Classic Eventing Nation

Montana wildlife is no joke.

Hannah Sue Burnett and dressage leader Cooley Dream were the first to strike out on Rebecca Farm’s big, testing CCI3* cross country track. Their day came to an early end when a moose walked right out in front of them at the big water complex, which also boasted a large population of extremely large trout and at least one bear with its paw in a honey pot.

Photo by official event photographer Shannon Brinkman, courtesy of Rebecca Farm.

OK, so the moose was probably there when Hannah Sue walked her course. But the large crowd on the hillside wasn’t, which seemed to be what Hannah Sue’s young horse was distracted by as he headed from the big waterwheel drop into the water (11a) to the moose skinny out (11b). He didn’t quite get a read of the second element and chested it, spilling his pilot and squashing her a bit in the process.

She was on the ground for a few moments with her breath knocked out, and as they carted her off course in a golf cart I wasn’t alone in thinking we’d seen the last of Hannah Sue today.

But you better believe that as she was lying there in a crumpled heap, she was already inventorying her body parts and plotting her revenge on that damn moose. And not 40 minutes later we looked up and there she was, bursting from the startbox like a slug from a sawed-off shotgun on her second CCI3* ride Under Suspection. The 12-year-old Holsteiner mare owned by Mary Ann Ghadban was in second place after dressage, and Hannah Sue isn’t one to go gentle into that good night. 

We were all holding our breaths as she once again took aim at the wildlife-infested water complex that had caught Cooley Dream in its snare. Down the big drop they went, and “Pippi” stuck the landing like an equine Kerri Strug: one down, one to go. They began their bending line toward the moose.

I’m coming for you, Bullwinkle. Photo by Leslie Wylie.

Three, two, one …

Photo by Leslie Wylie.

… then it was in the rearview like stinky roadkill and they never looked back, turning in a double-clear trip that boosted Pippi into the lead. If you win tomorrow, Hannah Sue, maybe instead of a trophy they’ll let you take that moose’s head home with you to hang over the mantle.

Hannah Sue Burnett and Under Suspection. Photo by Leslie Wylie.

Second-placed Buck Davidson and Copper Beach haven’t left them much breathing room, however. The pair lurks just a tenth of a point behind after their own pedal-to-the-medal tour de cross country.

Buck Davidson and Copper Beach. Photo by Leslie Wylie.

In third place is Hawley Bennett-Awad and her new ride Jollybo, whose aggressive yet agile cross country style seems to mirror Hawley’s own.

Hawley Bennett-Awad and Jollybo. Photo by Leslie Wylie.

The top three CCI3* riders, plus Barb Crabo who is leading the CIC3* cross country on Eveready, kindly recap their days for us:

I’ll be updating this post with more info and photos soon so check back, and stay tuned for a CIC3* report as well.

Rebecca Farm CCI3* top 10 after cross country:  

Rebecca Farm CIC3* top 10 after cross country:

Rebecca Farm: Website, Schedule, Ride Times & Live Scores, Ride On Video Live Stream, EN’s Coverage, Twitter, EN’s Instagram

Photo by Leslie Wylie.

Welcome to the live cross country updates from Rebecca Farm! If you need a quick catch-up, be sure to explore Her Ladyship of Insanity Leslie Wylie’s coverage this weekend from the field, starting with the first horse inspection, to the CCI3* dressage report, and including an update from the cutest pony and person combination ever. And of course, some hard core stats analysis and predictions from our numbers maven, Maggie Deatrick.

If you haven’t yet gotten a peek at what Wylie is calling “The Disney World of Cross Country Courses”, be sure to check out the course preview, as well. Or if you’d rather just have it be a surprise and would prefer to follow the adventures of Chinch on Instagram, there’s an app for that. (It’s called Instagram. You’ll love it.)

Cross country gets underway today with the CCI2* from 8 to 9 a.m. MT, CIC3* from 9:20 to 10:35 MT, CCI3* from 11 to 11:40 a.m. MT, and CCI1* from 12 to 1:40 p.m. MT. Saturday also sees the conclusion of Novice and Training Three-Day show jumping as well as the continuation of the horse trials divisions.

Rebecca Farm: Website, Schedule, Ride Times & Live Scores, Ride On Video Live Stream, EN’s Coverage, Twitter, EN’s Instagram

9:00 a.m. MST: We’ll be getting under way at 9:20 a.m.! The CIC3* will be first.

9:20 a.m. MST: Here we go! The first rider out of the start box is Tamie Smith aboard Lagos Star.

9:24 a.m. MST: Lagos Star is looking completely game for this course, clear through the first water and big drop fence.

 9:26 a.m. MST: Sarah Mittleider and Gin & Juice have started their course, clear through the early fences.

9:29 a.m. MST: Tami Smith and Lagos Star just attacked this course! They come home clear of jump faults with 10.8 time.

9:32 a.m. MST: Bonner Carpenter and Basco are now on course and appear to be making excellent time!

9:36 a.m. MST: Sarah Mittleider and Gin & Juice add 13.6 time to a clear round.

9:37 a.m. MST: Mackenna Shea and Landioso are now on course and through the first four fences.

9:40 a.m. MST: We got a quick peek of Bonner and Basco later on course through the village, and they looked phenomenal!  They too come home with a handful of time penalties. Mary Burke and Prince William are on course now.

9:42 a.m. MST: Landioso looked fresh as a daisy through the village as well to finish with 10 time faults. Prince William is clear through the first water and had a bit of a sticky/trippy moment at the drop fence, but regained momentum for the corner and angled log.

9:44 a.m. MST: Next on course is Jennie Brannigan and I Bella.

9:48 a.m. MST: Jennie and I Bella look lovely through the water and drop combination!

9:49 a.m. MST: Mary Burke and Prince William come in on fire as our second double clear of the day. Well done, you two!

9:50 a.m. MST: Mackenna Shea and Landioso come in looking like they could have run another whole course and still had gas in the tank!

9:51 a.m. MST: Jennie and I Bella clear through the western village and finish with 4.8 time penalties. On course now is Tamie Smith and Twizted Syster

9:54 a.m. MST: Heather Morris and Charlie Tango are out now and clear through the early elements.

9:56 a.m.  MST: Twizted Syster didn’t think much of the pink start box, but since getting on course has been taking revenge, making easy work of the early bits.

9:59 a.m. MST: Barb Crabo and Eveready are out now and flying through the early elements. Tamie and Twizted Syster clear through western village.

10:00 a.m. MST: Heather Morris and Charlie Tango have retired early on.

10:01 a.m. MST: Barb and Eveready clear through first water and big downhill drop! Tamie and Twizted Syster finish strong with big pats.

10:02 a.m. MST: Leah Lang-Gluscic and AP Prime on course now. Twizted Sister and Tamie Smith complete with one run-out at fence 17 and a handful of time.

10:05 a.m. MST: Leah and Prime in their sparkling pink are looking fab and running this show, clear through water and big drop.

10:06 a.m. MST: Next out is Emily Pestl-Dimmitt and Airlington. AP Prime is clear through the village.

10:07 a.m. MST: Barb and Eveready are our first double clear of the day!

10:08 a.m. MST: Emily and Airlington are clear through the water and while they lost quite a bit of momentum at the drop to the very big corner, Airlington powered through to go clear.

10:10 a.m. MST: Bunnie Sexton and Rise Against on course now, clear through the water. She had to get a good hold of him and focus on the corner after the drop, but they’re through and galloping away!

10:13 a.m. MST: Out now is Ashlynn Meuchel and Morning Star. Bunnie and Rise Against clear through the western village.

10:16 a.m. MST: Ashlynn had a hard stop on Morning Star at the big drop into the water and opted to go the alternate route, but Morning Star refused the second smaller drop as well, and Ashlynn appears to have retired to give it a go another day. She seemed to be fighting for momentum from the very start, and Ashlynn did the wisest thing for her horse.

10:18 a.m. MST: Jennifer McFall and High Times are on course now.

10:21 a.m. MST: Jennifer and High Times are clear through the water and catch the flag on the corner, but are clear through the early elements! Bunnie finishes with just 4.4 time penalties.

10:22 a.m. MST: Arden Wildasin and Kineo are now on course. Jennifer and High Times are clear through the western village.

10:23 a.m. MST: We’re sorry for the lack of updates from the conclusion of the course, it seems we’ve lost the feed from camera three. We’ll fill you in on provisional scores as we get them in.

10:25 a.m. MST: Arden and Kineo have a hard stop going into the big drop log and Arden pops over the shoulder and nails the log. Kept hold of the reins though coming off, and everyone looks to be okay. Tough luck, Arden!

10:27 a.m. MST: Jordan Linstedt and Revitavet Capato are on course now. HUGE jump into the water but still makes the turn to the moose jump.

10:28 a.m. MST: Jordan has had a fall at the big corner at the bottom of the hill when Capato jumped huge over the wider part of the corner, and ejects Jordan. Her vest deployed and she appears to be sitting up.

10:30 a.m. MST: Tamie Smith and Dempsey were briefly held at the start as our final pair in this division, but are now out on course.

10:33 a.m. MST: Tamie gives Dempsey a big pat after successfully making easy work of the water, the big drop and combination at the bottom of the hill.

10:37 a.m. MST: Tamie Smith and Dempsey come home looking fresh and fine to conclude the CIC3* Division!

10:40 a.m. MST: Come on back at 11:00 a.m., when we’ll start our coverage of the CCI3* course.

11:00 a.m. MST: And we’re off on he CCI3*! Hannah Burnett and Cooley Dream are first out the gate.

11:04 a.m. MST: Hannah and Cooley have fallen at the water, slipping awkwardly over the second element. Cooley is up and walking, we’ll provide an update as soon as we have it.

11:06 a.m. MST: Buck and Approved Power had set out on course, but are now being held just one or two fences into their round.

11:09 a.m. MST: Buck and Approved Power are back on course, through the water and drop fence successfully.

11:11 a.m. MST: Andrea Baxter and Indy 500 are on course now, successfully navigating water, big drop, and corner elements.

11:14 a.m. MST:  Maddy Mazzola and Mojito are out now. Buck is through Western Village grandly.

11:16 a.m. MST: Maddy and Mojito are through the water and big drop section of the course. Go M&M!

11:18 a.m. MST: Andrea and Indy are through western village. Chloe Smyth and C.S.I. are now on course.

11:19 a.m. MST: Chloe Smyth and C.S.I. have had a fall early on course at fence 7. Will update when we know more.

11:20 a.m. MST: Gina Economou and Calidore now on course. They have a sticky moment at the big brush fence early on, but looking great approaching water.

11:21 a.m. MST: Gina and Calidore have a run-out at the corner at the bottom of the hill and opt to take the alternate route to finish up the section. Maddy and Mojito have opted to retire at fence 21.

11:23 a.m. MST: James Alliston and Parker are out now, looking great through the water complex and big drop fence to the corner.

11:26 a.m. MST: Ellen Doughty-Hume and Sir Oberon are out and about, headed to water complex.

11:27 a.m. MST: Ellen and Sir Oberon looking fabulous through water and big drop! Gina and Calidore finish with the one run-out and quite a bit of time, but finish their day!

11:29 a.m. MST: James and Parker look solid through western village. Anna Collier and Gleaming Road on course and making easy work of water, big drop, and corner fence.

11:32 a.m. MST: Jolie Wentworth and Goodknight on course now. Through water clean. James and Parker are home on a double clear. Well done, boys!

11:35 a.m. MST: Ellen and Sir Oberon are through village beautifully. Andrea Baxter came home with one stop under her belt and 13.6 time.

11:36 a.m. MST: Hawley Bennett-Awad and Jolly Bo on course – through water complex cleanly, as well as the big drop and corner.

11:37 a.m. MST: Jolie and Goodknight looking perfect through western village, in the home stretch.

11:40 a.m. MST: Anna Collier and Ellen Doughty-Hume both came home with 14 time penalties each, no jumping faults. Well done, ladies!

11:41 a.m. MST: Hannah Burnett must have been okay from her fall earlier in the day, as she’s back out there with Under Suspection.

11:43 a.m. MST: Hawley and Jolly Bo are clear through the western village and looking fired up!

11:45 a.m. MST: Hawley and Jolly Bo become our third double clear ride of the day, joining James Alliston and Parker and Buck Davidson and Approved Power!

11:46 a.m. MST: Hannah and Under Suspection are clear through water and dig drop to corner.

11:47 a.m. MST: Buck is our last ride of the day on his second ride in this division, Copper Beach. They are clear through the water, down the big drop and over the corner clear!

11:48 a.m. MST: Jolie Wentworth and Goodknight added 11.2 time to a round with no jumping faults. Well done, guys! Hannah Sue and Under Suspection take their time, but go clear and gallop away from the western village.

11:50 a.m. MST: Buck and Copper Beach cruise over the long gallop through the wheat field with the mountains in the distance; it’s an incredible sight to behold!

 11:52 a.m. MST: Buck is clear through the western village.

11:54 a.m. MST: Hannah Burnett and Under Suspection and Buck and Copper Beach both brought home double clears at the end of the day! Hannah moves her second place horse up to first, Buck nabs second, and Hawley Bennett-Awad and her new mare Jolly Bo round out the top three going into show jumping.

We’ll be bringing you a full report on cross country soon, so keep it locked to EN!

Your CCI3* Top Ten:

CIC3* Top Ten After Cross Country:

Hannah Sue Burnett and Cooley Dream. Photo by Leslie Threldkeld for the official event photographer Shannon Brinkman photography, courtesy of Rebecca Farm.

Hannah Sue Burnett staked out the top of the CCI3* dressage leaderboard today at the Event at Rebecca Farm. She and Cooley Dream were the first pair in the division and they came out swinging, laying down a 43.7 that proved unbeatable in the 12-horse division.

The closest anyone got to catching them, in fact, was Hannah Sue herself on her second horse, Under Suspection, who scored a 45.6.

Hannah Sue Burnett and Under Suspection. Photo by Leslie Wylie.

Rebecca Farm is Cooley Dream’s CCI3* debut. The 8-year-old Irish Sport Horse owned by Jacqueline Mars cut a striking figure in the ring and we can’t wait to watch them tackle tomorrow’s testing cross country course.

“Cooley is a young horse, he’s only eight this year. He’s still sort of a work in progress but he’s lovely, he’s such a fantastic horse,” Hannah Sue said.

Under Suspection is a newer ride for Hannah Sue, who began competing her this spring. The 12-year-old Holsteiner mare owned by Mary Ann Ghadban was formerly ridden by Dirk Schrade in Germany before being imported to the States by Sharon White, who competed her at the three-star level.

“Under Suspection was fantastic too,” Hannah Sue said. “I thought actually ‘Pippi’ might beat Cooley Dream because she was doing so well in warm up but with the wind, she got a little excited and changes were a little more exciting than what I was hoping. But both tests were really good and I was very happy with them.”

Buck Davidson and Copper Beach, perhaps the most traveled combination in the field, rounded out the top three on a 45.7. The pair got a big cheer after their test from spectators acknowledging Buck’s support of the event and willingness go out of his way to be here this week.

Buck Davidson and Copper Beach. Photo by Leslie Wylie.

Rebecca Farm marks the much-anticipated first FEI outing for one of the most exciting new combinations in the sport, Hawley Bennett and Jollybo. Hawley acquired the 12-year-old British Sport Horse mare, campaigned through the three-star level by Justine Dutton, in June and they already seem to fit one another like a glove. Jollybo was a bit impetuous in today’s test but Hawley, who knows a thing or two about spicy mares, coaxed her through the tension to score a 53.9, good for fourth place.

Earlier in the day the Adequan Gold Cup CIC3* division dressage was won by West Coaster Mackenna Shea and Landioso. MacKenna bested her trainer Tamie Smith‘s score of 44.5 by a tenth of a point to become the overnight leader.

Mackenna Shea and Landioso. Photo by Alleyn Evans for for official event photographer Shannon Brinkman Photography, courtesy of Rebecca Farm.

The Next Level event team of Tamie and Heather Morris had a monopoly on the top five placings, with Tamie in second, third and fifth on Lagos Star, Dempsey and Twizted Sister respectively. Heather sits third on her 2015 Rebecca Farm CCI2* winner Charlie Tango.

There were things going on everywhere you looked on Friday at Rebecca. Check out this highlight video from our friends at Ride On Video:

Rebecca Farm CCI3* dressage results: 

Rebecca Farm CIC3* dressage top 10:

FEI cross country takes place tomorrow with CCI2* from 8 to 9 a.m. MT, CIC3* from 9:20 to 10:35 MT, CCI3* from 11 to 11:40 a.m. MT, and CCI1* from 12 to 1:40 p.m. MT. Saturday also sees the conclusion of Novice and Training Three-Day show jumping as well as the continuation of the horse trials divisions.

Much more to come. Go Eventing!

Rebecca Farm: Website, Schedule, Ride Times & Live Scores, Ride On Video Live Stream, EN’s Coverage, Twitter, EN’s Instagram