All dressed up with nowhere to go - Anthony Patch waits until tomorrow for show jumping

One thing I definitely did not expect coming down here was this much rain! It’s been raining nonstop since about 4:30 today, so the Advanced show jumping will begin at 7:45 am tomorrow. I will be staying down here until the conclusion of the Advanced division. The rain certainly put a damper on everyone’s plans, but Michael Pollard said it well when he said that we have to think of our horses first and foremost. I know that several Advanced riders were planning on heading home early tomorrow morning. I sent Hawley Bennett a text asking if she was able to change her flight and she said that she was having difficulty but as of right now the entry list is still complete.

I have a lot of interviews and photos to bring you from other divisions, but alas the WiFi at my hotel seems to be failing me as the videos are being extremely finicky with uploading. I will bring those to you as soon as I can.

In the meantime, here is a quick recap of the current standings and results:

[Full AEC Scores]

Intermediate: Bonner Carpenter and Basco take home the win. I posted some photos earlier, and I was able to speak with Bonner after her ride so stay tuned for that video. Here’s a fun tidbit: She has only had Basco, who is very large by the way, for about a year, so their win today speaks volumes about the chemistry between these two.

Preliminary Jr/YR: Elizabeth New and Uppercrust D led wire to wire and took home the blue on their dressage score of 25.7.

Preliminary Sr. Amateur: Kim Keeton and her beautiful stallion, Accolade, also finished on their dressage score. I spoke with Kim about her win, stay tuned for that video as well.

Preliminary Horse: Leslie Law and Tout de Suite won this division handily on a 23.7.

Training Junior: Madeline Backus maintained her lead with PS King of Hearts to win her division. Madeline is a very sweet girl who I had the pleasure of speaking with yesterday, and her win is a well deserved one this weekend. Her second horse, PS Arianna, wound up 7th after a double clear show jumping round to move up from 12th.

Senior Training Amateur: Beth Weisberger and R. Hocus Pocus held on to their overnight lead to clinch the win.

Training Horse: Tamra Smith and Sunsprite Syrius led their division from start to finish, adding only 1 rail to their score to win.

Junior Novice: Olivia Brashear and her own Apple Jack are still sitting on their dressage score going into tomorrow’s show jumping.

Novice Horse: Elliott Blackmon and WH Topgun maintain their lead after cross country on a 25.0.

Senior Novice Amateur: Sher Schwartz and Jamocean, from Georgia, lead this divison on their dressage score of 22.5.

Beginner Novice Horse: Beth Stelzleni and Giselle sit atop this divison after cross country on a 26.7.

Junior Beginner Novice: Anna Konley and Reba’s song moved up from 3rd to 1st after a double clear cross country round on a course that claimed many victims.

Junior Beginner Novice 14 & Under: Emilie Mudd and Le Cheval Royale maintained their lead after cross country today.

Senior Beginning Novice Amateur: Andrea Mitchell and Divine lead this division on a 21.0.

Laine Ashker and Anthony Patch will have to wait until 7:45 am tomorrow morning to defend their lead in the Advanced AEC. A strong storm system has delayed the show jumping until tomorrow morning.

Many of the riders have early flights out in the morning so the entry list may dwindle.

We will have more updates as they come in.

Intermediate leaders Bonner Carpenter and Basco. Photo by Sally Spickard

It was another action packed day here at the American Eventing Championships. I was able to get on course for a good chunk of the Intermediate and all of the Advanced, both of which rode tough but fairly. My favorite moment of the day goes to Bonner Carpenter and her massive entourage of supporters who were waiting for her at the finish. On a day on which virtually no one made the time in any division, Bonner managed only 1.2 time faults to take the lead going into show jumping. Overnight leaders Michael Pollard and Hanni came home with 3.2 time to lie in second behind Bonner. Julie Wolfert and Buenos Aires, who have had an excellent season, positively skipped around the course to move up to 3rd from 6th.

In the Prelim Horse division, Leslie Law and Tout de Suite are in 1st going into show jumping. Leslie, as only Leslie can do, was one of the few and far between double clear rounds all day today, and he retains his dressage score of 23.7 after today.

Elizabeth New and Uppercrust D held their lead in a very competitive Jr/YR Prelim division, in which a whopping five pairs had double clear cross country rounds.

I spoke briefly with Kim Keeton, the Prelim Senior leader. Hailing from Watkinsville, GA, Kim has had to adjust to the fact that the AECs are no longer in her backyard. She had nothing but good things to say about Texas, though, and has been quite pleased with her Swedish Warmblood-Thoroughbred stallion, Accolade, this weekend. She said that she felt her two years spent riding in England really helped her out on today’s cross country course, what with all of the twists and turns. Kim acknowledged that Accolade is not the most reliable in show jumping, so she feels a bit better having a rail in hand. She will spend the rest of the year doing dressage with Accolade before moving him up to Intermediate next year.

I also got a chance to speak with Madeline Backus, who currently sits atop the Jr/YR Training division. A senior in high school from Colorado, Madeline has two horses competing this weekend. Her first place horse, PS King of Hearts scored a 30 in dressage and went double clear today. Madeline had a great save that I wish I had caught on video at the coffin. She though that her horse didn’t see the ditch properly and dropped his back legs into it, leaving the jump with Madeline hanging on for dear life after losing her balance. She pulled it off though and now is eyeing the blue ribbon tomorrow.

Tamra Smith was also kind enough to talk on the phone with me. Tamra leads the Training Horse division with Sunsprite Syrius, a 5 year old Trakehner. She took over the ride on this horse earlier this year and has been pleased with her results so far. She plans to take him to YEH championships at Galway next with a goal of moving up to Prelim next year.

You can find the rest of the standings after today here. Training through Advanced conclude competition with show jumping tomorrow and Beginner Novice and Novice will set out across country.

Here is a brief interview with Katy Groesbeck and Oz the Tin Man, who definitely knew he was on camera and made sure to pose the entire time.

And last but least, stay tuned for an interview with Elisa Wallace, who demonstrated her progress with her mustang, Rune, who she has only had for 130 days and is already riding without a bridle. What an awesome pair!

Elisa Wallace and Rune showing off their stuff. Photo from Laine Ashker.