Matt Brown and Super Socks BCF. Photo by Sally Spickard.

Matt Brown kicked off his East Coast campaign at Fair Hill today, riding a lovely and fluid test aboard Super Socks BCF to take the lead after dressage in the CIC3*. Matt has three horses in the CIC3* this weekend, and they’re all competitively placed after the first two phases.

Super Socks BCF looked relaxed in the bridle for Matt today, and save just a couple of tiny bobbles put together a strong test. “He’s had some trouble with getting too excited before, especially going from the warm-up into the ring,” Matt said. “This is a pretty low key show, but I’ve taken him to low key dressage shows and he’s still gotten up, so I was really pleased with how rideable he was today.”

Matt went on to jump double clear this afternoon to retain his lead with Super Socks BCF, who is owned by the Blossom Creek Foundation. Matt lowered rails on his other two rides, Happenstance and BCF Belicoso, but after some warm-up help from Tamie Smith he pulled out a clear round with Flaxen. Matt and Flaxen will go into tomorrow on a score of 46.2.

“I think he’s starting to get it and want it more; I’ve seen him step up a lot more from Galway to now,” Matt said of the 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding. “He likes to conserve energy, so he jumps efficiently but that means that he will have a rail from time to time, but today he was jumping really well.”

All three of Matt’s horses in the CIC3* this weekend are aiming for the CCI3* at Jersey Fresh next month, and he said they’ve all settled in well and are looking fitter and fitter as Jersey approaches. Matt will take 10th place on Happenstance and 11th place on BCF Belicoso into tomorrow’s cross country, where he plans to give the horses a good solid prep run to help them peak before Jersey.

Boyd Martin and Pancho Villa at Carolina International. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Boyd Martin and the Pancho Villa Syndicate’s Pancho Villa are in second place in the CIC3* on a score of 51.4 with a double clear show jumping round. Pancho Villa was withdrawn from Rolex this week, but he’ll be aiming for the CCI3* at Jersey Fresh next in hopes that he will be a strong contender for the Pan American Games this summer.

“I’ve got him fit and raring to go to Rolex,” Boyd said. “But we think that a good run at Jersey will put him into solid contention for the Pan Ams; we think he will be well suited for that.”

Boyd is certainly not short on Pan American potential talent, as he’s also got SBF Cortez, who is currently in 16th in the CIC2* this weekend, Master Frisky, who is entered at Kentucky next week, and Welcome Shadow, who just put in a strong top-10 finish in the CIC2* at The Fork, all primed and ready to step up to the challenge this year.

It will certainly be an exciting time when the Pan Am team is selected, and Boyd is feeling confident that he’s got horses to be competitive when it comes time for selections.

Boyd also put in a strong dressage test aboard Shamwari 4, but followed his plan to withdraw the horse after the first phase. Boyd is spending the early parts of this year putting the finishing touches on their partnership that he feels they missed before.

“Last year, we bought the horse and went right to work qualifying him for (WEG), and I didn’t get a chance to really improve him or build that partnership to where I want it. So this year we’ll work on his show jumping and the flatwork and aim him for the CIC3* at Aachen and a fall three-day.”

Boyd has his eyes on the Olympics in 2016 for the heavy hitting Shamwari, so this year will be all about fine tuning and bringing him back with what Boyd hopes will be more competitive scores.

“We wanted to take him to Luhmühlen this year, but it’s just coming up a bit fast and I feel that if we were to go we’d put in a similar score to what we had last year. This year I want to improve him to where he is one of the best in the world, keeping the mindset that we’ll put in a big performance this fall with scores that should be a lot better than last year.”

Kelly Prather and Blackfoot Mystery. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Kelly Prather and the Blackfoot Mystery Syndicate, LLC’s Blackfoot Mystery will take third place into tomorrow’s cross country. They scored a 49.8 in the dressage and jumped clear with two time for a total of 51.8. This weekend is the 11-year-old Thoroughbred gelding’s fifth CIC3*, and they’re in great position to make a statement out on cross country tomorrow.

Kurt Martin and DeLux Z are in fourth place overnight on a score of 53.2. This pair is coming off of a completion in the CIC3* at The Fork, Delux Z’s first attempt at the level. In the 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse’s second start at the level, he’s shaved a couple of points off of his dressage score, which Kurt will be pleased with. Kurt will likely be looking for a good educational run around Derek di Grazia’s course tomorrow.

Boyd Martin and Steady Eddie at Millbrook 2014. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Rounding out the top five in the CIC3* are Boyd Martin and Steady Eddie, who moved up from 10th to fifth with a double clear show jumping round. Owned by Gretchen Wintersteen, Pierre Colin and Denise Lahey, Steady Eddie is making his first FEI start since completing the CCI3* at this same venue last fall. The 12-year-old Australian Thoroughbred has had a strong start to his 2015 season, most recently winning the Intermediate A division at The Fork. 

Clear rounds were hard to come by across the board on Trish Gilbert’s show jumping course this afternoon. In all, eight out of 22 pairs jumped double clear, and many of those rounds were rewarded with sizable moves up the board.

The general consensus of Derek’s course tomorrow is that it will be a fair test for both veteran campaigners and horses that are green to the level. “Derek’s using a few of the same combinations that were on the CCI course last year, and it’s a good open course that will give the green horses a good look and the experienced ones a solid test,” Boyd commented.

While we anticipate that many of the pairs competing are eyeing Jersey Fresh as the time to turn on the afterburners, it’ll still be an exciting day of cross country competition for all riders tomorrow.

Ryan Wood and Frankie are your current Advanced leaders after the first two phases. Owned by Steven and Karri Guy as well as Ryan, the 11-year-old Thoroughbred gelding is newer to the Advanced level and is certainly proving his skill thus far this weekend. He finished a very competitive ninth in the CCI2* at Fair Hill last year. Clear rounds were also few and far between for the Advanced riders, but Ryan was able to maintain his lead after dressage to take a score of 31.8 into cross country.

Holly Jacks-Smith and More Inspiration. Photo by Kasey Mueller.

Holly Jacks and More Inspiration were rewarded with a move up to second with one of the three double clear rounds in this division. Holly and More Inspiration have completed two CIC3* this spring, the 10-year-old Thoroughbred gelding’s debut at the level. They’ve not had the best luck at Fair Hill in the past but will be out to have a strong run to continue their solid season in 2015. They will take a two-phase score of 35.9 to cross country.

Sally Cousins and Lance McCue’s Abecca GS were the third double clear of the Advanced riders, moving from fifth into third on a score of 36.2. Abecca GS is a new ride for Sally this year, having previously been campaigned by Morgan McCue. The new partnership seems to be blossoming, and these two have already had some very good results in 2015.

Stay tuned for more from Fair Hill as the CIC3* and Advanced competitors tackle cross country tomorrow. Go Fair Hill!

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