be for a tendon injury.
Toddy still has other horses in contention including the 10 year old NZB Campino and his 2010 WEG 11th placed horse NZB Grass Valley. Grass Valley still needs an Olympic qualification and, after the cancellation of Badminton, will now go to Saumur in France while Campino will compete at Chatsworth this month. Another of his top horses Major Milestone will go to Tattersalls in Ireland, followed by Luhmuhlen in Germany. [Mark’s blog via ESJ, Horse and Hound]
Our friends and EN sponsors at Success Equestrian are proud to sponsor Kristen Bond, a consummate professional in the eventing world. Here’s a story from Success rider Kristen Bond about her thoughts, dreams and a horse named “Jerry.”
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The first time I went to watch Rolex was the year they hosted both the 3* and the 4*. I was 18 and thought that anyone who would sign up for this on purpose was just plain stupid. The dressage test alone seemed to have 237 movements to remember and the XC fences all seemed to be as big as a stabling tent. Watching the intensity of each rider as they negotiated each part of the competition seemed to clearly put them in an unreachable realm. A few years later I had my first opportunity to experience Rolex for myself as a competitor, and quickly realized that the “intensity” I observed was a special blend of focus, fear, and nausea.
I had dreamed and prayed that this year I would get to take my very own ‘Michael Jordan’ to Rolex. I bought Are You Ready in 2004 as a 6 year old. He has always been the horse who makes my job worth doing. He is a quirky self-appointed celebrity though, I’ll tell you! One of my favorite quotes was from Brendon Furlong at his vet clinic. “Jerry” was adamantly refusing to go in the wash rack and one of the girls commented on how Jerry didn’t like it. Brendon replied, “He doesn’t like anything….except Kristen.” Although, I was flattered by the compliment, I question even that sometimes.
He has become, at 14 years old, generally agreeable about most things but has a list. And he is not kidding: he will travel in only one spot on my 5 horse head-to-head horse trailer. It’s the backwards facing stall on the driver’s side and if you attempt to put him anywhere else, you do so at your own risk. He will, under no circumstance tolerate being twitched. Absolutely will not stand for it and frankly, considers it a direct attempt on his life. Despite these two seemingly small and unreasonable quirks, there is one that sets Jerry well apart from the rest; essentially, solidifying his spot in the top 1% of high-maintenance athletes. If you attempt to apply any sort of liquid therapy (especially involving ice) to him below the knee, you’d better have exceptional health insurance. Make no mistake, he will hurt you, and he will not feel bad about it. As a top level event horse, the inability to ice his legs after XC or even soak his feet post-abscess, has proven to be a reliable way to consistently raise my blood pressure. It does, however, drastically reduce your hours spent in the barn Saturday night. The first time I attempted to ice him after a gallop, the sparks from his shoes almost set the barn on fire. He hadn’t even made contact with the water yet! After a couple more hair-raising attempts through the years, I finally have just accepted Jerry for who he is; quirks and all.
The sport of Eventing is not an easy one. It takes a certain type of person to risk their life and that of their partners’ every time they go to work. That risk becomes life-changing when a CCI**** is tackled. It’s always humbling to learn how fragile our dreams become when faced with so many variables. If you are lucky enough to check every box along the way and get qualified for a 4* in your lifetime, there is the ever-present threat of injury to contend with. In our sport, as with most professional sports, it’s a matter of ‘if’, not when you will be faced with that set back. It may, at times, cause you to reconsider the depth or lack of your religion. I, for instance, have commissioned just about everyone I know to spend more time at church this spring than they planned on. A special thanks to Dave and Kim.
As for us, Jerry and I approached the corner in the middle of the advanced XC at Poplar guns drawn. Ok, my guns were drawn. He, un-denounced to me, had over reached the fence right before, and had made the executive decision to call it a day. He has never, NEVER, in 8 years, said no three times in a row. Let me tell you, I was not literally brimming with confidence walking back to the stables with my tail between my legs. Upon discovering the immense amount of blood all over his boots, his decision became glaringly clear and I was so grateful that he said, “I quit.” Jerry is, by nature, a massive overachiever, and as such, crosses his front feet over jumps when he’s ‘all in’. It’s the only reason I have for the fact that he sliced the outside of his left front. He was a little off Sunday morning and we limped back to Florida to regroup. That little overreach proved to be real bugger. He had a few days off for that, we injected that foot and he had a few more days off. By that point, The Fork was no longer an option. We had missed too many gallops. Sometimes, it seems as if you sneeze and, poof, your season is gone. Timing is everything in our sport and it can feel as if you’re being “punked” when things go so perfectly wrong. Rolex was not to be. I feel forever indebted to have such unwavering, top class support from Success Equestrian, Are You Ready’s owners Ray and Jeff Bond and Jacqueline Howell. Heartache becomes that much heavier when you let people down who you care about and who believed in you.
After all is said and done, getting to Rolex or any four-star event, is an epic accomplishment and is, without question, honored by every competitor. It’s an event to be treasured by all, no matter the out-come. This past weekend was eye opening for many reasons. Some enjoyed a deserved moment in the spotlight and others have just found their motivation for the fall season. In spite of it all, tomorrow is another day at the office, and perhaps the first day on the road to stardom for many. Are you ready?
I don’t know about you, but I’m still shocked that Badminton has been canceled. But, my shock can’t compare to that of the riders who were days away from heading to Badders. Those riders are scrambling today to find an alternative option and Colleen was kind enough to write about her thought process. Be sure to check out Colleen’s website to support their trip to a 4* this year and, as always, thanks for writing this Colleen and thanks to her husband Brian for helping to coordinate her blogs.
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Colleen and Shiraz at The Fork CIC***, photo by Samantha
From Colleen:
For anyone that knows me, for me to be speechless is virtually unprecedented. Never in a million years would I have thought that Badminton would be canceled. I know, any competition can get canceled, but it just never entered onto my radar. I am totally disheartened and completely disappointed, but what can you do. The pictures show just how much rain has fallen and rather than risk destruction of beautiful ground as well as conditions being impossible for safety, they had to do what they had to do. I just wish my synchronized swimming comments weren’t so apt. The videos from BBC are remarkable.
So, what now?
First and most importantly, I had to apologize to the pony that cross country is now further in the future than I had promised (sometimes it’s the only reason I can get him to do what I want). Second, I am so thankful that did not have to do with an unsoundness or other issue with HRH. Third, I’m scrambling to figure out possible logistics of staying for Luhmuhlen which is 7 weeks away from now. That means I will have been here for 11 weeks. Not at all what I had planned. That’s a very long time away from my family. It runs a whole new gamut of issues into the mix: feed, farrier, expert eyes on the ground, possible help in riding him if/when I make a short visit home, transport (human and horse), possibly finding another competition (2 months without a run may be a bad idea), so on and so forth. I could just pack it in and come home, but then this will have truly been a waste. I could reroute to one of the 3 stars, but I feel like that would be a bit of a waste. So now, we just see if we can get the whole party moved to Germany. Well, Luhmuhlen was on my list anyways, let’s see if we can get there sooner rather than later. Badminton has been put back on my want to do list; rather than look back, we now look forwards to what’s next. We are going to hack for the next couple of weeks so he can let down for a bit and then hopefully be on our way to Germany!
ESJ reported this morning that our sport’s largest event, the Badminton Horse Trials has been canceled due to the ground being, as Badminton organizers described, “totally waterlogged and partially flooded” from recent torrential rains. The bad weather is expected to continue this week so the decision was announced to cancel the event Monday morning. Horse and Hound reports that the last time Badminton was cancelled due to bad weather was in 1987. The event was also canceled due to weather in 1975 and 1966, and in 1963 the event was turned into a one-day.
The news has understandably shocked the equestrian world. As of 9:00am ET the Badminton website is still crashed and some major UK media outlets are carrying the story including the BBC. Bloomberg has even published the news. (Update: Now Yahoo!)
Badminton-bound US rider Colleen Rutledge has been blogging about the incredible rain in Great Britain here on EN and there were rumors at Rolex that the event might be in jeopardy, but the possibility of Badminton actually being canceled seemed like such a long shot–canceling Badminton due to rain is like canceling an endurance race in the middle east due to dryness. But if you look at the pictures (here, here, here for example) you can see that the organizers had absolutely no choice.
The news itself–Badminton was canceled because it is flooded–is pretty cut and dry, pardon the pun. The implications are anything but, and there are more questions than answers at this point. Horses and riders were just one or two days away from shipping out to Badminton and now their entire spring has been disrupted. Needless to say, the fact that this is an Olympic year makes things even more complicated. A few major questions:
1) What happens to William Fox-Pitt’s quest for the Rolex Grand Slam? Winning the grand slam requires winning Badminton, Burghley, and Rolex in any consecutive order [USEF]. With $350,000 on the line, the answer of whether or not William can try again at Badminton next year or go try at Burghley or try at another competition is going to depend on how the Grand Slam contract is structured. Typically companies that host challenging contests with large payouts will buy insurance to cover the potential for having to pay, and my bet is that an insurance company would be less than forgiving when it comes to missing out on a chance to win $350,000 of their money, but that is complete speculation. Samantha tweeted earlier this morning “Discussed briefly the poss of Badminton cancellation w/ Rolex yesterday, it MUST be 3 different comps for the Grand Slam to be legitimate.”
Update: Pippa Cuckson writes for the Telegraph that it is likely the Rolex Grand Slam will roll to Burghley and that Rolex is expected to make an announcement later today. [Telegraph]
2) What do Colleen Rutledge and Shiraz do? Colleen has flown all the way to England to compete at Badminton and now she is left in the rain with a very talented horse and a refunded Badminton entry check. Colleen’s blog this morning summed things up–“AAAAUUUUGGG!!!! Lots more words, but none of them printable. Now, to figure out plan B.”
3) What do all of the pairs previously entered at Badminton do? The same weather that canceled Badminton is going to lead to numerous other event cancellations in England. The Saumur CCI***, May 17th to 20th in France, looks like the most likely backup plan at this point but Saumur can only host so many entries. Luhmuhlen is the only remaining CCI4* before the end of June. There are quite a few CCI3*’s over the next two months, but not a ton close to England. The aforementioned Saumur, Tattersalls in Ireland (end of May), and Bramham in England (mid June) look like the best options at this point and I expect events to add divisions to accommodate the badminton refugees.
4) What does this mean for the Olympics? It is important to remember that many of the top confirmed Olympics pairs were not planning on competing at Badminton. For one thing, it means that everyone who got around Rolex has the advantage over the Badminton hopefuls in that they have successfully completed a tough 4* this year. North America also appears to have a very strong remaining CCI3* regional calendar with Jersey Fresh and Bromont over the next 6 weeks.
Stay tuned for much more Badminton fallout as it develops.
As a final post from what has been a great Rolex Sunday, I’ll turn things over one last time to Josh Walker, Frankie Thieriot, EEI, Rolex, and the USEA for their great interview videos from earlier today.
Watch William Fox-Pitt’s winning Rolex show jumping ride above and the second and third place rides from Allison and Boyd respectively below. The videos are courtesy of Universal Sports. A full replay of the Rolex 2012 show jumping is now available at the USEF Network. This is a great chance to thank the USEF Network for their brilliant coverage of Rolex all weekend. Putting on a live online video feed is incredibly difficult and it was a great service to everyone in North America unable to attend Rolex. Although I didn’t have a chance to listen to much of Sally O’Connor’s commentary on the USEF Network, I heard great things from a lot of viewers.
Our apologies to readers outside of North America, it seems that Universal sports has disabled these Youtube videos from playing outside of North America.
William and Parklane Hawk for the win, photo by Samantha
William Fox-Pitt of Great Britain won his second Rolex (’10 Cool Mountain) and the second of three steps to the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing today at the Kentucky Horse Park. William and the 2011 Burghley champion Parklane Hawk entered the show jumping arena with a rail in hand. They pulled a rail at fence number 6 but jumped clear after that for the win. The Kentucky crowd was supporting William at every jump–he is a true champion and a great representative of our sport. Everyone here this weekend (and I am sure throughout Eventing Nation) will be cheering William on at Badminton next weekend to win and capture the Rolex Grand Slam by winning Burghley, Rolex, and Badminton consecutively.
The United States finished a great weekend by taking the next 4 placings behind William. Allison Springer, Boyd Martin, Karen O’Connor, and Will Coleman all made different but significant steps forward this weekend. Jonathan Paget and Andrew Nicholson of New Zealand finished in 6th and 7th, and the four placings behind them went to the USA.
Just 5 horses finished the show jumping with double-clear rounds (Otis, Mr. Medicott, Twizzel, Qwanza, and Gordonstown). Only three pairs finished the weekend on their dressage score–Boyd with Otis, Will Coleman and Twizzel, and Andrew Nicholson and Qwanza. William’s win gives the last three Rolex wins to Great Britain (William ’12, Mary King ’11, and William ’10). The last US Rolex champions were Phillip Dutton and Connaught in 2008.
Rolex Final Results:
1. William Fox-Pitt and Parklane Hawk (GBR) +4 45.3
2. Allison Springer an Arthur +4 47.0
3. Boyd Martin and Otis Barbotiere +0 51.0
4. Karen O’Connor and Mr. Medicott +0 51.0
5. Will Coleman and Twizzel +0 51.3
6. Jonathan Paget and Clifton Promise +8 (NZL) 52.8
7. Andrew Nicholson and Qwanza +0 (NZL) 55.8
8. Boyd Martin and Remington +4 56.9
9. Marilyn Little-Meredith and RF Demeter +12 63.8
10. Phillip Dutton and Mighty Nice +8 66.7
[Full Rolex Results]
Allison and Arthur, photo courtesy of Samantha
Allison Springer pulled one and ultimately very costly rail with Arthur, but they finished the weekend with a wonderful result in 2nd place and they were the highest placed US pair. They started off their show jumping round looking nervous and not nearly forward enough but they pulled things together quickly. This weekend validates a ton of hard work from Allison and is a really big step forward. There’s a long way to go until London, but this finish certainly puts Arthur back into team consideration. Allison noted in the press conference that she was left off of the US Team training lists this winter and she said that might have let her focus on what she needed to focus on. Arthur also won the best conditioned horse award.
Boyd Martin and Otis, photo courtesy of Lesley Ward
Otis Barbotiere wins the unofficial EN award for the highest placed four-star rookie at Rolex in 3rd place. Otis finished on his dressage score in his first four-star despite the incredibly tough cross-country and show jumping courses. Otis jumps so big with his hind end that it is hard for Boyd to stay steady in the saddle, but the upside is that there was never a risk of Otis pulling a rail with his hind end. You would be hard pressed to find a bigger Neville fan than me, but the question of Neville or Otis for London is going to gain momentum after this weekend. Boyd also has Remington, who finished in 8th, and Ying Yang Yo in Olympic contention.
Jonathan Paget and Clifton Promise of New Zealand, 3rd after the cross-country, found 8 faults at the triple combination, pulling down the rail at #9A and then putting two strides in the one stride and punching out #9C. Jonathan and Clifton Promise finished in 6th.
Karen and Mr. Medicott, photo by Samantha
Karen worked really hard for her double-clear with Mr. Medicott. As the crowd roared their approval Karen pointed down to Mr. Medicott, recognizing his great performance this weekend–I love it when riders show their horses some love on the biggest stage of our sport. Mr. Medicott was wearing one of the largest bits I have ever seen, but it got the job done. They finished with just 6.8 XC time penalties added to their dressage score and Karen accomplished exactly what she needed to this weekend to continue Mr. Medicott’s track towards the Olympics.
Will Coleman and Twizzel, photo by Samantha
Will Coleman and Twizzel produced a beautiful double-clear show jumping round. I’m so happy to see luck finally smile on Will and Twiz. As promised, when this pair has a bit of luck go their way they are a top five placing 4* pair all day long and they have to be in Olympic consideration now.
Marilyn Little-Meredith pulled three rails with RF Demeter. Marilyn has said that when she buys event horses she tries to find horses that need some work in the show jumping because that phase is her strength. Demeter drifted a bit at times and Marilyn worked hard to get through with just 3 rails. They dropped from 7th to 9th in the show jumping.
As mentioned, the United States finished with 4 pairs in the top 5 and 7 pairs in the top 10 at Rolex. Team USA also came up clutch in the show jumping–4 of 5 double-clear show jumping rounds belonged to US pairs.
Update: Video interview with William after his win, courtesy of Josh Walker, Frankie Thieriot, EEI, Rolex, and the USEA
Here’s how the rest of the rides played out, starting with the first to go today…
One of my favorite pairs this weekend, Jordan Linstedt and Tullibards Hawkwind started the show jumping Sunday afternoon with 16 penalties but Jordan was a class act and rode great, as she did all weekend. It looked as though Richard Jefferies’ show jumping course might be a little mild this year when the second pair of the day, Madeline Blackman and Gordonstown, jumped clear. Little did we know how hard that accomplishment would prove to emulate for the riders after them. Maddie and Gordonstown were the only riders of the first group to jump clear and most of those early pairs pulled one or two rails.
Jessica Hampf and High Society firmly ensconced themselves in Canada’s high performance picture by following up their clear ride yesterday with two rails today. Kate Hicks and Belmont added just one rail to their clean round yesterday–Jimmy Wofford’s prediction of a good weekend for turned out to be exactly correct.
Erin Sylvester capped off an amazing first Rolex with just 4 penalties all weekend. That is an absolutely huge achievement and you have to expect great things from them in the future.
Peter Barry and Kilrodan Abbott were the first to ride after the first 10 minute TV break and they got us started off right, pulling just one rail. Canada started the weekend with 3 pairs at Rolex and they will finish with two in the top 20. After this weekend, Peter and Kilrodan Abbott are definitely in consideration for London.
Mighty Nice and Phillip Dutton continued to impress the crowd in their show jumping. Mighty Nice’s barn name is Happy and you can see why–he is so thoughtful, kind, and engaged over the fences. It makes me happy just watching him work.
Appropriately, Andrew Nicholson and Qwanza became the first pair today to finish the weekend on their dressage score. Their dressage test didn’t give them a chance to win Rolex, but anyone finishing this weekend with no jumping faults should be incredibly proud of their horse.
The final 7 rides aired live on NBC TV and the rest is history.
Final Press Conference Notes:
The EN bloopers award goes to whoever was in charge of playing the national anthem during the award ceremony. The British anthem “God Save the Queen” was introduced but then the Star Spangled Banner rang out over the speakers. After a brief pause the German (I think) anthem started to play. After that, announcer Nigel Casserly apologized and jokingly asked William to hum the British anthem.
I want to give a big thanks to the volunteers, the fans, the riders, the horses, the USEF Network, EN’s sponsors, Rolex and all of the event’s sponsors, and the Kentucky Horse Park for making this a wonderful weekend of competition. Thank you to everyone who joined our EN live blogs throughout the weekend. Please help our Rolex coverage roll on into next week by sending your photos, videos, stories, and ridiculousness to [email protected]. I also want to give a huge thanks to the EN Team, including Samantha, Abby, Ali, Leslie, and of course Visionaire for making this a great weekend on EN.
They pulled one rail but got it done to win the second leg of the Rolex Grand Slam. We’ll have a full recap of the show jumping excitement shortly. [Full Rolex Results]
Welcome to show jumping day at Rolex! Once again, our friends at the USEF Network are providing a wonderful free online live viewing experience all weekend from Rolex for our readers within North America. If you are at home trying to follow Rolex live, that’s the place to start–click the link below to see all of the action live. As always, we are meeting together here on EN to provide our own insights, guests, war stories that we probably shouldn’t tell, and ridiculousness in our EN Rolex live blog, presented by Kentucky Horsewear. We want to make this year even more interactive and community based so we are trying a new blogging software this weekend–please jump into the discussion and join us right away!
Schedule (Updated): Show Jumping starts at 1:10pm ET. Tune your TV to NBC at 2:00pm for Rolex coverage, the final group of show jumpers will start around 2:45pm live on NBC with the awards ceremony at 3:00pm.
Note: We apologize in advance for any technical issues or server crashes, which are something of a Rolex tradition on EN. We are having some traffic load issues when we get over 250 commenters on the blogging software. If an error message displays above this note, please try clicking on the post title or refreshing the page, or email [email protected] and we will try to help.
Kentucky Horsewear: Our Rolex live blogs are presented by Kentucky Horsewear, makers of incredibly high quality boots as well as their new tendon grip product for your horses. Kentucky is sold online through Bit of Britain and LEO and at your local tack store.
Follow along with the show jumping course map:
As always, stay tuned to EN throughout the day for the latest Rolex news, results, and ridiculousness. Go eventing.
Show jumping expert Marilyn Little Meredith previews the Rolex show jumping for EN during the course walk
I try not to interview riders after their course walk because I personally don’t like talking to anyone after I walk a course, but I simply couldn’t resist asking Marilyn Little-Meredith to give us a quick look at Richard Jefferies’ immaculately designed and prepared show jumping course. Marylin was very nice to oblige and the result is a great look at the 16 fences that will determine the Rolex 2012 champion.
I was also very pleased to hear from Marilyn that RF Rovano Rex, who withdrew before the jog this morning, will be fine. Marilyn told me that he just knocked himself and Mark and the vets thought it would be best to not push things. Marilyn blazed around the cross-country course in veteran fashion on both RF Rovano Rex and RF Demeter and she will show jump today with Demeter in 7th place.
Thanks again to Marilyn for the SJ preview. The schedule has been updated due to so few competitors remaining in the competition and the first horse is scheduled to start at 1:10PM. Go eventing.
William Fox-Pitt and Parklane Hawk are in control at Rolex after a Saturday double-clear
A big crowd of spectators showed up to watch the small remaining field of Rolex horses jog in front of the Grand Jury at this morning’s final horse inspection. Marilyn Little-Meredith’s horse RF Rovano Rex and Manolo Blahnik, ridden by Sara Kozumplik, withdrew before the final horse inspection, meaning that 30 horses presented this morning. Both of Michael Pollard’s horses were held. Michael withdrew Icarus from the holding area and Wonderful Will passed on reinspection. Heather Morris and Slate River were held and withdrew from the holding area. Barb Crabo and Eveready were held and sadly did not pass upon reinspection. 27 horses will move on tot he Rolex show jumping, which starts at 1:10PM ET (Updated). The course walk starts at 11am. Be sure to tune in at 12:45 for our EN live blog.
As for the official EN fashion report, I’d say Karen or Emily Beshear get my vote for the ladies and Michael Pollard looked good as the only guy choosing a light suit this morning. If you only knew how much effort I put into these fashion reports.
With full apologies to riders, grooms, and photo snobs, I present my appallingly unskilled jog photos. Demeter and Otis owe me for not getting a photo of them, my camera ran out of battery right before their jogs:
William and Parklane Hawk courtesy of Universal Sports
Someone asked me which pair had the best ride today and the answer was as easy as the answer to that question will ever be–William and Parklane Hawk. As for more videos, the folks at the USEF Network have worked really hard to make the entire cross-country ride available for viewing pleasure tonight:
Will Coleman and Twizzel also had a brilliant ride
As for the spills, I’m not sure how I feel about Universal Sports posting a collection of all of the falls from Rolex today on Youtube, but I suppose all of the the falls are available on the USEF Network replay and all of the horses and riders are fine. There’s a fine line for course designers–all of these falls were safe so Derek is brilliant, if 2 of these falls had led to major injuries people would be calling for Derek’s head. Only watch this if you want to see the tumbles from today:
Update: It appears that Universal Sports has made these videos only watchable in North America, likely due to TV rights. Apologies to non-North America readers.
Allison Springer and Arthur jumped well today, but they picked up 3.2 time faults to drop to 2nd
Allison Springer and Arthur stepped up to the pressure by delivering a clear round today but a costly long route at the last combination on course gave them 3.2 time penalties. Allison took the long route at #27AB, the slanted brush verticals that caused her to fall at Rolex last year. Allison and Arthur dropped one spot in the placings, just 1.7 points behind William Fox-Pitt and Parklane Hawk “Parker”, who jumped double-clear Saturday morning. William Fox-Pitt will look to take the second leg of the Rolex Grand Slam with a win at Rolex on Sunday and in some sense it’s hard to imagine any alternative result tomorrow.
The cross-country video replay is already available on the USEF Network [Click here]
With just 7 double clears, the Rolex leader board was completely shaken up today (Parklane Hawk, Otis, Clifton Promise, Twizzel, Qwanza, Mighty Nice, No Boundaries). New Zealand moved into 3rd with a terrific double-clear attacking ride from Jock Paget and Clifton Promise. Boyd Martin and Otis Barbotiere moved up from 16th to 4th, confirming that Boyd has yet another top international horse in his arsenal. Karen and Mr. Medicott put on a great show for the US selectors–they moved from 4th to 5th with 6.8 time penalties. Will Coleman moved up from 19th to 6th with his double-clear this morning aboard Twizzel. Marilyn Little-Meredith followed up a good morning ride with a better afternoon ride, adding just 2.8 time penalties with Demeter and going into 7th. Boyd and Marilyn both have two horses in the top 10 going into the show jumping (Remington 8th, RF Rovano Rex 10th). Rolex veteran Phillip Dutton is in 11th and 12th with Mighty Nice and Fernhill Eagle respectively.
Rolex Saturday Results:
1. William Fox-Pitt and Parklane Hawk (GBR) +0 41.3
2. Allison Springer and Arthur +3.2 43.0
3. Jonathan Paget and Clifton Promise (NZL) +0 44.8
4. Boyd Martin and Otis Barbotiere +0 51.0
5. Karen O’Connor and Mr. Medicott +6.8 51.0
6. Will Coleman and Twizzel +0 51.3
7. Marilyn Little-Meredith and RF Demeter +2.8 51.8
8. Boyd Martin and Remington +7.6 52.9
9. Andrew Nicholson and Qwanza (NZL) +0 55.8
10. Marilyn Little-Meredith +4.4 58.1
In eventing, an easy day doesn’t mean good day and a hard day doesn’t mean a bad day. A lot of riders are going to walk away from this Rolex cross-country course kicking themselves for mistakes. Certainly this course rode like a true four-star and the riders who were able to keep their rides going finished with horses who were much better for the experience.
Of the 54 cross-country starters today, 18 finished with clear rounds, 13 pairs finished with at least a stop, 15 pairs were eliminated, and 7 retired. 18 out of 54 clear rounds and 31 out of 55 completions means today was a very hard day at Rolex. Anyone to complete Rolex 2012 will have felt like they beat one of the toughest courses in the world
The coffin at #9ABC was the real bogey fence today and caused problems for 20 pairs. Although riders tried multiple strategies throughout the day the coffin continued to cause problems. Other mistakes were distributed pretty evenly across the course with big elements in the combinations requiring aggressive and accurate rides.
In the post-XC press conference, William, Allison, and Jock all seemed surprised that the course rode as tough as it did. William explained that turning questions in the water are deceptively challenging for riders in terms of directing the horse’s attention. He noted that the first two major combinations on this course were turning questions in the water and that these were followed by the coffin which required very straight riding. He suggested that the coffin caused so many issues because horses jumped into it looking for another turning question. Allison called the course very fair and said that it was a track that required decisive riding throughout.
Course designer Derek Di Grazia addressed the media at the end of the day and said that having issues in those first few rides was certainly unsettling for him as a course designer. He said that there were a lot of great rides today as well. When asked why fence 9 caused so many issues he said “It was truly a coffin, you had to jump the jump in and the jump out…it was definitely a rider fence where the rider had to get it done.“
The lone really scary incident of the day occurred when James Alliston and Parker took a tumble at the second fence, the Rock Walls. James stood up quickly but Parker spent some time on the ground before standing up. We were told Paker walked onto the trailer by himself (which is great news) and was taken back to the barns. We will update you as we hear more.
Update: We have been told that the vets say Parker is back in the barns and resting comfortably. That’s great news to cap off what has turned out to be a really safe day of eventing at Rolex.
William made the course look like a walk in the park, photo by Samantha
Here’s how the afternoon rides played out…
Amy Ruth Borun and Santa’s Playboy started the afternoon off with a runout at the menacing chevron out of the coffin at 9C. They picked up another at the second of the double corners and another at the holloe to end their day.
Lucy Jackson and Kilcotrim Ambassador of New Zealand had a runout at 9C as well. Lucy had a big fall over the brush fence out of the Head of the Lake when Kilcotrim Ambassador tripped up the bank. Lucy was up quickly and fine, as was Kilcotrim Ambassador, but with her fall the first two afternoon riders had not completed the course.
Lucy Wiegersma and Granntevka Prince made it three for three non-completions to start off the afternoon when they got a little tight to the corner at out of the Normandy Bank. Grantevka Prince stayed upright but Lucy came off of the left side. They were looking great up until that point.
Emily Beshear and Here’s To You came to our rescue, getting to the finish line in style. They did pick up 20 faults at the coffin, which at this point seemed like par for the course. They got back on track quickly and jumped huge around the rest of the course. Emily and “Quincy” should be happy the great experience they gained today in their first Rolex.
Debbie Rosen and The Alchemyst had a runout at 9C. They started to look better around the middle of the course, but a second and third stop at the Head of the Lake meant elimination. For those of you keeping track at home, 4 our of 5 pairs to start the afternoon didn’t make it to the finish line.
Kate Brown and Mojito “Mango” had a great ride through the coffin which was important to just prove that it could be done. They gained momentum throughout the course and finished clear with 19.6 time penalties.
Sally Cousins and Tsunami gave us two clear rides in a row. Sally rode like the veteran that she is and navigated the mare around Rolex with just 8.4 time penalties.
Oliver Townend and the lovely Pepper Anne of Great Britain were really impressive early in the course and I fell slightly in love with this horse today. Pepper Anne jumped with athleticism and smoothness–it was a beautiful combination. They stormed around the course until the last combination where Pepper Anne had two refusals at the angled brushes and Oli retired.
All the pressure in the world was on Allison Springer and Arthur as they started out. Two fences that had caused them problems in the past–the coffin and the angled brush combination at the end of the course–were causing major problems today. They worked their way through the course with determination. It wasn’t always perfect but it was effective and they expertly navigated everything Derek Di Grazia could throw at them. Allison saved as much time as she could early on the course to take the long way at the angled brushes that gave her a fall last year but in the end that long route cost them 3.2 time penalties and they surrendered the lead to William and Parker.
Beth Perkins and Sal Dali might not have had a good day yesterday, but they had a great one today, finishing clear and moving up 33 places from 57th to 24th.
Another Kiwi with great XC stickability, photo by Samantha
Jonathan Paget and Clifton Promise of New Zealand knew what they had to do and they did it, attacking this tough course with a real sense of purpose. They had a few tense moments but fought through those together and finished as the 4th double-clear at that point.
Sara Kozumplik and Manolo Blahnik received a runout at the second element of the Land Rover Holloe. They finished looking strong with 20 jumping and 21.6 time.
Will Coleman after his ride this morning, courtesy of Josh Walker, Frankie Thieriot, EEI, Rolex, and the USEA:
Clark Montgomery and Loughan Glen had one of the more eventful rides of the day and sadly it ended in disappointment. Clark and Glen jumped through the coffin successfully but knocked down the rail into the coffin at #9A when Glen touched the rail and broke the frangible pins. I know this is incredibly subjective, but it looked to like Loughan Glen barely touched the rail and he certainly didn’t hang a knee or start to rotate in any way. They received 21 penalties for breaking the frangible device (by FEI rule) even though they jumped through the combination clear. They continued around the course looking really good and it looked like it was shaping up to be a frangible penalty controversy, but in the end it didn’t matter as Clark fell at the angled brushes at #27AB. Loughan Glen was caught up on the fence briefly but announcer Nigel Casserly reported both horse and rider were fine.
Barbara Crabo and Eveready had a glance off of that chevron in the coffin–which by now you surely know is #9C. They picked up another stop at the Normandy Bank. Barb pulled things together and they finished with two stops–good for them for hanging tough and gutting it out, a completion on this course is a huge achievement.
Brittany Lunney and Cool Dancer just never got in a rhythm. Brittany had a runout at 5D at the first water and then a fall at the coffin. Both horse and rider were quickly up and walking.
Andrew Hoy and Rutherglen were impressive early on, but they picked up 21 penalties for a broken frangible pin. Their day got even more exciting when Rutherglen jumped into the ditch rather than over the jump at the angled brush fence at 27A. Rutherglen smacked his head on the jump but they jumped better the second time, Andrew took the long route in the combination and they finished the course.
Andrew Nicholson wasn’t going to let the coffin catch him a second time and he rode with strength and authority this afternoon aboard Qwanza. They kept that tone throughout the round and Andrew’s second ride looked like everything we could expect from an Andrew Nicholson round. As announcer Nigel Casserly said, “When Nicholson says go, horses usually listen.” They finished with a double-clear.
Karen and Mr. Medicott, photo with kind courtesy of Lesley Ward
Karen O’Connor and Mr. Medicott lost time in front of their fences as Karen worked to half-halt the enthusiastic Mr. Medicott but they made some of that up with Mr. Medicott’s huge gallop. I felt like if their life had depended on making the time they would have done so, but the key today was to get a good ride to further their partnership, and they did just that. They finished with 6.8 time faults but Karen has to be delighted and it looks like Karen has a super horse for the Olympics at this point. Karen cut her lip when Mr. Medicott slipped between combinations in the HOTL.
Becky and Can’t Fire Me
Becky Holder and Can’t Fire Me had the best ride through the coffin of the day in my opinion. They were looking great all around the course but two fences from home the vets saw blood on Can’t Fire Me’s knee and the officials pulled them up for evaluation. After some debate the vets determined that Can’t Fire Me had a cut should and not continue so they retired. That’s heartbreaking for Becky to be so close to home after such a good ride but the wellness of the horse always comes first of course and I have to think that the selectors should look at this round as a clear trip around Rolex.
Marilyn Little-Meredith had two great cross-country rides today in her first four star as she navigated the course expertly aboard Demeter this afternoon. Demeter looked tired at the end and they finished with a few time faults but Marilyn has to be incredibly proud to have two of the best rides today at Rolex just two years after starting eventing. After watching Marilyn ride this weekend I don’t really see any reason other than she hasn’t had a ton of 4* rides that should prevent her from being heavily considered for the Olympics. We should expect two good rides from her tomorrow of course.
James Alliston and Parker were eliminated after falling at fence two. As I mentioned earlier in this post, Nigel announced that James was up quickly and that Parker was being loaded onto the trailer for transport to the stables. Visionaire said that Parker was up and walked onto the trailer himself which is great news and the vets have since updated us that Parker is resting comfortably in the stables.
Phillip Dutton and Mighty Nice continued to impress me and I was left with the notion that Mightly Nice is going to be an incredible international horse in the very near future. They finished looking great and full of run with the 6th double clear of the day. Phillip has to be so proud of his two young horses today. I will confess that when Phillip started loading up with this most recent string of top horses two years ago, I felt like he was maybe focusing too much on getting good horses on the flat. He showed today that these horses can jump like champions.
Michael Pollard and Icarus looked brilliant around the early part of the course but once again they found issues with a chevron at Rolex, this time at the #9C coffin chevron. Michael has been working really hard to get this horse fit for Rolex and they looked good through the rest of the course. The rest of Michael’s round was some of the best riding I saw all day. As good news for Michael, his 20 penalties for circling with Wonderful Will before #27 were reversed.
Boyd Martin and Otis, photo courtesy of Lesley Ward
Boyd and Otis displayed some big time scope today and made these Rolex jumps look small. The key thing that Otis showed me today was speed–when Boyd first bought this horse I wondered if he would be speedy enough to be a top top international horse for Boyd (the jump and flatwork was never in question). Otis delivered the seventh double-clear of the day to finish a strenuous Rolex Saturday with a moment of perfection.
Notes from the press conference:
William: William mentioned that he started to second guess his plan after the first few riders had so many problems today. But, he said, the great thing about this course is that it just required you to get the job done at every combination. With a twinkle in his eye, he called #9C “that horrible skinny brush thing.” William noted that there are some similarities between Greenwich Park and Rolex it terms of the hills and the turns, but he said Greenwich will be “unlike anything we have seen before.”
Allison: Allison said that the normally spooky Arthur is finally learning to appreciate the large Rolex crowds as being on his side. She said that she was proud of her horse and that Arthur looked good in his first jog back at the barns. She said it was always her plan to go the long route at the final combination because it gave her problems last year.
Jock: Jonathan Paget said that the course at London will be very different from the course here today. Jock said the course required the horses to trust the riders. He said “You know you’re in for a bad day when Andrew walks home.“
Parting Thoughts:
This course will go down in history as one of the toughest and safest courses ever at Rolex and I regard that as a really successful day of eventing. The selectors for the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain, and Australia have gotten a really good look at what horses were ready for a 4* today and which ones weren’t. Allison headlines the success for the US today, but Boyd and Marilyn have two horses in the top 10, Will Coleman is clicking on all cylinders with Twizzel, and Karen has found her Olympic horse. Canada has found two Olympic hopefuls in Kilrodan Abbott and High Society. Less experienced US riders such as Heather Morris, Erin Sylvester, and Kate Hicks can hang their hats on a fabulous day.
It’s impossible not to pick William to close the deal tomorrow with only two horses within a rail of him and Parklane Hawk. Thank you to all of the volunteers, organizers, riders, horses, and fans for making today a wonderful day of eventing.
