Marilyn Little and RF Demeter finish 2nd at Schenefeld CIC3*. Photo by Julia Rau.
Congratulations to Marilyn Little and RF Demeter who finished second at Schenefeld CIC3*, behind Andreas Dibowski and Butts Leon. Marilyn and Demeter had one rail on the tough show jumping course, which had only five clear rounds out of 27 finishers. Her new ride, RF Tabasco, also had one rail down to finish 12th. [Results]
Marilyn has done very well with her horses in Europe this summer, and it’s great to have her representing the USA at these international events. Marilyn sent us a shout-out yesterday after cross-country, and she wishes to thank everyone for their support while she has been abroad, with a special note of thanks to Emily Dufort and Katlyn McMorris who have gone above and beyond in their care of Demi and “The Sauce.”
Many thanks to PRO for uploading this great video of the Mechanical Bull Challenge at Plantation Field on Friday night. The competition pitted eventers, foxhunters, steeplechasers and a local team against each other to see who could hang on to the bull the longest and take home $1,000 in prize money. The steeplechasers took home the team prize, while Nate Chambers hung on the longest to take home top honors as the best mechanical bull rider for the second year in a row.
The CIC2* cross country is underway now here at Plantation, and everyone is excited about the PRO Bareback Puissance, which will be held over the lunch break. Tik Maynard, William McCarthy, Priscilla Godsoe and Elizabeth Stewart will face off for $2,000 in prize money, as well as eternal glory. Then CIC3* cross country will kick off around 1:30 p.m. I’ll be running a live updates thread for the CIC3*, and be sure to listen to PRO’s Ustream channel, as Nate Chambers and Max Corcoran are providing live radio commentary.
Sinead Halpin and Manoir De Carneville lead at Plantation going in to Sunday. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Sinead and Tate are sitting in the top spot going in to the final day of competition at Plantation. The cross country course at Plantation looks lovely and should ride well. If you haven’t had a chance to check out the CIC3* course preview, check out the link below. I know it’s a silly thing, but there are pumpkins being used all over the course as decorations. This has me smiling because it’s almost my favorite time of the year – HALLOWEEN! Time to stock up on Count Chocula!
While we won’t be able to watch live coverage of the Plantation Field cross-country action tomorrow, you can join Nate Chambers and Max Corcoran at 8:30 a.m. EST on the Ustream Channel PRO Tour Live Eventing Radio Ustream channel. Click here to listen to the live broadcast , and you can also download the Ustream app. And, of course, stay tuned to EN all day for Jenni’s live cross-country updates and full coverage. Go eventing!
ERS-Eventing.com provides riders with an interactive online portal that showcases product information, demonstrations, tutorials and reviews from fellow competitors and top international riders.
Kate and I walked Tremaine Cooper’s CIC3* course at Plantation Field this morning, and we both agreed there’s a lot to do, but it’s definitely doable. David O’Connor told riders in a meeting earlier this weekend that World Equestrian Games course designer Pierre Michelet likes to incorporate three-stride lines into his courses, and he suggested riders interested in going for the team practice as many three-strides lines as they can. Conveniently, there are multiple three-stride line questions on this course, and I’m excited to see how riders handle the course tomorrow. Clouds are rolling in and we’re expecting rain overnight, so the footing should ideally be excellent by tomorrow morning. Go Plantation Field!
Sinead Halpin and Manoir De Carneville hold their CIC3* lead with a double clear show jumping round. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Sinead Halpin and Manoir De Carneville jumped a beautiful double clear round to hold their lead in the CIC3* on a score of 37.8 after the conclusion of show jumping at Plantation Field. Tate jumped beautifully today, and their recent work on the show jumping in the 1.20-meter jumpers at Devon clearly paid off. Jennie Brannigan and Cambalda also jumped double clear to remain in second place on 46.2, and Boyd Martin and Trading Aces moved into the top three with one rail down; they’re sitting on a score of 51.7. Marc Donovan’s show jumping courses always prove to be influential, and today was no different, with numerous rails falling throughout the afternoon. Twenty-two pairs pulled two or more rails, and the 10 pairs that managed double clear rounds were rewarded with big moves up the leader board.
Jennie Brannigan and Cambalda. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Having the show jumping before the cross country under the new FEI format helps some pairs and hinder others. Toward the end of the season when these horses are fighting fit — with many of them preparing to run a CCI3* before the end of the year — I imagine holding the show jumping before cross country hurt more than it helped. No Boundaries looked very feisty when Erin Sylvester entered the ring for her round, but Erin challenged his energy and delivered a beautiful clear round to move from ninth up to fourth place on a 52.2. Doug Payne and Crown Talisman were also rewarded handsomely for their double clear round, and they moved from 10th into the top five on a 53.1. This horse is incredibly powerful off the ground; every time I see him, I like him more and more, and I’m excited to see how this partnership continues to grow.
Boyd Martin and Trading Aces. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Marc offered two different lines for fences four, five and six, and riders seemed to choose both options about equally. One option took riders over a red plank at fence five to a black vertical at fence six and then a max USET oxer at fence seven. The second option started with a red and blue oxer at fence five, a black and gold vertical at fence six and ended with a red plank vertical at fence seven. Rails fail throughout the course, with no one jump playing spoiler. The first and second fences fell frequently; if riders managed to leave the first up, the second fence — a parallel oxer with butterfly standards — required a forward ride. The triple combination toward the end of the course also claimed multiple victims, with the middle element falling most often.
Erin Sylvester and No Boundaries. Photo by Jenni Autry.
The Advanced division has already wrapped up, with the cross country running immediately after the show jumping and the CIC3* show jumping starting immediately after that, which made it impossible for me to bring you extensive coverage of the conclusion of the Advanced. But I’ll be uploading photos from the division to our Facebook page later this afternoon. Lauren Kieffer and Veronica snuck in to win, with Allison Springer and Copycat Chloe taking second, and Hannah Sue Burnett and Harbour Pilot finishing in third. CIC3* cross country starts at 12:24 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. I walked Tremaine Cooper’s course this morning with Kate, and there are definitely some interesting questions for the horses and riders to tackle. Stay tuned for the full course preview and much more from Plantation Field. Go eventing!
Marilyn Little and RF Demeter. Photo copyright Julia Rau.
Julia Rau is a professional photographer on site at Schenefeld CIC3* in Germany who is generously sharing some beautiful photos with us this weekend. Be sure to check out her gallery for more!
Marilyn Little had two fantastic rides today on Demeter and Tabasco, and is currently in third and 12th, respectively. [Scores]
Ingrid Klimke and Hale-Bob 3. Photo copyright Julia Rau.
Ingrid Klimke and Hale-Bob 3. Photo copyright Julia Rau.
Andreas Ostholt and So Is Et. Photo copyright Julia Rau.
Marilyn Little and RF Tabasco. Photo copyright Julia Rau.
Andreas Dibowski and Butts Leon. Photo copyright Julia Rau.
Marilyn Little and RF Demeter. Photo copyright Julia Rau.
Marilyn Little and RF Demeter. Photo copyright Julia Rau.
Marilyn Little and RF Demeter. Photo copyright Julia Rau.
Marilyn Little and RF Demeter at Blair Castle. Photo by Julia Shearwood.
The top three remain unchanged after cross-country at Schenefeld CIC3* in Germany. Marilyn Little and Demeter were double clear and remain in third on their dressage score of 37.2. Andreas Dibowski and Butts Leon remain in the lead, followed by Andreas Ostholt and So Is Et in second. Marilyn’s second ride, RF Tabasco also went clear (with the fastest time of the day) to move from 18th to 12th. Well done, and best of luck to her tomorrow in show jumping! [Full Results]
Thanks to Karen O’Connor for forwarding us the photos of Marilyn at Blair Castle.
Marilyn Little and RF Tabasco, shown here at Blair Castle. Photo by Julia Shearwood.
Sinead Halpin and Manoir De Carneville lead the CIC3* on a 37.8. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Surprise, surprise – Tate is atop the leaderboard once again! It’s a quite welcome sight to see Sinead and Tate back in top form, and they have not failed to deliver in each performance this season. Plantation Field is no different, as this pair finds themselves on top of a very competitive division after a full day of dressage. Of course we know that Tate is an absolutely cross country machine, but plenty of other pairs will be on the lookout to get that double clear this weekend so the pressure is definitely on!
Boyd Martin will be competing in his first pure dressage show at Dressage at Devon. Many thanks to Hilary Hebert of Dressage Today for sending over this interview!
EN loves photos shot between the ears! If you happen to be out for a hack, are riding in some obscure place or just take some cool photos aboard your mount, send them to [email protected] with a quick blurb about the photo’s story. This week’s View comes to us from Ohio.
From Anna:
This photo was taken aboard Carter, my 4-year-old Irish Draught gelding, at one of the local metro parks near Dayton, Ohio. I’d had him going under saddle for about two months, and this was our second trail ride with my mom and her Quarter Horse gelding Eugene. On this outing, we discovered Carter’s cross-country jumping talent when he spooked at a deer and took off through the woods, hopping a 4-foot pasture fence! Needless to say, it wasn’t much fun, but I did learn something new about my horse; no matter how easy his training goes, he’s still only a baby. Go Eventing!
Like the best horse people, they just couldn’t limit themselves to one discipline.
The people at ReRun, Inc., who auction off Moneigh paintings by famous racers to raise money for their Thoroughbred rehab, retrain and adoption program, will start offering paintings by equine artists beyond the homestretch.
“We are stepping out of the box and making other breeds and disciplines available to all horse lovers out there,” Mary Simons, Moneigh project coordinator, told COTH. Until now, all of the non profit’s artists have been Thoroughbred racing champs like Cigar and Zenyatta.
Apparently at work in their studios are Rox Dene, a Dutch Warmblood who was Jumper of the 20th Century; Hanoverian dressage star Rosmarin; and Mexican Sport Horse HH Rebozo, who placed fourth in the 2011 World Equestrian Games with Rodrigo Pessoa (who will not be painting). The horses’ paintings can be viewed and bid on from Oct. 1-27 at www.ebay.com; search “moneigh.”
No event horses have taken up the paintbrush yet, but a horse named Rolex W, part of an international champion carriage driving team, is currently working on pieces to be auctioned in October.
