Boyd Martin and Long Island T. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous could afford one rail and 1 time penalty following their near record-setting dressage score of 19.9 in the Bromont CIC3* Three-Day Event yesterday. A knocked pole at fence 2, a vertical, plus 2 seconds over the time allowed of 82 seconds for Marilyn boosted Boyd Martin and Long Island T up to take the lead on a slim 0.3-penalty margin.
Long Island T, a 12-year-old Oldenburg/Thoroughbred (Ludwig von Bayern x Haupstsbuch Highlight, by Heraldik xx) owned by The Long Island T Syndicate, has had a mixed show jumping record since moving up to Advanced level in February. He jumped clear rounds in his first three starts at the level, but had a rail in two of his three rounds that followed.
“Ludwig” delivered a beautiful, speedy clear over Marc Donovan’s course on a chilly, overcast morning here in Quebec, stopping the clock three seconds inside the time and ultimately securing the overnight lead on his dressage score of 25.6.
“His show jumping is a work in progress still, but every event we go to I feel like we’re a bit more in sync with each other,” Boyd said. “He’s got a really good jump in him. The biggest thing is confidence and relaxation.”
Ludwig made a trip to the Kentucky Horse Park last month to tackle 1.30-meter classes in the big ring at the Kentucky Summer Classic, which Boyd said definitely helped bolster the horse’s confidence. “My jump coach Richard Picken has been relentless in improving him,” Boyd added, “and he’s finding more jump and more scope.”
Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous. Photo by Jenni Autry.
U.S. WEG team combination Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous, a 13-year-old Oldenburg mare (Carry Gold X Richardia, by Lario) owned by Jacqueline Mars and Phoebe and Michael Manders, now sit in second place on 25.9 after adding 6 total penalties.
Phillip Dutton and his U.S. WEG mount Z, a 10-year-old Zangersheide gelding (Asca X Bellabouche, by Babouche VH Gehucht Z) owned by the Z Partnership, has now jumped clear in his last eight show jumping rounds at international level and remains in third place on 27.1.
Our three-way tie for fourth place remains after Kim Severson and The Cross Syndicate’s Cooley Cross Border, Selena O’Hanlon and John and Judy Rumble’s Foxwood High, and Lynn Symansky and Mary Ann Ghadban’s Under Suspection all jumped clear to stay on scores of 28.0.
Phillip Dutton and Z. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Lynn Symansky and her U.S. WEG team mount Donner, a 15-year-old Thoroughbred (Gorky Park X Smart Jane, by Smarten) owned by The Donner Syndicate, also jumped clear to remain in seventh place on their dressage score of 28.1.
Mara DePuy and Congo Brazzaville C, an 11-year-old KWPN (Tangelo Van de Zuuthoeve X Mexico M, by Highline) she owns with David and Mark Clark Regamey, jumped clear to stay in eighth place on 29.6.
Phillip Dutton has a second ride in the top 10 in John and Kristine Norton’s I’m Sew Ready. The 14-year-old KWPN gelding (Lupicor X Jarda, by Elcaro) is Phillip’s reserve horse on the U.S. WEG team, and also received grant funding to compete at Les Etoiles de Pau CCI4* in October.
Charlotte Collier and Clifford M, a 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Cristo 5 X Naomi IV, by Carpaccio) owned by Parker Collier, jumped clear to move into the top 10 on 31.4. We wish Charlotte the very best of luck as she looks to complete her first three-star tomorrow.
Kim Severson and Cooley Cross Border. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Eighteen of the 31 combinations (58% of the field) in the CIC3* jumped clear show jumping rounds. Four of the five U.S. WEG team combinations jumped clear rounds, with Boyd Martin and Christine Turner’s Tsetserleg and Lauren Kieffer and Jacqueline Mars’s Vermiculus also leaving all the poles in the cups to sit 13th and 14th, respectively.
Looking ahead to tomorrow’s cross country, time will ultimately decide how the final results play out. Boyd Martin and Long Island T cannot afford a single second over the optimum time of 6 minutes and 28 seconds to maintain the lead. As for his plan on Derek di Grazia’s course, Boyd said he won’t be challenging the clock with Ludwig.
“Every time I sit on him on cross country, it’s about riding him within his limit speed-wise,” Boyd said. “If I try to go too quick on him, the lights go out. He’s getting in a place where I can open him up more without him switching off. He’s not really good with these twisty tracks, but I think it will be a good education for him.”
Selena O’Hanlon and Foxwood High. Photo by Jenni Autry.
All the riders agree that Derek’s CIC3* course is a serious track (click here for a fence-by-fence preview). For the U.S. WEG team riders, who are using Bromont as a final outing before Tryon, the course offers a fantastic to opportunity to get the horses firing on all cylinders before heading to North Carolina.
“The course is really bold and big,” Marilyn Little said. “I think that’s great because you don’t want to tiptoe into something like Tryon. You want to feel like they’ve seen enough and they’re peaking at the right moment, and this is a course that can do that for us.”
We have a full day of show jumping ahead, with the CIC2*, CIC* and Training levels still to come. You can watch videos of today’s show jumping rounds on David Frechette’s YouTube channel. Keep it locked on EN for wall-to-wall coverage of Bromont. Go Eventing.
#Bromont: Website, Entries, Schedule, Start Times, Live Scores, EN’s Coverage, EN’s Twitter, EN’s Instagram
