Classic Eventing Nation

Doug Payne and Lysander. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Doug Payne and Lysander were early to jump in the order of go on a very foggy morning at Plantation Field International Horse Trials, and maybe we could blame the fog for the fact that he nearly missed a vertical after the triple combination on Marc Donovan’s course. But “Big Leo” didn’t miss a beat when Doug re-directed about two strides before the fence, ultimately leaving all the rails in the cups to hold their overnight lead in the CIC2* on 31.7.

That’s the second clear FEI show jumping round in a row for this horse, as the 8-year-old Thoroughbred/Holsteiner gelding Doug owns with Kristin Michaloski also jumped clear at Richland Park last month to finish ninth in the CIC2* there. With show jumping being the horse’s greenest phase at this point in his career, Doug said he’s been really pleased with Big Leo’s progress.

“He’s 18.1 hands, so I think it’s just going to take him time before he’s able to maintain his balance and ultimately have good control of where his legs are,” Doug said. “He’s only 8, and it’s coming along. Because of his size, we’re trying to give him as much experience as we can, and I have no doubt that going forward he’ll have it.”

With the Dutta Corp Fair Hill International CCI2* being the ultimate goal for the horse’s fall season, Doug said he indeeds to set out at a good pace on cross country tomorrow to give Big Leo a good final prep run. He has a 4.4-penalty margin to play with when it comes to making the optimum time of 5 minutes, 52 seconds.

“I’m not going to go crazy fast, but I’ll certainly give it a shot. I’ve been trying to get better with setting him up less for every fence and allowing him to have a little but more control,” Doug said. “He’s responded really well to having more freedom, and that allows me to be more efficient and save a few seconds at every fence we jump.”

Alex O’Neal and Rendezvous With Charly. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Alex O’Neal and Rendezvous With Charly also jumped a lovely round clear inside the time to remain in second place on 36.1. It’s been about four months since Alex took over the ride on “Rudy,” a 9-year-old German Sport Horse gelding, from his fiancé, Ellie MacPhail.

“He had some confidence issues last year, so we ran into a situation where we were thinking maybe we should sell him. But the timing worked out well for me to take the ride, and Ellie was gracious to let me ride him and get his confidence going. Tomorrow on cross country will be a true test to see if we have his confidence where it needs to be.”

Alex said their mutual strengths and weaknesses have thus far complimented each other well and helped the partnership to continue moving in the right direction. “He’s really good on the flat, which is my weaker phase, so he’s given me confidence in dressage,” Alex said. “Jumping is his weakness, but that’s my strength.”

Alex and Rudy are coming off a win in the CIC* at Richland Park last month, which was their first FEI event together, and they need to get their qualifier this weekend at Plantation Field to run the CCI2* at Fair Hill next month.

“I think the first few fences on cross country are nice and inviting and give a good chance to get his confidence going early,” Alex said. “I think halfway around you need to have it together, so I’m hoping I can create that confidence after the first few jumps and get him raring to go and have a shot at going quickly.”

Phillip Dutton and Z. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Tamie Smith and Dempsey moved up from fifth to third place with a clear round after Hannah Sue Burnett and Cooley Dream had one rail down and Peter Barry and Long Island T were eliminated for going off course. Dempsey, a 7-year-old Dutch gelding owned by the Dempsey Syndicate, finished second in his first CCI2* at Rebecca Farm in July, and Tamie said she’s thrilled he seems to get better and better with each outing.

“He was really, really good in dressage yesterday — the best he’s actually been. He’s a young horse that I got as a 5-year-old, and he hadn’t done anything before that,” Tamie said. “We’ve been working to channel his excitement, and I was really happy with how he handled everything in his test.”

While Tamie said Dempsey is much more rideable in show jumping when the phase is held after cross country, the horse was very well behaved today. “He’s very careful and loves to jump high,” she said. “Even though he had some extra energy, he was still very good and not spooky in the ring.”

Dempsey is yet another horse using Plantation Field as a prep run before taking on the CCI2* at Fair Hill, a course Tamie thinks will suit the horse well. “He really could probably do the three-star there, but he’s only 7. He’s just a jumping machine, and I feel like I have a horse that is going to be really cool for the future. I’m really excited about doing Fair Hill because the hills and terrain will create a more rideable horse.”

Phillip Dutton and Z and Caroline Martin and Effervescent moved up to fourth and fifth places, respectively, after jumping clear rounds inside the time. Live scores are not yet finalized, but you can click here to see the order in which everyone is currently sitting after show jumping.

We’re on the lunch break now, with CIC3* show jumping set to start at 12:32 p.m. EST. CIC* cross country is wrapping up now, and Dave will have the full report and photos from that shortly. Keep checking back for much more from Plantation Field.

Plantation Field: Website, Ride Times, Live Scores, EN’s Coverage, Twitter, Instagram, @jenniautry

Tamie Smith and Mai Baum. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Tamie Smith and Mai Baum sailed into the CIC3* lead this afternoon at Plantation Field International Horse Trials, scoring 38.2 in the second to last group to go and ultimately remaining the only combination in the 63-horse division to crack the 30s threshold.

“Lexus,” a 9-year-old German Sport Horse gelding owned by the Ahearn family, made the trek from Southern California to contest the Best. Event. Ever. before tackling his first CCI3* at the Dutta Corp Fair Hill International next month, and Tamie said after the test that she’s thrilled with how the test came together.

“He felt pretty tight right before I went into the ring. On his right canter lead he can get tight, and he’ll do a flying change easily because of that. I went in and did some canter work and he settled right in, which I was really proud of because that ring is pretty electric,” Tamie said.

“I’ve really been working hard on developing a partnership and getting to know him and learning about the best warm-up strategy for him. We’ve been working with my dressage trainer Niki Clarke, and I’ve also been riding with Steffen Peters. I’ve been really happy with how he’s progressing.”

Now Tamie and Lexus look ahead to Marc Donovan’s show jumping course tomorrow. Their last CIC3* show jumping round on the East Coast saw Lexus uncharacteristically pull two rails. Since then, Tamie and the “Black Stallion,” as he’s affectionately known, have been diligently working to polish their performance in that phase.

“I think we learned a lot from that. We’ve had more months to get to know each other since then, and and I think we have a real partnership now. I have worked a lot with Susie Hutchison on getting the show jumping right. He is a phenomenal show jumper, so I am really hoping for a good round tomorrow. He’s still green, but he’s more than capable of jumping clean,” Tamie said.

“Every day I ride him, it’s just really remarkable. He tries really hard, and I’m so grateful to the Ahearns for the opportunity and allowing me to ride him. He’s a special creature. That’s why I call him the Black Stallion. He’s my dream horse.”

Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous. Photo by Jenni Autry.

Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous, a 10-year-old Oldenburg mare owned by Raylyn Farms and Phoebe and Michael Manders, are sitting in second place in this big CIC3* class on a score of 41.1. “Kitty” wasn’t mean to compete here at Plantation Field this weekend, but an unplanned dismount for Marilyn in the show jumping at Poplar Place last weekend altered their schedule.

“I’m not sure if she stumbled in the footing or overreached and caught herself, but unfortunately it happened two strides in front of the triple combination, and we were already committed,” Marilyn said. “I was already a little bit loose in the tack from when she righted herself, and I just flew. Basically, I was a human bullet. I own some territory down in Georgia now.”

It’s been a swift turnaround for the mare as a result, with a pit stop at a Swan Lake jumper show on Wednesday to take a spin around a 1.35-meter class before shipping in to Unionville late last night. Marilyn didn’t have a chance to take Kitty to yesterday’s ring familiarization due to shipping in so late, and the mare definitely made her feelings about that known as they started the first movement in the test after their first halt and salute.

Buck Davidson and Ballynoe Castle RM. Photo by Jenni Autry.

“She just wasn’t focused at first. But then she switched back, and she was very good. We’ve been working on being able to ask for more in the movements and ask for another level, and I thought she was very steady in the movements and in the extensions. The right shoulder-in is her weak one, so it’s hard to start off on that, and we went off on our weak entrance, but other than that, I was very pleased with her.”

Kitty settled very nicely after that initial bobble to start the test, which continued to improve with each movement. “It’s very much two steps forward, one step back with a horse that’s very sensitive, very careful and so smart. She always wants to be a little bit ahead of you, so it’s not easy. You also have to make her feel like she’s confident, but you also need to keep her respectful, so there’s a very fine line. We’ve been trying to find that,” Marilyn said.

“We’re a year and a little bit into building our partnership, and I think we’re getting closer and closer. In the meantime, she’s changing so fast. When a horse changes so much in one season, it’s a challenge. And when they change as much as she has in three seasons — going from the Training level to the three-star level — at the end of the season you look back and see the progression. She’s progressed exponentially.”

Marilyn will be looking to secure Kitty’s qualification for a CCI3* this weekend; if she gets it, she’s tentatively thinking of shipping the mare to the Netherlands to compete at the Boekelo CCIO3*, but she also said those plans are still up in the air. “It depends on the feeling I have — not just getting the qualifying score — but the way she does it,” Marilyn said. “I want to feel like she’s really confident.”

Scores are super packed at the top of the leaderboard, with Buck Davidson and Ballynoe Castle RM, Selena O’Hanlon and Foxwood High, and Kim Severson and Cooley Cross Border all sharing a three-way tie for third place on a score of 41.3. Selena and “Woody” led yesterday in the early going of this division yesterday, and she gave a wonderful interview that you can read at this link.

Looking to the rest of the leaderboard, Jessica Phoenix is dominating the top 10, with Pavarotti, Abbey GS and Patras VR sitting in sixth, seventh and 10th, respectively. With Selena and Woody sitting tied for third, that gives the Canadians four of the top 10 slots in this star-studded division. As a cherry on top, Holly Jacks-Smither and More Inspiration delivered the best test of their career to sit in equal 18th place on a score of 48.7. Go Canada!

Kim Severson and Cooley Cross Border. Photo by Jenni Autry.

In other news, Doug Payne is still a total rockstar after scoring 31.7 with his own and Kristin Michaloski’s Lysander yesterday to lead the CIC2*. No one could touch that score today (click here for his comments on the test), so he once again holds the overnight lead with “Big Leo.” In fact, the entire top three remains unchanged from yesterday, with Alex O’Neal and Rendezvous With Charley sitting in second on 36.1 and Peter Barry and Long Island T in third on 38.6.

Dave “The Man” Taylor is madly typing away at the CIC1*-B division report currently, so he’ll have much more to bring you on that shortly. For a quick spoiler alert, DeAnna Burke and Davinci lead on 34.6, followed by Ellie MacPhail and RF Panamera in second on 38.4, and Jorgen Olijslager and Northern Quest Lady’s Man in third on 40.4. Click here if you missed the CIC1*-A dressage recap from yesterday.

We still have much more to bring you from Plantation Field, including the much-anticipated CIC3* course preview video from drone pilots Alec Thayer and Jamie Rees. (Did we mention Chinch also took a spin on the drone?) In the meantime, there’s currently a giant vat of mac n’ cheese at the party by stabling that Chinch fully intends to dive into headfirst, so I’m out.

Don’t forget that Samantha Clark is doing a superb job over in England covering the Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials, where Clark Montgomery and Loughan Glen are leading after dressage on a super score of 33.8. We have a total of four Americans in the top 20 at Blenheim, so there’s a lot to be excited about tonight! Click here to catch up on all of Samantha’s coverage from Blenheim. Go Eventing.

Plantation Field: Website, Ride Times, Live Scores, EN’s Coverage, Twitter, Instagram, @jenniautry