Cue the music; it’s time for show jumping at Rolex.  Some competitors are worried about getting a top finish, others just want a good educational ride for their horses, and still others just want to end the weekend on a positive note.  I hope that all of the competitors riding this afternoon, no matter who they are, remembers what an incredible achievement it is to just finish a 4*.  Good luck to all and here’s to the cups being nice and deep. 

Here are a few notes looking ahead to the show jumping.    

–Not to state the obvious, but it’s hard to imagine Mary King not winning this afternoon.  She has a one rail lead over Clayton with King’s Temptress and of course Fernhill Urco is in second.  The leader board has spread out quite a bit after the cross-country and there are only 4 riders within two rails of the lead.  On top of it all, Mary will have had a chance to ride the course once with Fernhill Urco by the time she rides King’s Temptress.  I believe Mary’s last 4* win was in 2000 when she won Badminton.  That being said, it’s eventing so anything is possible and Clayton’s mare is an excellent show jumper.

–I am interested to see if the muddy conditions yesterday make the horses especially tired for the show jumping.  It’s impossible to mention show jumping at Rolex without saying something about Tipperary Liadhnan, especially because they are in 10th.  Kim rode really well yesterday and they had one of the better rides despite having a very thin preparation this spring and the fact that Paddy pulled both front shoes on the course.  Towards the end of last year it really looked like Kim had things figured out in the show jumping and I’ll be rooting really hard for this pair today.

–USA’s weekend rests in the hands of two of our most promising up and coming riders–Sinead Halpin and Hannah Burnett.  They added 4.4 time penalties yesterday between them and jumped a collective 19 places up the score board.  There’s a lot of pressure on these girls from a incredible number of directions, not the least of which is competing on national TV.  When we talk about riders of the future, they are who we mean and it would be a nice step in their trip up the ranks to have good show jumping rounds today. 

–The reality of how well the international riders are doing this weekend really struck me at the jog this morning.  The quarantine horses jog first so they clear out before the local horses jog.  The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 7th placed horses all traveled to the US to compete at Rolex and I’m glad that they are having a good weekend in Kentucky although I would like to see more USA pairs in the top 10.

–Canada had mixed results yesterday but they have two horses in the top 11, Exponential and Riddle Master.

–It’s worth saying again that Derek di Grazia’s first 4* course was a tremendous success yesterday.  Against all odds they got it dried out enough to be safe for the horses, which was a big success in and of itself.  With the only injury of the day being Kristi’s dislocated elbow, I think that we can say that the course was a big success from a safety standpoint.  There were falls, but I think the jumps were designed such as to allow for less dangerous falls and to let the horses slide over them when they might have fallen over with different jump geometry.  The course played a significant role in the competition without being unsafe which is perfect.

–The show jumping is scheduled to start at 1:06pm ET.  We’ll have the live blog starting around 1 and of course USEF Network will be showing the live video for free.  At 2:00pm, NBC’s coverage will start on your television with a little dressage and cross-country coverage and then I believe the last 6 show jumpers, beginning with Mary’s first ride at 2:16 and ending with Mary on King’s Temptress at 2:48.  The times are so rigid because of the television schedule.  Go eventing.

The great Buzzterbrown was on scene yesterday at Rolex and has uploaded his videos.  As we mentioned last night, full replays of yesterday’s videos is available at the USEF Network on the right sidebar of their website. 

Morning:

Afternoon:

Go eventing.

King’s Temptress

The rain gave way just in time for the jog this morning.  All the horses that jogged were accepted but sadly Michael Pollard did not present Wonderful Will.  Sandhills Tiger was held but accepted on reinspection.  The 29 remaining horses move on to start show jumping at 1:00pm ET.

Samantha has reported that Kristi Nunnink was discharged from the hospital last night after dislocating her elbow.  That’s a painful experience but nonetheless I think we can feel like yesterday was a big success from a riding and course design perspective. 

I feel really bad for Michael and Wonderful Will.  They had bad luck at three-days last year and had a well deserved great round yesterday.  Sadly, they pulled both front shoes early on the course.  Will has the nicest owners and this is just yet another example of how tough of a sport eventing can be.

The weather is improving steadily and hopefully that trend continues into the show jumping, which starts at 1:00pm.  Go eventing.

Good morning Eventing Nation and welcome to a rainy Sunday morning at Rolex.  As miserable as the weather might be today, I’m very thankful that the rain waited through Saturday to show up again.  If it was raining like this yesterday I’m not sure that anyone would have had a clear ride.  The jog starts at 8:30 and, until then, I’ll leave you with something I know you have come to love and expect from Eventing Nation…reining videos.

[via Jenny McCoy]

Go eventing.

Have I ever said before how much I love the internet?  By the powers of the almighty interweb we can get on demand video replays of the Rolex cross-country for everyone who didn’t get to see it.  Click the link below to watch replays of today’s action at the USEF Network.  You can find the video replays in the right sidebar.  Full disclosure, it might only be availible to readers in North America, I’m not sure.

[USEF Network]

Also, Youtube, in all of its wisdom, has provided us with replay capacity as well via Pegasus4444:
 

Go eventing.

Photo of Mary and Urco by Samantha Clark

The cross-country was incredibly influential today and Mary King took advantage by adding just 8 penalties between two horses.  Mary now leads Rolex aboard King’s Temptress behind one of only 3 double-clear rides today, and she is in second with Fernhill Urco after adding 8 time penalties to the gray gelding’s dressage score.  To put things in perspective, Mary added fewer penalties with both of her horses combined than all but 8 other riders with just one horse each.  

XC Scores:

1. Mary King and King’s Temptress (GBR) +0  47.7
2. Mary King and Fernhill Urco (GBR) +8  49.7
3. Clayton Fredericks and Be My Guest (AUS) +2.4  52.6
4. Sinead Halpin and Manoir De Carneville (USA) +4.4  53.1
5. Hannah Sue Burnett and St. Barths (USA) +0  53.3
6. William Fox-Pitt and Neuf De Couers (GBR) +0.4  53.6
7. Oliver Townend and Sonas Rovatio (GBR) +2.4  58.2
8. Jessica Phoenix and Exponential (CAN) +0  60.0
9. Boyd Martin and Remington (USA) +12  61
10. Kim Severson and Tipperary Liadhnan (USA) +14  62.5

[Full Results]

–Overnight leaders Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister had a heartbreaking day.  They picked up a quick stop at the second water when Finian jumped past his line to the second element, and then another when he ran past the narrow in the hollow.  To make matters worse, they got too close to 24A, the wide table at the Farm Yard, and they fell there.  There were parts of the ride that looked brilliant and there’s no doubt that Finian has the talent that makes their return to this level soon inevitable.

–Mary’s ride with Fernhill Urco was less smooth than her round on King’s Temptress.  As the gelding started to get tired, she had to ride him more and more forcefully to the takeoff.  They stood way off of #24A and Mary sat way back in the saddle.  Mary did a great job getting him over the last few and home.

–Clayton Fredericks was fantastic on his lovely mare Be My Guest.  They had 2.8 time penalties and move into 3rd place behind Mary King’s two horses.  Like the dressage, they were one of the most relaxed pairs around the course.

[XC Photos from Leslie Threlkeld]   

–Allison Springer’s bad day continued into the afternoon session.  After falling from 3rd placed Arthur late on the course at the angled brushes this morning, Allison was eliminated after three stops on Destination Known.

–On a positive note, Sinead is the leading US rider in her first 4*.  She had a gutty and strong ride that she is quickly becoming know for and she is just 5.4 points out of the lead in 4th.  I spoke about younger riders stepping up here at Rolex and Sinead is proof of that for the USA.

–In addition to Sinead, Hannah Burnett had a really positive performance for the US this morning.  She moved up from 20th to 5th going into the show jumping and had the only double-clear of the day for the US.

–The only really tough fall of the day was Krtisti Nunnink and R-Star at #15A, the first of the double corners.  Like Will Coleman and Twizzel’s fall there, R-Star never got all of her legs up.  She tipped sideways over the jump and both her and Kristi fell.  R-Star quickly got up and her grooms led her back to the barns.  Kristi was taken to the on-scene medical center for about 15 minutes and then to the hospital in an ambulance.  The official statement from the doctors is that she was transported to the hospital with a right arm injury.  Hopefully we’ll have good news soon and we wish her a speedy recovery.  It was a tough end to the weekend for a beautiful horse and they had a good round going up until the fall. 

–As expected, the international riders moved up big time today.  Great Britain has 4 horses in the top 10, Australia 1, Canada 1, and the USA has 4, but only 2 in the top 8.

–All told, only 18 of the 41 starters got home clear and only 3 were double-clear.  12 riders had at least one stop, 6 fell, 2 were eliminated, and 3 retired.  Only 8 horses had less than double digit time penalties.

–The footing worked out pretty well thanks to the hard work by Derek di Grazia and the great KHP ground crew to get the water drained out.  Clayton said in the press conference that he thought the footing was almost ideal as of this morning and Mary said that the later horses had to struggle more with torn up footing.

–Karen used all of her experience to nurse Quintus 54 around the course.  Quin looked like he got tired towards the end of the course but Karen coaxed him around with efficient and encouraging riding.  They moved up from 24th to 13th with 14 time penalties.

The normandy bank caused a few issues this afternoon.  Susan Beebee and Prowler had a stop at the rail on top of the bank that marred an otherwise wonderful round.  Allison Springer and Destination Known were eliminated there.

–James Alliston and Jumbo’s Jake had 20 at 19A, the second jump into the Head of the Lake. 

–The most influential jump of the day was the narrow at the bottom of the hill in the hollow.  9 horses had problems there.  Hamish and Sandhills Tiger had two stops at the complex in the afternoon session. 

–There are two mares in the top 3.

–The HRN is broadcasting from Rolex until 5:30pm, click here.

–The afternoon sun really warmed things up at the Horse Park and the later horses looked to get more tired as the afternoon progressed.

–We can’t say it enough, but many thanks to the incredible volunteers, organizers, officials, and of course fans who showed up today to make a great Saturday of eventing.  

–The day finished on a very positive tone with the last 4 riders having clear rides and William Fox-Pitt finishing things up with a very positive ride on Neuf Des Coeurs.  4 of the 6 riders with two horses here finished with clean rounds on their second rides.

–Update: How could I have done a XC recap without mentioning Toddy.  Sadly, Grass Valley had a runout at 24A, the first of the challenging angled vertical brush combination.  I was shocked to see it happen, but it goes to show that anything can happen in eventing.

That’s all for now.  The jog is at 8:30am and show jumping will begin at 1pm.  Stay tuned this evening for much more from Rolex.  Go eventing. 

Photo of Boyd and Remi by Samantha Clark

Well, Rolex is not riding like a dressage competition, as they say.  Just 8 out of 21 starters came home clear in the morning session at Rolex and only two riders were double-clear.  Mary King and King’s Temptress were 4th after the dressage and moved into the lunch time lead with one of those double-clears.  The rest of the leader board was broken wide open between time penalties, stops, and falls.  Thankfully, despite the big shifts in the score board, we got through the morning without any severe falls.  Take a look at the score distribution after the morning:

Lunch Time XC Scores:

1. Mary King and King’s Temptress +0  47.7
2. Hannah Sue Burnett +0  53.3
3. Boyd Martin and Remington +12  61
4. Kim Severson and Tipperary Liadhnan +14  62.5
5. Colleen Rutledge and Shiraz +6.4  70.4
6. James Alliston and Parker +2.8  70.6
7. Olivia Loiacono and Subway +12.4  81.6

[Full Results]

–Other than the 8 clears, there were 7 rides with at least a stop, 2 horses that retired, 3 falls, and 1 rider eliminated.   Just 15 starters from the morning finished the course.

–Mary King was the 4th rider on course but she rode masterfully and didn’t look like she pushed to make the time in one of two double clears of the morning.  Mary was rightfully ecstatic with her ride afterward.  King’s Temptress can’t finish the day in worse than 3rd.  With her second horse in 2nd place, Mary is guaranteed to go into Sunday in no worse than second and potentially with two in the top 3.

–Allison Springer and Arthur were 3rd after the dressage and looked great all the way around the course and then had a fall at 26B, the angled brush combination.  It looked like Arthur just hung a leg and Allison was rightfully very frustrated after the fall.  Both were ok and walked away. 

—Hannah Burnett and St. Barths made the course look easy as only the second double-clear of the day.  Hannah was also the only rider held on course.  She had to pause while they repaired the frangible pins in the second double corner.  Despite the hold they looked rock solid all the way around.  Hannah patted Nike more than I have every seen a rider at Rolex and Nike responded by jumping great.  They move into second at the lunch break.

[USEA Morning XC Photos]

–Olivia Loiacono, one of the youngest riders at Rolex, showed maturity beyond her years by making the decision to take the option in the second and third water complex.  Subway was very strong early on the course but Olivia managed it well.  Olivia also showed good stickability several times. 

–The first water at #5ABC caused several stops, particularly at the jump in.  Exploring retired after picking up two stops there, Debbie Rosen retired after a sticky stop at 5A. 

–The skinny at the bottom of the hill in the Hollow at 13ABC by far caused the most issues today.  Phillip and Fernhill Eagle, Peter Barry and Kilrodan Abbott, Kelly Prather and Ballinakill Glory, and Kelly Sult and Hollywood all picked up runouts there.  Michael Pollard and Icarus slipped coming down the hill and got off their distance, also picking up a runout.

–The footing seems to be holding up pretty well all things considered.  A few of the horses stuck a bit on takeoff and landing and the soft ground undoubtedly contributed to the number of time penalties.

—Will Coleman and Twizzel popped off at the first of the double-corners.  Twizzel looked like he jut didn’t really pick his legs up.  Both were fine, but its unfortunate to see Will’s promising weekend come to an early end.  Jessica Hampf and High Society picked up a cheap runout there, and Hollywood got 21 penalties for breaking the frangible log at 15B but they did not have a stop there.

–Kate Brown and Mojito had the scariest moment of the morning when Mojito got off his line and attempted to jump the head of the second duck in the Head of the Lake.  They had a tumble but walked away apparently ok.

–Boyd Martin and Remington looked good around the course but they finished on 12 time penalties.  Remi looked tired towards the end which likely contributed to the time penalties. 

—Colleen Rutledge and Shiraz delivered one of the best looking rounds of the day.  Shiraz was full of run to the end.  They are rewarded with being in 6th place at the lunch break.

–The USEA is Tweeting every ride @USEventing

–Kim managed Tipperary Liadhnan well around the course with will and determination.  Paddy looked tired toward the end and pulled both front shoes on course, but Kim has to be really happy to get around after a less than ideal spring preparation.

–Last but certainly not least, James Alliston rode like a true veteran.  I commented on the live blog that it didn’t look like James pushed very hard to finish on just 2.8 time penalties, but with all of the other time penalties that is clearly due to quiet and mature riding from James rather than the time being easy to make.

That’s all for now.  We’ll have much more this afternoon.  Go eventing.

Mary King and Fernhill Urco

With a young talented rider topping the Rolex leader board in her second 4* and three British horses in the top 6, Rolex almost has the feel of Badminton a week ago.  Mary King had a wonderful ride this afternoon aboard her own magnificent gray horse–Fernhill Urco.  She moved into 2nd place, just 0.9 points behind Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister.  Mary’s other horse, King’s Temptress is in in 4th with 47.7.  We knew that the British based riders meant business, but Mary’s performance in the dressage to put two horses in the top four is Rolex greatness.

Rolex Dressage Results:

1. Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister  40.8
2. Mary King and Fernhill Urco  41.7
3. Allison Springer and Arthur  42.3
4. Mary King and King’s Temptress  47.7
5T. Will Coleman and Twizzel  48.2
5T. James Alliston and Jumbo’s Jake  48.2
7. Kim Severson and Tipperary Liadhnan  48.5
8. Sinead Halpin and Manoir de Carnevile 48.7
9. Boyd Martin and Remington  49.0
10. Clayton Fredericks and Be My Guest  50.2

[Full Scores]

—James Alliston and Jumbo’s Jake had a very good ride to jump into a tie for 5th with Will Coleman and Twizzel.  I haven’t seen James ride much and his test didn’t stop your breath and make you say ‘wow’ but James rode very accurately, Jumbo’s Jake was moving nicely, and they kept getting good score after good score.  India McEvoy own’s Jumbo’s Jake and is letting James ride him while she is in vet school.

–Sinead Halpin and Manoir De Carneville were the fourth best scorers on Friday with a 48.7.    I really admire Sinead for her competitiveness and she looked like one of the most focused riders here.

–As I already mentioned, there are 3 British pairs in the top 6.  Both of the top two horses are gray.  6 of the top 10 pairs are riding for the USA.

–Hamish and Sandhills Tiger are 14th after a very nice ride this afternoon.

–Michael Pollard hasd a very steady ride aboard Wonderful Will and is the only other rider with two horses in the top 25.

–It was a mixed day for the international horses.  On one hand, they have half of the top 6 spots.  On the other hand, Joe Meyer, Mark Todd, and William are in 17th to 19th place respectively and Ollie is well back in 26th.  But there is a very long way to go.

–The distribution on the score board will make an interesting Saturday.  Tiana, Mary with Urco, and Allison are almost like a breakaway in cycling, well out ahead of the peloton.  But the trailing group is big and tightly packed–the next 20 riders are separated by just 7 points.  If the time is tough to make on the cross-country there will be a lot of reshuffling in that big group.

–All the riders I have spoken with are saying the same thing–this won’t be a dressage competition.  The course is still very soggy and, depending on how much more it can dry out, the footing will surely start to deteriorate in combinations and around the turns.  Allison might have been at a disadvantage for her dressage score going first but she has a big advantage going first on the cross-country in terms of footing. 

–There will be a meeting this afternoon with the riders to talk about the footing and the course.  It will be interesting to see if officials take any elements off of the course, but my guess is that they will wait as long as possible to make that decision because the footing is drying out as the day progresses. 

–Depending on how their horse is on the cross-country and where they are standing, different riders will have different hopes for taking elements out of the course.  But, everyone will have to ride the same course and I bet most riders will just take the mentality that they will be glad to jump whatever gets put in front of them Saturday.

–However, as Mary said in the press conference, Derek di Grazia’s course is spectacular and all of the footing talk shouldn’t take away from that for a moment.

That’s all for now.  Thanks for checking in with Eventing Nation for a great Rolex dressage phase.  Check back tonight for much more from Rolex and until then go eventing.

Tiana and Finian

Tiana and her exquisite gray gelding Ringwood Magister put together a beautiful test this morning to take the dressage lead with only 10 more pairs to compete this afternoon.  Ringwood Magister looked very fresh when Tiana started circling the arena before their test, but he settled in nicely.  Tiana managed Finian’s energy to perfection and she asked for just the right amount.  The incredible thing is that as he learns to relax in this type of atmosphere there is a lot more that Tiana will be able to ask for at future competitions.  “Finian” has an incredible presence in the arena–he’s a wonderful horse to watch perform and seems to love the big time stage.

Friday Morning Score Board:

1. Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister  40.8
2. Allison Springer and Arthur  42.3
3. Mary King and King’s Temptress  47.7
4. Will Coleman and Twizzel  48.2
5. Kim Severson and Tipperary Liadhnan  48.5
6. Boyd Martin and Remington  49.0
7. Clayton Fredericks and Be My Guest  50.2

[Full Scores]

–Surprisingly, only one rider from the morning jumped into the top 6.  Tiana and Allison are well out ahead of the pack.  Looking at the afternoon pairs, there are a few with good shots to take the lead.

—Mark Todd and Grass Valley had a nice test but they are well back in 13th a 51.8.  With the soggy footing there’s no doubt that this won’t be a dressage competition but I am a bit nervous about my pick to win at this point.  Fellow Kiwi Joe Meyer is tied with Mark in 13th.

[Friday Morning Dressage Photos] 

–Looking at the scoreboard, there are the top two with a big lead, and then the 3rd through 20th pairs are separated by just 8 points.

–Clayton Fredericks and Be My Guest moved into 7th with a 50.2.  The mare was 3rd at Burghley last year and most notably has the floppiest ears and lower lip I have ever seen on a horse.  Relaxation is a vast understatement.

–R-Star was the second impressive gray of the morning and although she didn’t have the most accurate test, her movements and presentation was lovely to move into 10th.  R-Star has come a long way from last year and has a lot more upside.

–Rebecca Howard and Riddle Master had perhaps the best trot work of the weekend but lost things a bit in the canter.  They are still in great shape as the highest placed Canadians so far.

–Karen O’Connor and Quintus had the tough task of following Tiana and Finian.  Quin keeps improving and as his performances keep getting closer to his talent, his scores will keep improving.  The ceiling is very high for this horse.

–Sitting next to Silva and listening to her commentary on the live blog was a great experience.  Silva had some incredibly insightful observations and I learned a lot just listening to her.

That’s all for now.  Check back soon for much more from a partly cloudy and brisk Rolex.  Go eventing.

I was sitting in the grandstands finishing up my dressage recap post Thursday afternoon and I looked up to see a young man proposing to his girlfriend.  It was quite the scene with water trucks still circling in the arena and, truth be told, I have no idea how they ended up in the center of the arena, but there was one other photographer as a witness on the other side.  Otherwise, the grand stands were completely vacant.  I believe there is some other sort of wedding festivity that went on sometime Friday morning and if Coren were writing this post she might tell you about it, but she’s not and so we move on to eventing news and notes…

–We have one more day of dressage, but one big thing on the riders’ minds is the cross-country footing.  In the post-dressage press conference, Allison and course designer Derek di Grazia were quite optimistic about the sunny and windy weather drying the footing out on Thursday.  The weather certainly cooperated Thursday during the day but thunderstorms once again rolled across the Bluegrass Thursday night.  The great KHP crew is doing everything possible to dry out the course, including using water pumps and digging drainage ditches, but it’s going to need as much help from mother nature on Friday as possible.  Derek has said that there will certainly be water in the sunken road on Saturday so it sounds like there will be an additional water complex on the course.  One way or another, the best mentality as a rider is to say ‘whatever the footing is, we’ll just stud accordingly and ride hard.’

–Friday is course walk day at Rolex.  The world famous Jimmy walk is 30 minutes after the last dressage ride.  The good news is that if you can’t make the walk, you’ll still be able to hear the whole thing as Jimmy yells it through the megaphone.  That goes for our readers in Tennessee as well. 

—Peter Atkins is also hosting a course walk on Friday–meet at the Head of the Lake 10 minutes after the lunch break starts.

–PRO is hosting an Q&A session with the riders after the last dressage ride [USEA]

–Be sure to stop by the Phillip Dutton autograph session presented by our friends at FLAIR at the Bit of Britain tent starting at 12:30.

–Update: Check out the Q&A’s at the Ecogold booth with Boyd today at 1:00pm, the Canadian Team today at 5:30, and Phillip at lunch tomorrow.  Ecogold’s booth is booth #69 in the trade fair.

–As I wrote about in my dressage recap, most of the top contenders ride on Friday, so I expect a lot of changes at the top of the leader board. 

–Hannah Burnett will start the day off.  I watched Hannah’s afternoon school yesterday and Nike is looking very wound up but otherwise on top form.  After Hannah’s ride, the big names keep coming throughout the day will all of the British based riders competing.

–Today is an especially good occasion on Eventing Nation because we get to welcome a new sponsor.  Devoucoux makes absolutely amazingly high quality saddles and you can see the evidence in the vast number of riders at Rolex who compete in Devoucoux or just by feeling their tack.   David at Devoucoux also gave me a sweet green Devoucoux jacket when I was freezing at The Fork, which is pretty awesome.  Be sure to stop by the Devoucoux booth in the covered arena trade show and thank Devloucoux for their support of Eventing Nation.  Out of curiosity, what’s the plural of Devoucoux?

–Oh, she said yes, by the way.

–Of course, stay tuned throughout Friday for all of your Rolex news, information, and commentary.  We’ll be back with our one of a kind CIC4* live blog.  The USEF Network is the place to watch the live video feed for dressage, but you are welcome to tune into our live blog as well to see if/when I say something ridiculous.  Go eventing.

The Sunday Night Football NBC trucks are at Rolex

Here are your Rolex Thursday links to all of the great coverage across the interweb:

USEA Thursday Dressage Photos

The Chronicle’s dressage report

Derek di Grazia expects the course to dry out by Saturday

Jimmy’s rider by rider predictions

Here are two videos from the USEF Online Feed, from Pegasus4444:

Go eventing.

Peter Barry and Kilrodan Abbott of Canada

At the beginning of the day if you looked at the Thursday lineup, Allison and Arthur stood out as the top dressage pair and the results showed that to be true today.  All of the afternoon pairs tried to catch Allison’s morning score of 42.3, but the closest that anyone came in the afternoon was Kim Severson and Tipperary Liadhnan with a 48.5.  Allison and Arthur take a big lead into tomorrow’s dressage, but there are some big names with big horses ready to go Friday.

Thursday Dressage Results:

1. Allison Springer and Arthur  42.3
2. Mary King and King’s Temptress  47.7
3. Will Coleman and Twizzel  48.2
4. Kim Severson and Tipperary Liadhnan 48.5
5. Boyd Martin and Remingon  49.0
6. Michael Pollard and Icarus  50.5

[Full Scores]

–Two years ago I wouldn’t have thought there was any way Kim and Paddy would score over 45, but they have had such a disruption to their spring preparation from a tiny freak injury and Kim’s falls at The Fork that I think Kim should be happy with this afternoon’s result.  It’s so like Kim to have a dressage test well below her standards and still be in 4th, but Paddy just didn’t have his top gaits today.

–Lainey Ashker and Anthony Patch were ahead of Allison’s scores after the trot work.  But, a few costly mistakes in the canter work plummeted their score, although the dressage work was so good that they finished on a respectable 51.5 and they are sitting in 8th.

—Boyd and Remington were another pair that I know could have had a better score.  I thought it should have scored better and Remington looked quite nice throughout the test, but Boyd left some clear points on the table including an error.  I would bet Remi will finish on his score of 49 and we’ll have to see how the rest of the weekend goes.

–There was about a 50/50 split of top hats to helmets in today’s rides.  With Allison being the only rider last year to wear a helmet, it’s clear that helmet awareness has come a long way.  I’ll support riders for wearing helmets but I won’t get after them for going the traditional route either.  Under the rules, it’s a personal choice.  I think it’s a smart business and publicity decision to wear a helmet and it is also just good for raising helmet awareness, but that’s just me.

–Katie Ruppel had a heartbreaking day when Sir Donovan started completely misbehaving early on in their test.  He halted, refused to move forward, bit at Katie’s foot, and even tried rearing.  The judge rang the bell quite quickly and they were eliminated for insubordination.  Katie has put so much effort into getting here and they have had a great spring preparation.  I just feel awful, but Donald is young and has a lot of promise.  Hopefully next time he will behave himself.

–A few of the commenters on the live blog who were also watching the USEF’s live feed mentioned that a couple of the horses looked uneven or off.  That’s a pretty tough thing to pick out when someone is riding in a collected trot with a high frame and going in and out of movements in a tight arena.  Having ridden horses in front of vets a fair amount I know you can pretty easily make an unsound horse look sound and vice versa with the aids, so I’ll just leave it by saying I would never judge a horse on soundness under bridle if I didn’t have to but I could see what people were talking about. 

–I’m always surprised by the number of errors there are each year at Rolex.  Having not ridden in a 4*, I can only imagine the pressure and distraction that riding in such a large setting must create, but there seem to be too many errors each year.  Today there were 3.  Boyd missed an 8 meter circle between the shoulder-in and half-pass, Peter Barry and Kilrodan Abbott missed their extended trot, and Martha McDowell was late entering the arena.  One error doesn’t hurt the score that much, but I hate to see points left on the table like that.

–The HRN will be along with live online radio starting at 4pm.  Check it out here.

–The live blog with Lisa, Emily, and Bec was a lot of fun this afternoon, including our in depth analysis of the ‘tranter’.  You shouId have heard some of the things Bec said that Emily didn’t write–we had quite a fun time.  seems like people enjoyed watching the live USEF video and also chatting in the live blog.  Hopefully you enjoyed it and will tune in tomorrow.

–I talked about this on the live blog, but I think my favorite horse in the field is Kilrodan Abbott.  As you’ll see on Saturday, he’s such a wonderful genuine horse and he’s the same way in the dressage.  Peter appreciates him so much that it’s easy to root for Peter as well.  At 54 years young, this is another older pair that should hopefully kick some butt this weekend. 

–Thursday was in some ways just a warm up for Friday when all of the heavy international hitters are set to go including William, Oli, Mark, Joe, and Clayton.  There’s only one score on the leader board below 47, so it’s still anyone’s game.

That’s all for now after a great day in Lexington. Check back this evening for much more from Rolex and until then go eventing.

Kristin Bachman and Gryffindor

With only 12 riders on the schedule, dressage flew by Thursday morning here at the Kentucky Horse Park.  The loyal fans who got out here nice and early today were rewarded for their effort because the first ride of the morning was the best.  Allison Springer and Arthur stayed calm, cool, and collected to produce a lovely test.  They scored a 42.3 and I bet it would have been 2-3 points better if they had been the last ride rather than the first.

Rolex Thursday Morning Scores:

1. Allison Springer and Arthur  42.3
2. Mary King and King’s Temptress  47.7
3. Will Coleman and Twizzel  48.2
4. Michael Pollard and Icarus  50.5

[Full Scores]

—Mary King and King’s Temptress moved into a distant second behind Arthur on a solid veteran test that we would expect from Mary.  Will Coleman and Twizzel had a decent test but I expected a better score from them today because Twizzel is such a nice mover.  Michael Pollard did a great job keeping Icarus calm and, although Icaraus can score better than 50.5, Michael can breath easy now and look forward to his test tomorrow with Wonderful Will.    

–Most of the riders this morning had accurate tests but the the top 4 horses were just significantly better movers than everyone else in the field.

–Kelly Prather and Ballinakill Glory had a super test to score 53.7.  If you remember from last year, Ballinakill Glory didn’t want anything to do with the dressage and we spent the test wishing them through it.  This year was completely different and the pair went out and put together a very professional performance.

–Diana Burnett and Manny  of Canada are in 6th at lunch time.  Manny is a strong horse in both the dressage and jumping but Diana kept him as light as possible.  Trust me, when you see Manny on Saturday you will know who he is–he loves to run.

—Martha McDowell is doing her first 4* at 50 years young this weekend.  She had a solid test with Gaelic Marriage and we’ll be rooting for her to move up this weekend.  Martha entered the arena after the count down clock had expired so she was assessed an error.

–Joe Meyer and Susan Beebee helped us out with the live blog courtesy of PRO, and both were wonderfully nice.   I was incredibly impressed with how knowledgeable Joe was and how enthusiastic he was when he has talking about the dressage.  As two of the riders I don’t know very well, I was super impressed with Joe and Susan and became a fan chatting with them today.

–25% of the way through the Rolex dressage, the score board is wide open.  Only one test scored under 45, so look for big changes to the leader board this afternoon and tomorrow.

That’s all for now, we’ll be back after lunch with more from the live blog.  Until then, go eventing.

Not supposed to be a water jump

Greetings Eventing Nation!  If only because we have all been soaking wet at least once today, the weather is on everyone’s mind here at the Kentucky Horse Park.  The course, as you can see, is completely soaked.  The Horse Park has the best course crew in the world and with the help of good weather forecasts for Thursday and Friday the course should be much improved by Saturday.  They mentioned at the riders briefing that there are backup plans for adjusting the course if the water doesn’t drain soon enough from some complexes.  Here are a few other notes from Rolex:

–I think Derek di Grazia’s first Rolex is a really good looking course but it is on the straightforward side.  The course is a legitimate 4* course but it doesn’t look as big or as technical as Badminton.  There are several very tough questions that will catch a few horses, but the Head of the Lake is as straightforward as I have ever seen and the riders have a lot of time to think between the fences.

–With Phillip not presenting Truluck, one of the best pairs is out of the Rolex field.  There are just 45 horses left in the field and Mark, Mary, William, Oliver, and Clayton have to feel like sharks circling the Rolex trophy.  Maybe I just have Badminton colored glasses but as I look through the Rolex field, I honestly feel like it’s going to take the weekend of a lifetime for someone to catch the British based competitors. 

–In terms of US horses with a chance to win, Arthur should be right up there after the dressage and if Remington has a good enough test then he will almost surely finish on it.  Michael Pollard’s Icarus is one of the most talented horses in the field if he can stay calm on Thursday.  Will Coleman and Twizzel are one of the most well rounded pairs in the competition and they definitely have a shot to win with the right dressage score.  Kristin Bachman and Gryffindor had a great performance here in 2007 that was thwarted by going off course in the show jumping, but if they can capture the dressage and cross-country from that year then they could be right up there.  And then of course there is Kim and Tipperary Liadhnan, who haven’t had much preparation this year, but they might be the most rock solid cross-country pair in the field.  And of course, you can never count Phillip out no matter how inexperienced his horse is.

–Titanium, Exponential, Riddle Master, R-Star, Critical Decision, Manny, Ballinakill Glory, and The Alchemyst are all incredible 4* horses but they will need a really great dressage performance to be in winning position.  Karen and Quin are a wild card because the horse has all the ability to win but needs to put that ability together in all three phases to win the watch.  

–My gut tells me that two or three young guns will surge to the top of the pack and make a name for themselves this weekend.  Ringwood Magister is one of the best 3 horses in the field, and Tiana has competed at Rolex once before so they are a pair to watch.  The OCET duo, Hannah Burnett and Olivia Loiacono, ride two super talented rocket ships of horses.  Sinead Halpin and Manoir de Carneville should have a great weekend and they looked like one of the best pairs on the cross-country at The Fork.  Ok, you say ‘John, you’re cheating and just mentioning every horse.’  Very well, here’s my prediction.

–For me, simple is better.  Mark Todd and Grass Valley were 10th at the WEGs and no horse that beat them there is in the Rolex field.  Every weekend is different but Mark is obviously riding incredibly well right now and I have to think that for Mark lightning could strike twice in two straight weekends.  Clayton Frederick’s Be My Guest would be my second pick as they placed 3rd at Burghley last year. 

–Samantha already mentioned this, but I spoke with Karen today and she said that Mandiba broke 6 ribs in his fall from the Normandy Bank at Badminton.  Mandiba is going to spend some time recovering in England before shipping back to the States.  If you’ve ever broken your ribs, they heal well but they are terribly painful until they heal because every breath aggravates them.  We wish Mandiba a speedy recovery.