Classic Eventing Nation

Hannah Sue Burnett and Alonzo III. Photo by Jenni Autry.

With such a tightly packed CIC* leaderboard following cross country at Red Hills International Horse Trials, show jumping rails proved to be very expensive today. Hannah Sue Burnett and Alonzo III did not have a rail in end when they entered the ring to jump Fuzzy Mayo’s course as the overnight leaders, but they easily delivered a lovely double clear round under pressure to clinch the win on a final score of 41.9.

It’s the second year in a row that Hannah has won the CIC* at Red Hills, as she also finished first last year with Jitter Bug, but this year it was Alonzo’s turn in the spotlight. An 11-year-old Dutch gelding owned by Mary Ann Ghadban, Alonzo (Indoctro x L Ronald) has been slowly recovering from an injury sustained at the end of 2014 prior to coming into Hannah’s barn.

The horse is quite experienced, having finished fifth with Vicky Tuffs in the 7-year-old British Eventing Young Horse Championships at the CIC2* level in 2012 before later being imported to the U.S. as a ride for Sharon White. Since moving on to Hannah’s program, she’s slowly brought him back into form, with Red Hills being his first major competition since the injury.

“He’s a really cool little horse,” Hannah said. “He’s adorable and he has such a cute personality, and he steps up to the plate so much. He surprised me by doing such a good (dressage) test. With cross country he just pinged around — he loves it. He’s so excited about all the jumps, and he loves the crowd. He’s also a great show jumper.”

Mike Huber and Russell’s Reserve. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Hannah and Alonzo were sitting in second place after dressage on 41.9, and they moved up to take the lead yesterday thanks to a clear round inside the time on cross country. Hannah has been working diligently on her show jumping with U.S. eventing team show jumping coach Silvio Mazzoni, and Alonzo’s double clear round today clinched the win on their dressage score.

“To ride he’s a little firecracker,” Hannah said. “He really understands the phases. For cross country he’s all excited and really wound up and wants to be out there, but for dressage he’s really quite easy to ride. You just hold the reins and steer him around. I just love him.”

Mike Huber and Russell’s Reserve jumped a lovely double clear round to ultimately finish in second place on their dressage score of 44.7. This pair started the weekend in 10th place after the first phase and moved up to fifth yesterday after going clear and inside the time on David O’Connor’s new CIC* cross country course.

A 7-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Elizabeth Rader and formerly campaigned by Heather Morris, Mike took over the ride on Russell’s Reserve (Loughehoe Guy x VDL Arkansas) last year and finished 15th in the horse’s first CCI* at Galway Downs in the fall.

Boyd Martin and Santos. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Boyd Martin and Santos led the 59-horse division after dressage on a score of 41.6, and they slipped down to sixth place following cross country after accumulating 3.6 time penalties. A double clear show jumping round today bumped them back up to finish in third place on a final score of 45.2.

Santos, a 7-year-old Thoroughbred gelding by Athlete and owned by Gloria Callen and Ron and Densey Juvoven, has made an appearance in EN’s Got Talent and completed his second FEI event this weekend at Red Hills. The horse bears a striking resemblance to another fiery chestnut Thoroughbred in Neville Bardos, Boyd’s famed upper-level partner and 2012 USEF International Horse of the Year.

“He has very flamboyant movement for an off-track Thoroughbred, and he’s really starting to mature and stay focused, which has been our biggest challenge over the last 12 months,” Boyd said after their test. “I think a lot of this horse, and he’s been at this level for nearly a year. He’s been a bit of a handful to get going, and I feel like we’re just starting to get on the same page.”

Stay tuned for more from Red Hills as we wrap of the Advanced and CIC2* divisions later this afternoon, and be sure to catch up on all of EN’s #RHHT coverage at this link. You can also view a slew of photos and videos from the weekend on EN’s Instagram.

#RHHT: Website, Ride Times, Live Scores, EN’s Coverage, Twitter, EN’s Instagram

Marcelo Tosi, Henrique Pinheiro and Marcio Calvalho Jorge: Brazil in Florida. Photo by Samantha Clark.

Don’t be alarmed if you’re at Red Hills Horse Trials this weekend, or in the general Ocala area during these next few weeks and see three rather handsome men in breeches wandering around together, but do be prepared to fall a tiny bit in love. Chances are you’ve bumped into Marcelo Tosi, Marcio Calvalho Jorge and Henrique Pinheiro, who are spending a month here in the USA while their horses complete quarantine requirements before heading to England to train with Mark Todd in preparation for the Olympics later this summer.

After spending seven days in Miami, Marcio’s three horses and one each for Marcelo and Enrique are now spending a month based at Liz Halliday-Sharp’s Horsepower Equestrian in Ocala. They each have a horse in the CIC2* here at Red Hills. After dressage under they occupied 5th (Marcelo Toss and Briefing DB Z) , 9th (Marcio Calvalho Jorge and Lissy Mac Wayer) and 24th (Henrique Pinheiro and Land Quenotte do Feroleto) places in a large division. In the cross country phase Marcio and Marcelo jumped clear with time, but Henrique was not so lucky and suffered a dunking when Land Quenotte do Feroleto crumpled on landing into the first water at Fence 8.

All three riders have previously spent considerable amounts of time in the UK training and competing before, anything from two to 10 years, but it’s the first competition in the USA for all of them, and they all have high praise for Ocala in general and Red Hills in particular. “It’s amazing. There are so many horses, a lot of horse farms, it’s an amazing place,” Marcio said. “The ground is very good for horses. It’s naturally sandy; the oaks are very beautiful.”

Henrique Piniero and Land Quenotte do Feroleto. Photo By Samantha Clark.

Marcio is riding his Pan American Games mare here, Lissy Mac Wayer, who he competed at three-star level in England at Chatsworth and Bramham, and at two or three three-stars in Brazil. “She can be a little bit difficult because she’s hot, she wants to go in the cross country, but I think this is good. For dressage she is a little bit hot but if you work well she can relax; she doesn’t like noise. In the dressage here she was relaxed.” Indeed, they turned in a lovely test, but for one rider error at the end when Marcio momentarily forgot the medium canter at the end of the test.

Marico shared that Mark Todd had advised him to not work Lissy on the flat the morning of his test as is his habit, but instead to take her for a hack and a quiet gallop in the cross country warm-up area, and this statregy seemed to work well.

The Brazilians are in almost constant contact with Mark while they’re here, and even when they were back at home last year in Brazil, Mark made the trip five times to train them there. To Henrique, that’s the real advantage to being in England as opposed to staying at home — having daily access to their coach, as well as the competition and the footing.

Marcelo Tosi and Briefing DB Z. Photo By Samantha Clark.

Leaving horses behind to concentrate on just one, both Marcelo and Henrique acknowledge it’s tough to stay sharp. “I think it’s quite hard for us to have just one horse to compete for five, six months. I think we lose a bit of condition. You go for something better and you lose something, but we’ll try to ride some horses in England, or do some fitness work, and we’ll have to try and compensate,” and they’re all making other sacrifices to try and make the team too.

Marcelo returned home to Brazil after 10 years abroad in Europe and England, only to now be returning to train with Mark in the hopes of a spot on the team for Rio. Henrique is leaving horses behind in Brazil to make the journey back to England with his one mare, Land Quenotte Do Feroleto, and if he doesn’t make it he says he’ll consider staying in England for Burghley or some other competitions, but otherwise he’ll be heading back home again. The horses have to complete the seven days strict quarantine (in Miami) and then 25 days in the U.S., “so we’re using the nice weather here, the nice competitions to improve the horses and train as well.”

Marcio Calvalho Jorge and Lissy Mac Wayer. Photo by Jenni Autry.

They’ve got to be feeling pretty clever as competitions in England are currently being abandoned due to severe rainfall, and it’s cold and gloomy at this time of year. Not much incentive to get family to visit, which is hardly lost on Marcio who’s left a wife and two children behind in Brazil. “My two girls and my wife, maybe they can come, it’s very hard, I miss them.”

What’s obvious though, when you see them, is their team rapport and camaraderie, and hopefully this will see them through the rest of the infamously wet spring season in England, and fingers crossed all the way to Rio. “We have known each other and been friends for a long time, we’ve ridden together since we were kids. We are close, and it’s good because we can be there for one another and know when to tease each other if the pressure is on, or know when to back away if one is grumpy, it’s good we are here for each other.”

As much as they say they appreciate the friendliness and welcome they’ve been given in the USA and love eventing here, we’re just as happy to have them and would love to see them return. Many thanks to Marcelo, Marcio and Henrique for stopping to chat, and wishing them the very best of luck for the rest of the year! Go Brazilian Eventing!

#RHHT: Website, Ride Times, Live Scores, EN’s Coverage, Twitter, EN’s Instagram