Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous led The Fork CIC3* at Tryon International Equestrian Center from start to finish, adding six cross country time penalties to their dressage score to win on a 47.7 and take home a good piece of the $20,000 prize money. Marilyn said she was pleased with how “Kitty” responded to the questions on the course designed by Capt. Mark Phillips and Tremaine Cooper, and the round gave her a good feeling for the rest of the season.

“She’s 12 years old and she’s only a few years into this sport. Today she gave me the feeling of an old horse out there. She felt very confirmed, very confident at the fences,” Marilyn said of the Oldenburg mare owned by Jacqueline Mars, Robin Parsky, and Phoebe and Michael Manders.

Marilyn said yesterday that this event will dictate how the remainder of the season goes, and with this performance she feels confident the mare is ready for the next level. “I let her go around minute four and she just started flying. I think that spoke well to her fitness for the first run and think Luhmühlen is definitely on the table. She strikes me as a horse that’s really ready for the four-star. I couldn’t have asked for a better feeling from her at the jumps today. This was a great kick off to a good season.”

Doug Payne and Vandiver. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

Doug Payne and Vandiver were one of only three pairs to complete the course without jumping or time penalties and the only pair to finish on their dressage score, 50.8. Doug and the 13-year-old Trakehner gelding partnered in the summer of 2015, but this is only their second clear round without time penalties at the level.

“I’m just trying to be smoother and more efficient with lines taken and with the ride in general,” he said. “I’m very lucky to have such a talented horse because he’s got an exceptional gallop and honestly just cruised around.”

Doug will be taking “Quinn,” owned by Doug, Jessica Payne and his breeder Debi Crowley, to Rolex Kentucky for the second time later this month. The pair finished 22nd at the event last year.

“It’s my first time going back with the same horse and having a second shot at it. I’m far more familiar with him and so I have a little bit better level of confidence. That’s not to say there isn’t a whole lot that still could be improved but I’m really looking forward to it. I can’t wait actually.”

Kim Severson and Cooley Cross Border. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

Kim Severson and the Cross Syndicate’s Cooley Cross Border were second heading into cross country but added eight time penalties for a third place finish on 51.7.

“Cross was fantastic. I think a lot of people that know us know our situation has not been always smooth sailing,” Kim said of the 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse. “He got better and better this weekend. I made a large mistake into the water and he didn’t give up. He fought for it the rest of the way around the course, and he was really good in situations where he might not have been in the past.”

After winning the Advanced division at Carolina International last month, Kim said she would see how Cross ran around The Fork before making a decision about competing at Rolex.

“I’m going to see how he comes out of it. He went good today and I know I said if he went well here that was going to be the plan. I guess I just have to solidify that in my head a little bit.”

Caroline Martin and Spring Easy. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

Caroline Martin jumped clear on all three of her rides in the division: Spring Easy, Danger Mouse and The Apprentice. She was fastest with The Apprentice, with whom she earned her first CIC3* win at Carolina. Today Caroline and her mom Sherrie’s 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse added only 1.6 time penalties to move up from equal ninth to finish fourth on 55.3.

Sara Kozumplik Murphy and Rubens D’Ysieux jumped clear with 5.2 time penalties to finish fifth on 55.8. Sara plans to take the a 12-year-old Selle Français owned by the Rubens D’Ysieux Syndicate to Jersey Fresh in May, followed by Bromont.

Phillip Dutton claimed the next two positions with Fernhill Fugitive and Fernhill Revelation. Showing his mastery of timing, the two Irish Sport Horse geldings finished within one second of the same time on cross country. Fernhill Fugitive, owned by Tom Tierney and Annie Jones, added only 4.8 time penalties to his initial dressage score to finish sixth on 56.3. The Revelation Group’s Fernhill Revelation added 4.4 time penalties to finish seventh on 56.7. John and Kristine Norton’s I’m Sew Ready came in at ninth with 7.6 time penalties to add.

Selena O’Hanlon and John and Judy Rumble’s Foxwood High were eighth after yesterday’s show jumping and held that position with 4.8 penalties to add on cross country. Sharon White and Cooley On Show rounded out the top 10, adding 10 time penalties for a final score of 61.8.

Chelsea Kolman and Dauntless Courage. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

For days we’ve danced on pins and needles to watch the first horses on the cross country course that will in a little more than one year’s time host the sport’s best at the World Equestrian Games. The TIEC team has big plans for the continued development of the White Oak grounds, but the course today was beautifully presented and rode well.

“I think the course was excellent. I loved the undulating terrain. It’s something you don’t get a whole lot of,” Kim said. “The course was very forward-riding and had very few problems. It was hard enough but the horses really seemed to understand the questions.”

There were zero jumping penalties in the CIC3* and as announcer Brian O’Connor said, it’s always a good day when the safety team doesn’t move. Besides Doug Payne and Vandiver, the other two double clear rounds came from Lizzy Jahnke and Princeton and Chelsea Kolman and Dauntless Courage.

We’ll be bringing you much more coverage from The Fork in the coming days, but we have to thank Mark Bellissimo and his team at TIEC, the course designers, and officials for an incredible week.

“Thank you so much to Mark and to the team and to Tryon,” Marilyn said, “and to Jim and Bernadette Cogdell for starting this event so long ago that has so much tradition and has been brought here to such an incredible venue that is special today but even more special knowing where it’s going for the future. It was a real opportunity and pleasure for all of us galloping around there on the future WEG course and knowing that we’re putting the first footprints on what will one day be very hallowed ground.”

The Fork Links: Website, Final Scores, EN’s Coverage, EN’s Instagram

It’s time to play Who Jumped It Best?! In this edition we feature a selection of horses and riders competing in the CIC* at The Fork Horse Trials, presented by Lucky Clays Farm, at the Tryon International Equestrian Center in Mill Spring, NC.

The one-star ran cross country as the last phase of competition yesterday. The emerging winner was Valerie Vizcarrando and Favian (read more about their win here) by a mere 0.1 penalty point. Sixteen out of 23 pairs jumped clear on the course co-designed Captain Mark Phillips and Tremaine Cooper. Seven of those pairs had no time penalties.

Now let’s play! Decide which horse and rider you think present the best overall picture over this table near the end of the course and then vote in the poll below.

The Fork Links: Website, Schedule, Entry Status, Ride Times, Live Scores, EN’s Coverage, EN’s Instagram

Ashton Brooke Benefiel and Treliver Drambuie. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

McKenzie Dey and Regiment. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

Sophia Middlebrook and South Park. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

Erika Nesler and No Doubt DSF. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

Alice Roosevelt and Fernhill Zoro. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

Greta Schwickert and Matchless. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

Rachel Wilks and Great Expectations. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

It was an extremely busy day today with both cross country and show jumping photos running for multiple levels at The Fork Horse Trials, presented by Lucky Clays Farm, at the Tryon International Equestrian Center in Mill Spring, NC. The Advanced and CIC3* divisions kicked off the morning with show jumping and will conclude tomorrow at the White Oak cross country course.

The CIC2* and CIC* division winners were decided on cross country today with a significant shakeup in the leaderboards. We had multiple press conferences today to accommodate the schedule and riders with multiple horses. Thanks to the competitors for their flexibility and to the press officer Carly Weilminster for her help. Here are must read quotes from our winners and leaders of the day.

Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous jumped a gorgeous double clear round to hold their lead in the CIC3* after show jumping. Marilyn and the 12-year-old Oldenburg mare owned by Jacqueline Mars, Robin Parsky and Phoebe and Michael Manders will leave the start box tomorrow with a score of 41.7 and a couple of points to spare over second place Kim Severson and the Cross Syndicate’s Cooley Cross Border.

“We’ve been working a lot on the show jumping over the winter. Obviously she knows she’s at an event here and she could have still been a bit up but she came in very relaxed and relaxed in the warm-up area as well as the ring so I couldn’t have really asked any more of her,” Marilyn said. “To me show jumping at an event, I feel so much more pressure and I walk the courses an extra 15 minutes. When I’m show jumping here I’m jumping 15 rounds a day and it’s all part of a larger program. Here walking into that ring on her, that’s all the pressure of a grand prix because this is her grand prix and we’ve worked so hard to prepare for this moment.”

Marilyn told us that she will take it easy at the start of the cross country since it is the mare’s first full event of the year. “It looks very hard to make the time on I think because the fly fences are well presented and there are great shots at them. However there is so much terrain on the approach, a lot of up and down, not big pulls, but the tee boxes that are there are in the middle of the galloping lanes so that will really slow them down and it can take their toll in terms of their size of stride and their confidence coming towards the end of the course … I’ll just try to take care of her out there and have a nice confident round because this is the event that will really determine where our season goes after this.”

Sara Murphy and Rubens D’Ysieux. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

Sara Kozumplik Murphy partnered with Rubens D’Ysieux, a 12-year-old Selle Français owned by the Rubens D’Ysieux Syndicate, last September and they “got on like a house on fire” but after rider fall on the cross country at the Ocala Jockey Club CIC3* in November, Sara decided to take a step back and re-evaluated their partnership development. A clear round and second place finish at the CIC2* in Red Hills was a confidence booster for them both and moved back up to the CIC3* level this week.

Sara felt her dressage test on Thursday, which scored a 50.6, wasn’t as polished as she would have liked, but today Rubens jumped double clear and moved up from fifth to third place. “He’s a magical horse,” Sara said. “Mikki (Kuchta) did a super job training him in all three phases. She brought him along slowly so he’s very confident and obviously he’s a wickedly talented jumper.

“I got too greedy last year. We got on like a house on fire and he was so easy that I just got a little bit feeling confident that whatever we did was going to be fine. At the Jockey Club he was beautiful until I made a mistake and I think if we had been two or three months longer together we’d have been on the same page in how we were reading it … it was complete rider error. From that I reminded myself I need to go and be smart and back him down and do a lot more cross country training than I ever really do because I don’t know the horse that well.”

Sara said that if tomorrow goes well on cross country she will probably back down to the two-star again for Jersey Fresh and then back to three-star for Bromont. She said she’s trying to be more cognizant of their training and partnership and balance the ‘testing’ levels with easier outings.

“I think Mark is a very good course designer and he likes to have lots of accuracy things that you have to ride forward and be accurate to and he has quite a lot of that out there. He’s made it friendly but I also think it will ride a lot harder than it walks,” Sara said. “I’ll have a lot more information about my horse after doing it. You can never go out and say you’re going to be careful around a track like, you’ve got to go out and ride. But for me and I’m sure a lot of riders, it’s a brand new track and for me a horse I haven’t had that long. I am going to go as fast as I think is appropriate to be jumping the fences we’re jumping, but I’m also going to take an extra pull here and there because I want to make sure I ride better than I did at Jockey Club.”

Liz Halliday-Sharp and Fernhill By Night. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

‘It’s all about Rolex now’

The two Advanced divisions are filled with horses aiming for Rolex later this month. There were fewer clear rounds than in the three-star and the time had been tight for both levels. Liz Halliday-Sharp took the early lead in the Advanced A division with Rolex-bound Fernhill By Night, a 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse owned by Deborah Halliday, and jumped double clear today to hold their position on 25.9.

“He tried really hard. He wasn’t quiet awake in the warm-up and needed a little bit of a gee up out there but he tried really hard in the ring. He’s a great jumper and as long as I don’t make any mistakes he’s pretty cool. He’s definitely a bit of a sensitive flower so you have to look after him a little bit. I would be someone who is prone to time faults with him because I usually look after him a little too much. I was really pleased with him today because I thought the time was tight enough and he kept rolling.”

As for tomorrow’s cross country test, Liz said the primary goal is a clear round. “It’s no secret that Blackie can be a little tricky cross country,” she said. “I actually think he’s in the best place he’s ever been despite what the record might show he’s actually going the best he’s probably ever gone on the cross country … I’m just hoping to give him a really good confident positive round rather than go out thinking I have to win. It’s all about Rolex now.”

Jessica Phoenix and Bentley’s Best. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

Jessica Phoenix rode four horses in the two Advanced divisions, selecting which division to enter each horse based on which dressage test would benefit them the most. She jumped clear today on Bentley’s Best, Pavarotti and A Little Romance, all three of whom are entered at Rolex. Bentley’s Best, a 10-year-old Trakehner gelding owned by Don Good, added one time fault to his round but still moved up from third to take the lead in Advanced B on 35.6.

“He’s such a cool horse to ride and he really feels like he’s getting playful at this level,” Jessica said. “I’m really thankful that I entered this event. Just getting them in this atmosphere and this venue, having to walkthrough to that big ring is really great for the horses and being able to do dressage and show jumping in this venue is a really good setup for Rolex.

“The course looks amazing. I think they’ve done an incredible job. I think having as much rain as we did has really been helpful for the footing… it’s an interesting course with the roping and terrain. It feels like a major games and to be galloping a golf course is unusual for us. The terrain and technical questions out there are going to be a good test and prep for Rolex.”

Kylie Lyman and Lup the Loop. Photo by Samantha Clark.

Kylie Lyman Wins the CIC2* with Loop the Lup

Kylie Lyman and Joan Nichols’ 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse Lup the Loop had a ‘blip’ at Carolina International when Kylie’s stirrup broke when they were competing in the CIC3*, so she opted to take a step back for a confidence booster here at The Fork. “It definitely served that purpose,” she said.

Kylie and “Loopy” scored a 49.1 in dressage to start off in 8th place in the CIC2*. A double-clear show jumping round yesterday moved them up to sixth and a clear round with 9.6 time on today’s cross country gave them the win.

“Today was definitely not a breather for either one of us. There was a lot to do out there. Even though it was a two-star I thought it rode quite difficult. I think he came away from it having learned something. We both had to work for it. He learned something which doesn’t always happen when you take a step back sometimes,” Kylie said. “In my style of cross country riding it was probably not the most natural. I like to just kick on and go a little bit and the terrain made that more difficult, so I think it was a great experience for the two of us to have to be patient and work with the terrain a bit more. Things definitely came up quickly and he was adjustable and rideable which is something we’ve worked on.

“I’m taking a different approach for Loopy this spring. We had a really good go at Bromont last year so I think my plan now is just to take a little breather and not do a spring CCI with him and just work backwards to Fair Hill. He’s done a lot last season and this spring so I think he’s earned a little quiet time and we’ll just do our homework and figure out what the summer looks like.”

Overnight leader Allison Springer and Lord Willing had a fall on cross country when the horse slipped on the turn after the drop bank. This resulted in a mandatory retirement but they are both thankfully okay.

Valerie Vizcarrando and Favian. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

Valerie Vizcarrando and Favian Earn Their First FEI Win

Valerie Vizcarrando and her 9-year-old Oldenburg Favian just completed their sixth one-star competition and earned a well-deserved win in The Fork CIC*. They scored a 41.9 for second after dressage and remained in the same position despite a rail down in show jumping. They produced one of only a few double clear cross country rounds in the division to secure at least second, but overnight leader Rachel Wilks and Great Expectations crossed the finish two seconds over time, giving Valerie and Favian the win by a mere 0.1 penalty point.

“He’s a relatively new horse for me and he’s really cool. It took me a bit to get him figured out but he’s starting to feel like he’s mine,” Valerie said. “He handled the atmosphere great, he was really happy to scorch around the cross country today … He’s not an inherently confident horse but he wants to do the right thing.”

Valerie and “Faves” were coming off a third place finish in the Carolina International CIC* two weeks ago. “I love that track, I love the place, I know it really well. This was not quite that same thing … He made me confident because he wasn’t waffling at all. He has these big ears and they were pricked straight forward out of the box and that was a good feeling.

“I was joking channeling my Jimmy Wofford lessons, plan for the plan to change. He was galloping great in the first field but didn’t know where he was supposed to go. I was as ready for that as you can be. You have to trust you have some training, guts and skills to call on.”

Valerie feels Favian still needs to be stronger before moving up to Intermediate. She plans to aim for Bromont for a good education over Derek di Grazia’s course and hopefully move up later in the summer.

The CIC3* and Advanced cross country gets underway at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow. There is no live streaming but we will be tweeting and bringing you as much up to the second information as possible. Click here to catch up on all of EN’s Coverage of The Fork so far and check out Instagram to see extra photos and find out what Chinch has been getting into. Thanks for reading! Go Eventing.

The Fork Links: Website, Schedule, Entry Status, Ride Times, Live Scores, EN’s Coverage, EN’s Instagram

Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

The day has dawned sunny and gorgeous at The Fork Horse Trials, presented by Lucky Clays Farm, at the Tryon International Equestrian Center in Mill Spring, NC. The Advanced and CIC3* competitors did their dressage on Thursday and returned to the George Morris Arena this morning for show jumping.

Sixty-three percent of the CIC3* field jumped double clear over Chris Barnard’s course and another two were clear with time penalties. However, out of a total of 19 Advanced horses and riders only four jumped double-clear with another three going clear with time.

Kim Severson and Cooley Cross Border. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous, owned by Jacqueline Mars, Robin Parsky and Phoebe and Michael Manders, jumped a clear round to hold onto their lead in the CIC3*. They will head into tomorrow’s cross country on a 41.7. Marilyn was thrilled with “Kitty” having worked hard all winter on her show jumping, but being that this is the 12-year-old Oldenburg’s first full run of the year, Marilyn said she will take time early on course to assess the mare’s fitness and feeling before kicking on.

Kim Severson and the Cross Syndicate’s Cooley Cross Border also remain on their dressage score of 43.7 following a beautiful fault-free round, the fifth career double clear at the CIC3* level for the 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse. The top two riders will have some breathing room over the rest of the field on cross country, but the scores become tightly packed from here on, with less than 10 points separating third through fifteenth place.

Sara Murphy and Rubens D’Ysieux. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

Sara Kozumplik Murphy was absolutely delighted with Rubens D’Ysieux, a 12-year-old Selle Français owned by the Rubens D’Ysieux Syndicate, who show jumped double clear to move up from fifth to third. They head to cross country on a 50.6.

Doug Payne and Vandiver, owned by Doug and his wife Jessica along with the 13-year-old Trakehner’s breeder Debi Crowley, also moved up two places to fourth place with a double clear round and two-phase score of 51.5. We owe a congratulations to Doug for winning last night’s $5,000 Welcome Stakes at the Tryon Spring III Horse Show after he’d spent a full day eventing!

Doug Payne and Vandiver. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

Coming in fifth after show jumping is Phillip Dutton and Thomas Tierney and Ann Jones’s 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse Fernhill Fugitive, moving up from seventh with no penalties to add to their dressage score of 51.5. Phillip had the last fence down with the Revelation Group’s Fernhill Revelation, dropping them from third to seventh place. Phillip and Kristine and John Norton’s 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood I’m Sew Ready remain tied with Carolina Martin and Sherrie Martin’s The Apprentice, with both pairs moving up to ninth on 53.7. The Mr Medicott Syndicate’s 18-year-old Irish Sport Horse Mr Medicott looked happy to back in the show ring, posting a fault-free round and moving up to 11th on 54.7.

Sharon White’s 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse Cooley On Show showed off his incredible jumping style, producing a double clear round and moving into sixth place on 51.8. Selena O’Hanlon and John and Judy Rumble’s 14-year-old Canadian Sport Horse Foxwood High had an unfortunate rail down at a vertical, sending them from fourth to eighth place on 53.6.

Sharon White and Cooley On Show. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

Shoutout to Caroline Martin who went double clear on all three of her CIC3* rides. The Apprentice gave the fences a ton of room and Caroline rode him well. Danger Mouse, owned by Caroline and her mom Sherrie, jumped out of his skin to move up to 11th place and Spring Easy, also owned by his rider and Sherrie, hopefully gave Caroline a good with his double clear as they look ahead to Rolex later this month.

Liz Halliday-Sharp and Deborah Halliday’s Fernhill By Night remain on their dressage score 25.9 to hold their lead in the Advanced A division after show jumping. They are followed by Jessica Phoenix and Don Good’s Pavarotti in second on 29.2. Allison Springer and Arthur added a single time penalty but moved up one placing to third on 30.8.

Caroline Martin and Danger Mouse. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

In the Advanced B division, Jessica moved into the lead with Bentley’s Best, also owned by Don Good, posting a clear round with one time penalty for a two-phase score of 35.6. Emily Beshear and Deep Purple Eventing’s Silver Night Lady had two fences down but remain in second on 40.8. Two rails and three time penalties dropped dressage leaders Jordan Linstedt and Revitavet Capato, owned by Jordan and Barbara Linstedt, down to third place.

Check back later for quotes from the leaders in both the CIC3* and Advanced divisions and much more from The Fork. Go Eventing.

The Fork Links: Website, Schedule, Entry Status, Ride Times, Live Scores, EN’s Coverage, EN’s Instagram

Comparing what the Advanced/CIC3* cross country course at The Fork Horse Trials, presented by Lucky Clays Farm, looked like two weeks ago to now, it’s clear the team at the Tryon International Equestrian Center in Mill Spring, NC has accomplished a lot in that short amount of time. They were just setting the fences when EN got a sneak peek at the new track built on the former White Oak golf course, and looking at it now somehow satisfies the dreams of any eventer that has ever longed to gallop headlong down the middle of a perfectly groomed, emerald green fairway.

The excitement surrounding this new track is of course the fact that we’re getting a first glimpse of what will be the course for the 2018 World Equestrian Games. In order to reconstruct the golf course into a world class cross country track, the team was forced to move some earth, design horse-friendly bridges across the creek and cover irrigation drains and sprinklers, among other things. But the wide galloping lanes and natural terrain make for an impressive track and we can’t wait to see what will come over the next year.

The Advanced/CIC3* cross country was co-designed by Captain Mark Phillips and Tremaine Cooper, built by Eric Bull and beautifully decorated by Megan Murfey. The CIC3* competitors, followed by the Advanced divisions, will run on the new course in reverse order of go starting at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday.

Thanks to Samantha Clark for trekking around the course yesterday to bring us this virtual course walk. Note that the Advanced numbers have white borders and the CIC3* numbers are plain blue. The course is 3658 meters long with an optimum time of 6 minutes 25 seconds. If you’d like to see the course with minute markers and distances included, click here to “walk” the course via Cross Country App.

The Fork Links: Website, Schedule, Entry Status, Ride Times, Live Scores, EN’s Coverage, EN’s Instagram

Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

We’re excited to be here at the Tryon International Equestrian Center for the first running of The Fork Horse Trials, presented by Lucky Clays Farm, at its new location in Mill Spring, NC. Much will be revealed this week as we will see some of the country’s top horses here for their final prep run before Rolex Kentucky, and we will of course watch the first horses gallop over what will be the site of the 2018 World Equestrian Games cross country track.

Twenty CIC3* pairs competed in front of judges Christian Landolt (SUI) and Gretchen Butts (USA) this morning. A cold front blew in with yesterday’s thunderstorms and a strong, cold wind combined with flapping flags and big atmosphere in the George Morris Arena had some of the horses feeling a bit tense, resulting in some higher than usual scores than we typically see from some of these combinations. Overall, the scores were 2.21 points higher than expected.

Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous, however, turned in a lovely, fluid test to score a 41.7 and take the lead in the Adequan USEA Gold Cup qualifier. This is the third time in four three-star appearances that this pair have scored under 42.0, but still Marilyn felt she was riding somewhat conservatively.

“I was really pleased with her and I thought she did a good job,” Marilyn said. “I’m coming from very warm weather and it’s quite chilly and windy. I wouldn’t have blamed her if she had been a little fresh, but she was very focused and she did a nice test. I could have ridden her probably up a little more. I was maybe a little conservative thinking there could be some effects (from the cold).”

Over the winter in Wellington, Fla. Marilyn has been working with Kitty on bringing her frame up more consistently as well as getting her more on the aids for flying changes so she doesn’t anticipate that movement. In today’s test Marilyn was especially pleased with their second flying change and felt it was what they had been working towards.

Marilyn is looking to complete their first full run of the year with “Kitty,” a 12-year-old Oldenburg mare owned by Jacqueline Mars, Robin Parsky, and Phoebe and Michael Manders. In Florida, she’s had to get creative with the mare’s conditioning schedule and will take time to assess her fitness on cross country Sunday.

“Some of the horses that you’re going to see have been going since January and February. She’s been in Wellington the whole time, so the gallops and the fitness have been a little bit creative. She’s been galloping out in the everglades on the dykes and very much on the flat,” Marilyn said.

“We’ll see what her fitness is here, but regardless it’s her first run of the year so we’re looking for a good start to her season and to get a nice tour and see what’s out there so we all have an idea of what’s coming, what the plans are and where the course is for the moment.”

Kim Severson and Cooley Cross Border. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

Kim Severson and the Cross Syndicate’s Cooley Cross Border are second after dressage with a 43.7. The 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse is entered in his first four-star at Rolex, but Kim had been leaning towards another three-star to confirm his changes and develop his base of fitness. Packy McGaughan has been helping Kim with her flatwork recently, and she said she was pleased with Cross today, particularly in his lateral work. She’s also been working to get him more expressive and powerful in the ring and said the atmosphere at TIEC probably helped.

“He’s almost dare I say a little bit better in something like because he’s a pretty quiet horse. I think he gets a little introverted so he was actually really good and good on the aids,” she said. “This show is going to dictate if we think we’re going to go to Kentucky or not. He was great at Carolina International so I’m going to see how he is. Hopefully he’s going to be good and come out better for it.”

Phillip Dutton was competing at Burghley last year during the USEA American Eventing Championship so this is his first visit to Tryon. “It’s great to be here and it was worth the trip here to have the horses in this main arena,” he said. “It’s great preparation for bigger events to come.”

Phillip is riding four horses in the CIC3*, three of which that are entered at Rolex. Phillip said he was pleased with all of his horses, particularly since the rain yesterday wasn’t an ideal preparation for them at a new venue.

Fernhill Revelation, aka “Warren”, is a relatively new ride for Phillip, and the Revelation Group’s 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse turned in the best score of Phillip’s four rides. A 48.3 is a 3.2 point improvement over their test at Red Hills and put them in third place. “Like Marilyn I was riding a little conservative to try and make it a mistake free test,” said Phillip, who is aiming “Warren” at the Tattersalls CCI3* in June. “I’m excited about (Warren) and the future. I think he’s going to be pretty smart on the flat.”

Phillip and Fernhill Fugitive, a 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse owned by Thomas Tierney and Ann Jones, scored a 51.5 for seventh place. Phillip is once again campaigning Kristine and John Norton’s 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood I’m Sew Ready. His regular rider Kristin Bond has recently given birth to her second child and will take the ride back after Rolex. Phillip and I’m Sew Ready scored 53.7 to tie for tenth. We also welcomed back The Mr. Medicott Syndicate’s Mr. Medicott for his first FEI appearance since early 2015. A 54.7 for Phillip and the 18-year-old Irish Sport Horse puts this pair in 12th after the first phase.

Phillip Dutton and Fernhill Revelation. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

Sitting fourth after dressage is Selena O’Hanlon and John and Judy Rumble’s 14-year-old Canadian Sport Horse Foxwood High on a score of 49.6. Sara Kozumplik Murphy and Rubens D’Ysieux, a 12-year-old Selle Français owned by the Rubens D’Ysieux Syndicate, scored 50.6 for fifth place. Doug Payne and his and Jessica Payne and Debi Crowley’s 13-year-old Trakehner Vandiver are not far off in sixth with a 50.9.

Sharon White and her 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse Cooley On Show scored a 51.8 for eighth place. Kylie Lyman and Joan Nichols’ 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse Da Vinci Code are ninth on 51.8, and Caroline Martin and Sherrie Martin’s 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse The Apprentice are tied with Phillip and I’m Sew Ready on 53.7.

Caroline Martin was stopped early in her test with Pebbly Maximus after it was noticed that he had pink saliva in his mouth. They were ultimately eliminated and The Fork released the following statement from the ground jury:

“Although there was no rough riding nor any major wound upon vet inspection the amount of blood was unacceptable. Regrettably we had to apply the FEI blood rule. Therefore, we did not allow her to continue.”

Selena O’Hanlon and Foxwood High. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.

The CIC3* horses will have a day to relax before show jumping on Friday. Cross country will be the final phase on Sunday, and we’re all looking forward to seeing the course designed by Captain Mark Phillips and Tremaine Cooper.

“It’s very impressive and obviously they’ve got a long range plan and we’re in the early part of it,” Phillip said. “We’ll just be trying to give the horses a good positive run without going too fast.”

The Advanced A division, made up completely of Rolex-bound combinations, competed this morning as well. Liz Halliday-Sharp and Fernhill By Night lead on 25.9. Jordan Linstedt and Revitavet Capato are leading the Advanced B division on 31.5.

Cornelia Dorr and Louis M are the leaders of the CIC2* with a 38.9. Allison Springer and Lord Willing scored a 42.3 for second place and Liz Halliday-Sharp and Deniro Z are close behind on 42.5.

Boyd Martin and Long Island T are the leaders of the CIC* division on a 36.1 as the only combination to score better than 40. Valerie Vizcarrando and Favian are second after dressage on 41.9, and Boyd rounds out the top three on 44.0 with The Fonz Himself.

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