Buck Davidson and Wiley Post. Photo by Jenni Autry.
The first 10 horses in the Advanced division did their dressage late yesterday afternoon here at Plantation Field International Horse Trials, and the remaining six went early this morning, with Buck Davidson and Wiley Post leading the way on 30.4 at the conclusion of the first phase. This 13-year-old Thoroughbred gelding owned by Lisa Darden is a lovely mover, and Buck said he was really happy with the test “Max” delivered.
“He was quite relaxed today. He’s definitely a Thoroughbred, and he can get a little bit nervous. He also gets a little bit tired through his back in dressage, so I have to be careful with getting the walk right,” Buck said. “If I ride him twice the day before and then I get on him for 15 minutes before the test, he’s usually good to go. I was really proud of how he handled the atmosphere. Sometimes with rings that are set higher up like this, he can get a little distracted, but he was very focused today.”
There is plenty for horses to look at around the main arena, which this year is lined with vendor tents and also features the new ringside Purina Riders Lounge presented by Oxford Feed and Bowman’s Feed. Every year this event seems to up the ante even more, and as Buck put it: “It’s become the signature event in America.”
“I was saying to Phillip (Dutton) that it’s funny how the harder you work, the luckier you get. Every year for a long time now it’s been a beautiful weekend,” Buck said. “In the early years when the event was still getting started, it would rain or be cold. But now every year the sun is always shining, it’s nice and warm outside, and everyone is in a good mood. It makes everything that much better. I’m grateful to Katie and Cuyler Walker and the whole organizing committee for all their hard work.”
Caroline Martin and Spring Easy. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Caroline Martin is sitting in second place after dressage on a score of 30.4 with Spring Easy, a 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding she owns with Sherrie Martin. That’s their best score to date at the Advanced level, and Caroline said after the test that she was thrilled with how “Paddy” performed this morning.
“I was a little worried that he felt too behind and tense in warm up, so for the last 10 minutes before I went in the ring, I stretched in rising trot on the buckle,” Caroline said. “Then when I went around the ring, I just gathered him up and picked up the canter. I think that’s what really helped his frame.”
With the big plan for Paddy being a trip to the Dutta Corp Fair Hill International next month, Caroline has been diligently working to sharpen their performance in all three phases, and she said her goal for this weekend is to jump a clear round in show jumping.
“We’ve been working harder on the the show jumping and strengthening his hind end,” she said. “We went to Saugerties and did some jumper classes there, and Silvio (Mazzoni) came over in the last week and helped me a lot with his jumping. He’s a good cross country horse, but I have to explain each question properly, not let him overthink it and make sure he’s straight.”
You might notice Paddy’s beautiful amber eye in the photo, and she said that’s one of the things that stood out to her the most when deciding to buy him. “He tries the hardest and is such a sweet horse. He does have a little bit of an attitude. If you don’t feed him right away, he gets so mad,” she laughed. “He reminds me a lot of Ty (Titanium) on cross country, which makes me happy. I would really like to take him to Bramham next year. I think we have a good partnership, and he would really take care of me.”
Lillian Heard and Share Option. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Lillian Heard did both of her dressage tests yesterday in this division and is sitting in third and fourth places on LCC Barnaby and Share Option on scores of 31.2 and 31.3, respectively. While Lillian said she wasn’t expecting Barnaby, a 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding she owns, to be beating her seasoned four-star partner after dressage, she also said that the horse kept his cool and really allowed her to produce a good test.
“He can sometimes get a little bit hot in the ring, and when he went in I could feel he was relaxed,” she said. “We did the first couple movements and he was really good, and after the third movement, I thought in my head, ‘This could be a really good test!’ I knew it was one of his better tests.”
Lillian tries to get Barnaby off the farm as much as she can to expose him to new atmospheres, which she thinks has helped him immensely. “One of the other things I’ve been playing around with is walking into the ring and starting to go around the ring at the walk first,” she said. “For the ones that can really light up, it can deter them a little. They can walk in and take a breath.”
“Whitey,” a 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Lillian owns, also did a very nice test and is looking in very good form as these two gear up for their overseas debut at Les Etoiles de Pau CCI4*. “Especially in the past couple shows, I’ve gone into the ring and he’s been really good,” she said. “I am starting to trust him a lot. He’s always relaxed.”
Lillian is planning for this event to be their final prep event before shipping to France (as long as the jumping goes well this weekend — touch wood!), and then she’ll start working on the four-star dressage test in addition to continuing to raise funds for her trip. She is holding a fundraiser next Saturday in Potomac, Maryland (details here) and she also has a GoFundMe account at this link.
Stay tuned for much more from the Best. Event. Ever. CIC2* and CIC* dressage is just wrapping up for the day, and CIC3* dressage is getting underway shortly. Go Plantation Field. Go Eventing.
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