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Bill Levett’s Saumur Round Up

By John on May 26, 2013 4:49 pm -

Photo via

I met Bill Levett for the first time in 2011 in a bar in Soho, London, during the Olympic test event. The story of that evening is too long for this post, but I’ll just say that all the rumors are true — Bill struck me as a complete class act. He was extremely nice, and very humble, and I’ve rooted for him ever since. I was thus thrilled to see Bill take home the Saumur trophy for Australia today aboard Shannondale Titan. Host nation France had to settle for second and third with Nicolas Touzaint and Arnaud Boiteau.

Photo via USEF HP

Team USA continued their momentum from Badminton and took another step towards being competitive internationally. 46 horses started the Saumur CCI3* and Team USA finished the weekend with two pairs in the top 8. Only three countries — France, New Zealand, and Great Britain finished three or more pairs above the USA’s top three pairs and both France and Great Britain had more starters than the US.

Will and Andromaque had a fantastic comeback weekend. I’ve been one of Missy’s biggest fans for a long time and I can’t wait to see what Will and this mare can do as they make a charge for the WEG team. In my opinion, Missy is built for Pierre Michilet courses and I think we saw that play out this weekend.

Marilyn is based in Europe for the summer and it’s so-far-so-good with a brilliant weekend at Saumur aboard RF Smoke On The Water. I was surprised to see the pair accrue two rails today and I know Marilyn will surely correct that for the next event. Without those jumping faults this pair would have finished in the top 4.

Buck and Hannah didn’t have the weekend that they were hoping for, but I know that they both learned a lot about their horses and hopefully they feel one step closer to coming back to France in 2014. You could say that the final hypothetical “team” score for the US isn’t great because it does include a stop, but I look at this weekend as a clear indicator that our best CCI3* pairs can compete with the best in Europe. That being said, we still surely don’t have nearly as many top CCI3* pairs as the top European nations, and that needs to keep improving.

[Full Saumur Results]

Great Job USA at Saumur! 2 in the top 10 we are getting there…keep that the norm & it won’t take USA long to be winning #road2thepodium

— sinead halpin(@sinead_c_Halpin) May 26, 2013

Go eventing.

Video: Pre-Novice Helmet Cam from Ireland

By John on May 26, 2013 4:18 pm -

Mike Ryan’s younger brother, Conor Ryan, has joined our friends at Donnegan Ryan eventing full time. Here’s a helmet cam video all the way from Ireland, showing Conor ride the pre novice cross-country track at Crecora in Limerick, with Ballylynch Take Advantage. For more on Donegan Ryan Eventing, be sure to check out their website, and thanks, as always, to Trish for sending us the videos. Go eventing.

Bill Levett and Shannondale Titan Win the CCI*** at Saumur

By AJ Dyer on May 26, 2013 10:51 am -

Will Faudree and Andromaque finished the weekend in 4th. Way to go Will!

Photo via Uptown Eventing’s facebook page— check out their photo gallery.

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Show jumping proved massively influential today, with only three clear rounds out of 34 horses. Bill Levett and Shannondale Titan had a superb weekend, jumping double clear to win easily on their dressage score of 42.6. Nicolas Touzaint and Lesbos finished second (one rail down), with Arnaud Boiteau and Quoriano ‘ENE HN’ in third (his clear round moved him up from 10th).

All three US pairs had two fences down; disappointing, but pretty much par for the course today. Even with the added 8 penalties, Will Faudree and Andromaque finished *5th, and Marilyn Little and RF Smoke on the Water finished 8th. Two US riders in the top 10? An excellent result for the new regime. Hannah Sue Burnett and Harbour Pilot also completed in 26th place.

[Full Results]

RANK	.	RIDER	HORSE	RANK AFTER DRESSAGE		CROSS-COUNTRY	RANK AFTER CROSS-COUNTRY		JUMPING	FINAL SCORE
RANK	.	RIDER	HORSE	SCORE	RANK	FAULTS	SCORE	RANK	FAULTS	FINAL SCORE
1.		Bill LEVETT	Shannondale Titan	42,60	2.	0,00	42,60	1.	0,00	42,60
2.		Nicolas TOUZAINT	Lesbos	43,20	3.	0,00	43,20	2.	4,00	47,20
3.		Arnaud BOITEAU	Quoriano ‘ENE HN’	53,00	19.	0,00	53,00	10.	0,00	53,00
4.		Piggy FRENCH	Tinkas Time	50,40	13.	0,00	50,40	6.	4,00	54,40
5.		Will FAUDREE	Andromaque	47,80	8.	0,00	47,80	4.	8,00	55,80
6.		Andrew NICHOLSON	Viscount George	53,80	23.	0,00	53,80	12.	4,00	57,80
7.		Frida ANDERSÉN	Herta	51,60	16.	0,00	51,60	7.	8,00	59,60
8.		Marilyn LITTLE	RF Smoke on the Water	52,00	17.	0,00	52,00	8.	8,00	60,00
9.		Tim PRICE	Ringwood Sky Boy	52,60	18.	0,00	52,60	9.	8,00	60,60
10.		Christophe GUILLEMET	Mach de la Barre	56,80	30.	1,20	58,00	15.	4,00

34 Horses to Show Jump at Saumur CCI***

By AJ Dyer on May 26, 2013 9:14 am -

The three remaining US horses have passed the final horse inspection this morning at Saumur CCI***. Three horses and riders that finished the cross-country will not be show jumping today: Hannes Melin and Gaston KLG (were in 5th), Sebastian Mateu Jurado and Barlovento (were 25th), and Antoine Le Pape and Oscar de Ravalet (were 26th). As such, Marilyn Little has moved from 8th to 7th, and Hannah Sue Burnett moved up from 30th to 27th. Will Faudree and Andromaque are in 4th. Best of luck to all competitors today!

Show Jumping begins at 9:15am ET.

[Live Scores]

[SJ Order of Go]

[Live Radio – mostly in French, but repeated in English]

The CIC** show jumped earlier today. Marilyn Little and RF Black Pearl jumped clear to finish 18th. [CIC** Results]

***UPDATE*** 9:50am

Hannah Sue Burnett and Harbour Pilot had two rails down and finish with a score of 91.4. Of the thirteen rounds so far, only one has been double clear. Many riders have had multiple rails.

***UPDATE*** 10:30am

Marilyn Little and RF Smoke on the Water also had two rails down, with a final score of 60.0. Only two clear rounds to this point.

***UPDATE*** 10:37am

It’s been an 8-fault day for the USA, as Will Faudree and Andromaque also have two down, finishing on 55.8. Arnaud Boiteau’s clear round on Quoriano ‘ENE HN’ has moved him from 10th to the top of the leaderboard with two horses left to jump.

Sunday Links from ERS-Eventing.com

By Leslie Wylie on May 26, 2013 12:19 am -

Lauren Romanelli's horse Doccie enjoys a well-deserved roll in lush Kentucky bluegrass at May-Daze Horse Trials, taking place this weekend in Lexington, KY.

We’ve been cheering hard for our U.S. riders at Saumur but we’re rooting just as enthusiastically for our riders here at home. There are loads of events taking place across the country on this beautiful Memorial Day weekend. Best of luck to everyone!!!

Events This Weekend:

Mystic Valley Hunt Club H.T. [Website] [Ride Times PDF]

Virginia Horse CIC2*, CCI1* & H.T. [Website] [Ride Times]

Flora Lea Spring H.T. [Website] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

Paradise Farm H.T. [Website] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

Corona del Sol Spring H.T. [Website] [Live Scores]

The Spring Event at Woodside [Website] [Live Scores]

May-Daze at the Park H.T. [Website] [Live Scores]

The Event at Galisteo [Website] [Entries]

News Links:

King takes Saumur lead, Faudree best-placed U.S. rider

Faudree and Little faultless at Saumur CCI3* to hold top 10 placings following the cross-country

Stars are out in force for Houghton International

GBR victorious in FEI Nations Cup at Houghton

What the Future Event Horse Program can do for eventing with Susan Graham-White

Queen’s love of horses explored in documentary

Celebrating Fair Hill’s 25th anniversary

Video: John Crowell guides Distinguished around the novice cross-country course at May-Daze, alternately laughing and encouraging his horse along the way.

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.

Hannah Sue Burnett: After XC at Saumur

By AJ Dyer on May 25, 2013 8:43 pm -

Cross-country has finished in France at the Saumur CCI***, with mixed results for the US riders. Hannah Sue Burnett was kind enough to send us another postcard from Saumur, commenting on the highs and lows of the day. Many thanks to Hannah for writing, and thank you for reading. Go Team USA!

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Hannah Sue Burnett and Harbour Pilot, photo by Diana Rowland

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From Hannah:

One of my favorite lines from this trip so far is from Keegan Faudree when we were talking about the ups and downs of our cross country day this afternoon. He dryly said, “Sometimes you eat the bear….and sometimes the bear eats you.”

We had 50% bear eating vs being eaten today on cross country. Marilyn and Smoke were fast and clear and everyone said they made it look easy. I didn’t get to watch because I was in warmup but I heard she was a great trailblazer for our team.

I was next to go for the USA and William and I never really got into the swing of things in the first couple minutes and he didn’t lock onto the corner at 6b. I continued and rode him harder the rest of the course and he got better and better. We finished with time and 20 jumping penalties. Disappointing, but you don’t always get to eat the bear. Ask any event rider!!

Will Faudree was also extremely impressive today, bringing home a fast and flawless double clear. All of the riders really supported each other today–coming to warm up and telling the team how everything was riding. We all helped cool out each others’ horses as well. We were a real team even though our rides didn’t all go as planned.

Buck was having a great go on The Apprentice, giving him a really good ride even though Dirk was a bit green at times. Unfortunately he jumped sideways over the corner at 18b, and didn’t get inside the flags. Buck saw the white flag on his left and Dirk had jumped up so he thought he was ok to continue. If he had gone back and jumped it again and the judges had said it wasn’t a stop, he would’ve been eliminated also. It’s kind of hard to ask the jump judges for clarification when no one here speaks English. So he went with what he thought and unfortunately was pulled up. Dang bear got another one! He had a wonderful attitude about it and is so supportive to the rest of the team. A real team player!

The horses looked good this evening and all of the grooms were amazing today, as usual! A big thanks to Sara McKenna, no matter what happens on course or during an event, she’s smiling and supportive and takes the best care of William. We couldn’t do this as riders without all of your support–here and at home.

Fingers crossed for good show jumping rounds tomorrow, especially for our 2 USA riders in the top 10!!

Go USA!

HSB

PS: Thanks again for all of the texts, facebooks, twittering and emails!! Y’all are awesome!!!!

Videos: Saumur CCI*** Cross-Country for Will Faudree, and other US riders

By AJ Dyer on May 25, 2013 2:16 pm -

Will Faudree and Andromaque had a beautiful cross-country round at Saumur CCI*** today to move into 4th place. Missy seems very well suited to this type of course, being very rideable at the fences, yet fast and agile through the turns. Might we see them representing the US at Normandy 2014?

[Saumur XC Results]

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Marilyn Little and RF Smoke on the Water also finished double-clear, to move up to 8th place.

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Buck Davidson and The Apprentice were unfortunately eliminated for continuing on course despite a runout at 18B, a corner. Buck did not circle back for a second attempt, but kept on going as if he had jumped the corner clean. From the video, it’s rather apparent that the horse did not have most of its body between the flags.

[via Youtube] Go eventing.

2013 Saumur CCI*** Top 10 after Cross-Country

By AJ Dyer on May 25, 2013 12:34 pm -

Photo: Andromaque really wants the cross country to start... First American horse is RF Smoke on the Water. He starts at 1:44 local time.

Andromaque waiting for cross-country to start, from the USEF Eventing High Performance facebook page.

The US hopes lie with Will Faudree and Andromaque, 4th after a brilliant cross-country round at Saumur. As mentioned earlier, Will and Missy had a foot-perfect ride easily inside the time. Marilyn Little and RF Smoke on the Water also finished double-clear to move into the top 10. Sadly, Hannah Sue Burnett and Harbour Pilot had a runout at the corner at 8B, and Buck Davidson was eliminated on The Apprentice for running by the corner at 18B and continuing without jumping it.

18 riders finished double clear
26 riders total finished with no jumping penalties
1 rider retired
4 riders were eliminated (including Buck, and a fall for overnight leader Kitty King and Zidante)

[CCI*** Results]

Place / Rider / Nationality / Horse / Place after dressage / XC time / Score

1.	Bill LEVETT	Shannondale Titan	2.	10:09	42,60
2.	Nicolas TOUZAINT	Lesbos	3.	10:12	43,20
3.	Oliver TOWNEND	Black Tie	6.	09:49	46,80
4.	Will FAUDREE	Andromaque	8.	09:53	47,80
5.	Hannes MELIN	Gaston KLG	10.	10:07	48,40
6.	Piggy FRENCH	Tinkas Time	13.	10:05	50,40
7.	Frida ANDERSÉN	Herta	16.	09:55	51,60
8.	Marilyn LITTLE	RF Smoke on the Water	17.	10:06	52,00
9.	Tim PRICE	Ringwood Sky Boy	18.	10:13	52,60
10.	Arnaud BOITEAU	Quoriano ‘ENE HN’	19.	10:10	53,00

2013 Saumur CCI*** Cross-Country Info & Results

By AJ Dyer on May 25, 2013 8:57 am -

Photo by Uptown Eventing.

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Good morning and I hope you’re enjoying this Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend– the gateway to summer for most of us. Across the pond, four fearless US riders are taking on the challenging cross-country at Saumur today: here’s how to follow along. CCI*** cross-country begins at 3pm local time; that’s 9am ET.

9:44am ET Marilyn Little / RF Smoke on the Water
10:04am ET Hannah Sue Burnett / Harbour Pilot
10:44am ET Will Faudree / Andromaque
11:16am ET Buck Davidson / The Apprentice

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[XC Ride Times/Results]

[XC Map]

[Watch XC live]

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***UPDATE*** 9:55am

Marilyn Little and RF Smoke on the Water had a nice double-clear round on cross-country. Great start for Team USA!

**UPDATE*** 10:15am

Hannah and Harbour Pilot had a stop at 6B, a brush corner. The live video didn’t show much of their ride, but the announcers said she had an otherwise nice round.

***UPDATE*** 10:54am

Will Faudree and Andromaque had a beautiful trip around cross-country, finishing clear and easily inside the time. Missy looked very adjustable out on course, quickly and quietly coming back for the combinations and then zipping away from the fences; so far, the fastest ride of the day, and she was still full of run at the end. She looked very suited to this type of course, and Will rode her very well. It’s great to see this pair hitting their stride! They have the provisional lead thus far, and can be no worse than fifth at the end of the day. Go USA!

***UPDATE*** 11:25am

Unfortunately, Buck Davidson and The Apprentice were eliminated; they had a runout at 18B (a corner), but Buck continued going and never re-jumped it. From the video, it was pretty clear that the horse did not jump through the flags, but rather knocked the left flag with his right shoulder and ran by it. Buck and The Apprentice had a little trouble earlier in the course at fence 8; the horse hung a leg at 8A the top of the hill, and Buck by-passed the corner at the bottom of the hill, taking the long route instead. Bad day for Buck, and a reminder to us all to ask the jump judge for clarification if you may not have gone through the flags!

Tipperary’s Saturday Links

By Jessica Bortner-Harris on May 25, 2013 1:03 am -

Fortunately there’s no snow at the Virginia Horse Trials this weekend

I made the trip up to the Virginia Horse Trials early this morning so that I could get the babies ridden and spend the rest of the afternoon volunteering in the show jumping arena. The wind was blowing and creating a bit of havoc, but I think the idea of jumping outside won’t seem so bad the rest of the weekend. Mark Donovan designed yet another great test of positive, balanced riding. Big props to Kurt Martin and Anna Bella for putting in a lovely round in the CIC** that happened to be the only double clear. Also, a big shout out to Kaitlin Spurlock and Fernhill Select. Kaitlin rode one of the most beautiful rides of the day on this very talented horse. They are currently leading the CIC**.

A special announcement to help for Plain Bay Eventing:

Harmony Grove Farm, an eventing farm in Villa Rica, GA, is having a Lellie Ward clinic and an auction to support Plain Bay Eventing June 15th and 16th. They will be auctioning a County saddle, a month’s feed from Cavalor, training packages, and paintings from a local artist.