The only lingering question I have about Rolex 2013 is this: Who left their sparkly blue panties beside the Head of the Lake? Surely I am not the only one who noticed them. Was a spectator trying to throw them at their favorite rider, rock star groupie-style? I guess we’ll never know (unless someone wants to own up to it in the comments section below, which would be AWESOME).
RIP Supreme Rock: The horse that Pippa Funnell rode to a legendary Rolex Grand Slam in 2003 has been put down at age 25. Supreme Rock won back-to-back Badmintons in 2002 and 2003 and consecutive European titles in 1999 and 2001, as well as a team silver medal at the Sydney Olympics in 2002. He was happily retired to the hunt field in 2005. [Horse & Hound]
More Rolex Honors: Buck Davidson was the top U.S. rider to complete the cross-country course closest to optimum time, winning the “Land Rover Best Ride of the Day” and a 2013 Range Rover Evoque lease. [USET] Meghan O’Donoghue won the HSBC Training Bursary, worth $1,000, for her brilliant CCI4* debut. [Horse Talk]
Best of the Blogs: Talking Horse crowns the three kings of eventing, discusses the prospect of a Grand Slam, and notes that at Badminton, anything can happen. “This year’s Badminton is unprecedented, and we will probably never see another Grand Slam double header in our lifetime. The entire line up includes almost all of the full cream our sport has to offer. It is the mother of all eventing competitions – a field of dreams.” [TalkingHorse.net] More on the Grand Slam here. [British Eventing]
Found on Facebook: Rolex hangover edition.
">">">Video: In addition to Rolex, the FEI World Cup Finals for dressage and show jumping took place in Gothenburg, Sweden over the weekend. America’s big winner was Beezie Madden aboard Simon, who won the show jumping title after a heart-pounding jump-off against London Olympic gold medalist Steve Guerdat on Nino des Buissonnets (Switzerland). Steve’s pedal-to-the-metal, turn-and-burn round resulted in two costly rails; Beezie took a more conservative approach and kept all the rails up for the win. [Results]
Emily Renfroe headed to Kentucky last week with her chestnut mare Walk The Line to be the youngest competitor at her first ever CCI****. You’d imagine she would be nervous, but in fact it may have been her coach Kyle Carter who suffered the most, “He did shed a tear as I left the start box on Saturday!” Jess Montgomery and I spoke to both Kyle and Emily a couple of weeks before the event for our Triple Crown Feeds Mentor Series on the Eventing Radio show, and I caught up with her on a rainy Sunday afternoon after she’d just completed her first Rolex, and asked her how it felt.
A huge congratulations to Emily and Walk the Line, and the whole Carter family who were in attendance to help and support her. We look forward to seeing you again next time out. Thanks for chatting, Emily; thank you for reading, and Go Rolex Kentucky eventing!
Chilli Morning and William Fox-Pitt, photo by Kasey Mueller
Last year, readers sent us dozens of photos from their Rolex experiences. Beautiful pictures of competitors on course, dogs enjoying a day out, and gifts from the trade fair were all featured. If you have some photos to share in this year’s gallery, send them to us at [email protected]! (JPEG attachments work best.)
A great big cheers to everyone who stopped by Eventing Nation’s tailgate party!!! Fun was had by all. Many, many thanks to co-hosts Leah Omeara, Ashley Jamison and Brooke Waldron for the amazing setup and first-class hospitality.
Friends new and old checked in throughout the day to snack, sip and try their hand at Rolex Trivia. We also had some celebrity guests, like competitor Daniel Clasing, who surely deserved a cold one after his double-clear cross-country round! Way to go, Daniel. Even John emerged from the media center ether long enough to say hello and discover that the cookie cake he’d been looking forward to eating all week had been reduced to leftover crumbs. Sorry John! Maybe next year.
At the end of the day, it was heartily agreed upon that tailgating at Rolex must be a new Eventing Nation tradition. Go Eventing!
Red on right, white on left, Insanity the Inflatable Horse in the middle.
Breakfast of champion eventing party people.
It was beautiful while it lasted.
Trivia time: I thought I might be able to stump these EN readers with tough questions about Rolex history, but they were way too smart!
Bad Eventer dropped by to party down with us. Check out her website, badeventer.blogspot.com!
Our first batch of Rolex Trivia winners, plus EN writer Lauren Nethery (the gal with the laptop) who was live-blogging from the party throughout the morning.
These people are SUPER excited about winning EN shirts.
Jenni Autry's awesome friends/barnmates! From L to R: Sarah Buhite, Kelly Myers, Kristen Vigliano, Carrie Pugh, and Melissa Raffensperger. I grilled them about Jenni's existence in general: "Is she for real? How does she DO it?" In the end, we all agreed that she was, in fact, no ordinary equestrian journalist but "a unicorn who poops rainbows."
Point Two air jackets were used by almost the entire field on Saturday at Rolex. Our last Rolex contest of 2013 is one of our simplest. Here’s how it works:
1) The number of riders (riders, not pairs) who wore a Point Two air jacket on the Rolex cross-country on Saturday.
2) As a tiebreaker, the number of EN cups we bought for the EN tailgate on Saturday.
All other ties will be broken randomly, and if no one nails the number of riders we will of course pick the entry with the closest to the correct number but not over.
Entries are due by 8 a.m. Thursday morning. Please only one entry per person. The winner will receive a free Point Two air jacket in the size of their choosing. It’s that simple!
William Fox-Pitt and Seacookie TSF into the Head of the Lake, photo by Kasey Mueller
Perhaps you were in the rainforest in Brazil over the weekend, or at your brother’s wedding, or otherwise inconvenienced when it came to following all the action at Rolex. If so, you missed one heck of a weekend out in Lexington; a showdown between the Silver Fox and Big Willie, with bases loaded for both of them heading into Badminton this week. To save you the effort of flipping through pages and pages of daily coverage, here’s a summary of how it all went down this weekend on Eventing Nation.
Rolex Preview and Predictions – Jenni Autry breaks down the field horse-by-horse and what to expect from each pair this weekend.
A Few Questions For Rolex – John gives his thoughts on this year’s competition; who will win, fan favorites, and wonders will the US ever win its own four-star again?
46 Horses Move on after Rolex First Horse Inspection – John checks in from the jog. All horses passed, though Andrew Nicholson had to re-present Quimbo. Emily Beshear did not present Here’s To You, as Quincy may have tweaked himself and the best option is to save him for another day.
Rolex CCI4* Course Walk – Jenni Autry shows off the 2013 cross-country course with photos of every fence.
Becky Holder and Can’t Fire Me Move Into Second – A brief recap after the second morning session of Thursday’s dressage. Jennie Brannigan and Cambalda have been re-assigned to Friday, as Cambalda reportedly got loose Thursday morning and slipped on the pavement.
A quick update on Cambalda – It is confirmed that Cambalda got away from his groom while lunging Thursday morning, slipped on pavement, and pending a vet inspection Jenni Brannigan will compete on Friday instead.
Allie Knowles and Last Call Hit It Out of the Park – Samantha catches up with Allie after her super ride, and you can watch the USEF video for yourself– a beautiful test, especially for a first-timer!
Five Notes from David O’Connor’s EOTF Walk – John tagged along with David’s coursewalk for High Performance event owners. The combinations on course look for a forward ride, and don’t underestimate the hills at the Horse Park!
Quick Notes From the Friday Press Conference – Andrew Nicholson was pleased with Quimbo’s dressage, and Allie Knowles mentions that Last Call has been a broodmare, among other notes.
Rolex Cross-Country Lunchtime Update – Jenni Autry quickly recaps the morning rides, which went quite well, starting off with a superb ride from William Fox-Pitt and Seacookie TSF.
A Tale of Two Courses – John breaks down the day of cross-country action, discussing how differently the course rode in the afternoon.
Rolex Saturday Interviews – Watch post-XC video interviews with Meghan O’Donoghue, Buck Davidson, Daniel Clasing, Kristi Nunnink, Kristin Schmolze, Peter Barry, Caitlin Silliman, Jan Byyny, Hawley Bennett-Awad, Emily Renfroe and James Alliston.
Andrew Nicholson Seals the Deal with Quimbo – Jenni Autry reports on all the action from Show Jumping day, which saw only 5 clear rounds (4 double clear). William Fox-Pitt finished second, sandwiched between Andrew’s two horses. Buck Davidson and Ballynoe Castle RM were the highest US pair, in 4th. OTTB war horse Donner had a brilliant time at his first four-star, finishing on his dressage score in 5th. Meghan O’Donoghue and Pirate won the HSBC award for highest-placed first-timer at Rolex, coming in 12th.
Rolex: A Weekend of Expected and Unexpected Results – John gives his thoughts on the weekend, with notes from the press conference. William Fox-Pitt admitted he broke his finger during show jumping, but we all know that doesn’t matter because he can still jump clear with one hand tied behind his back! Andrew Nicholson said he was proud of Calico Joe, calling him “not the best show jumper,” but despite 3 rails hung on for third. And Quimbo? Andrew now knows the horse has the stamina to make time on a four-star course, and little worries in the show jumping!
Samantha Clark’s Photo Journal: Sights From Rolex 2013
Getting Ready for Rolex Part II – Samantha meets the early arrivals, including Andrew Nicholson and Quimbo/Calico Joe, Fernhill Urco, and Kristi Nunnink with R-Star.
Monday at Rolex – Arrivals Day – Catching up with more riders and horses as they settle into the Horse Park, including WFP and Chilli Morning, Tom and Magette Meagher, and lots of other photos.
Tuesday at Rolex Kentucky CCI**** 2013 – Samantha watches various riders and horses schooling on the flat and hacking about before the real competition begins. Plus, photos from riders’ visit to the UK Children’s Hospital.
Goodbye Dressage Hello Cross-Country – Samantha Clark’s photo diary from the dressage, mostly taken from the warmup area. Beautiful pictures as always from Samantha!
Andrew Nicholson and the horse everyone now wants to ride, Quimbo, won the Rolex Kentucky CCI 4* yesterday. Photo by Samantha Clark.
Another Rolex has come and passed. The leaderboard certainly took a beating after cross country; I don’t think anyone expected Mary King and William Fox-Pitt to retire on course; I almost choked on my coffee when I saw Fernhill Urco stop out of the water. Hats off to Andrew Nicholson, who rode beautifully all weekend to take the top prize with the stunning Quimbo. What was so exciting about this Rolex was the amount of first-timers and up-and-coming riders who had great trips; it makes everyone excited to see what they’ll do in the future.
Andrew Nicholson went one-three at Rolex on Sunday. Quimbo jumped a clear round with a few time faults to retain the lead, and Calico Joe dropped one spot with eight faults to finish third. William Fox-Pitt and Seacookie TSF finished second. This sets up a battle royale at Badminton to find out which, if ether, of them will take home the Rolex Grand Slam. [Rolex Results]
Buck Davidson and Ballynoe Castle RM were the highest placed American pair at Rolex; they finished fourth. Lynn Symansky continued her great season with Donner, finishing fifth. The amount of adoration that Buck clearly has for this horse is amazing to see, and I can’t help but see a lot of “try” in Donner. Mad props to Lynn for bringing this beautiful horse along so well. [Rolex Results]
Wait, so Badminton is next weekend? With all the excitement from Rolex, you’re forgiven if you forgot about the big event across the pond. In addition to WFP, Andrew Nicholson, Michael Jung, Zara Phillips and Mary King, we’ll also be keeping an eye on Colleen Rutledge and Shiraz, Clark Montgomery and Universe, Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister, and Canadian Rebecca Howard and Riddle Master. [Badminton Entries]
Stuart Tinney and his stunning ride Pluto Mio won the Sydney CCI3* in Australia over the weekend. It looks like this is going to be a great ride for Stuart; the horse is an impeccable and impressive jumper. Craig Barrett and Sandhills Brillaire finished second, and Shane Rose and Virgil took the third spot. [An Eventful Life]
Next weekend’s not packed enough for you? The 139th running of the Kentucky Derby takes place next Saturday. The top three contenders, Orb, Verrazano, and Goldencents, have all arrived at Churchill Downs and participated in workouts over the weekend. [NBC]
Beezie Madden and Simon won the Rolex FEI World Cup Show Jumping Final in Gothenburg, Sweden. Beezie and Simon went into a jump-off with Swiss rider Steve Guerdat, and after he pulled two rails, Beezie won with a fault-free round. Three other U.S. riders, including McLain Ward, Reed Kessler, and Karl Cook, finished in the top 11. [Chronicle of the Horse]
No one should be surprised that Andrew Nicholson and William Fox-Pitt finished in the top three places at Rolex. With the exception of WEG and Olympic champion Michael Jung, these two are on top of the eventing world right now. Andrew and William will ride against each other for the Rolex Grand Slam of eventing and its $350,000 in prize money next weekend at Badminton. Andrew, William, and Michael will collide next weekend in a showdown that threatens to swallow Badminton up in a black hole of awesomeness.
Rolex 2013’s top three riders met in the Sunday afternoon press conference to discuss their weekend:
–Andrew Nicholson was full of praise for Quimbo at the horse’s first four-star, calling him an “unbelievable show jumper.” He said that Quimbo feels impressive in the warm-up and then steps up even more in the arena. Andrew said that he learned this weekend that Quimbo, a warmblood who was bred to be a show-jumper, has the stamina to do the 4* jumping and distance. So Andrew has a young horse, expertly bred for show jumping, who can already score under 40 in the dressage and easily make the time around a 4*. Look out world. Quimbo surprised Andrew by making up time in the last several minutes of the cross-country course. In contrast to Quimbo, Andrew was very critical of Calico Joe’s talent as a show jumper, joking (?) that he’s been stuck with the horse since he was young. Andrew also recognized that the horse has two top-five performances in his last three four-stars. He said “I was very pleased with him, and to be honest I was very proud.”
–William discussed his and Andrew’s Rolex Grand Slam chances by saying “probably neither of us, Michael Jung here we go.” As for what’s next for Seacookie, he gets home Thursday and then will have a nice long break. William said that the 14-year-old gelding doesn’t have a set plan for the autumn. When asked about his finger, which he broke in the show jumping, William said that he hopes it won’t hamper him at Badminton and seemed to play it down.
–Buck was asked what it meant to him to have his Dad watching. He responded by saying, “Kentucky has been a great place for the Davidsons.” Buck also noted that his Mom was also in attendance this weekend. Buck described his feelings on the weekend by saying, “of course I’m bummed to have two down.” On coming in 4th, Buck said “if I’ve gotta lose, these are two good guys to lose to.” Buck said that he was “pretty sure” either William or Andrew will win at Badminton next week.
A few additional notes on the weekend:
–Andrew finishing two horses in the top-three should be regarded as unprecedented if not for the fact that Mary set a better precedent by finishing two horses in the top-two in 2011. Finishing a four-star is hard enough, let alone placing in the top 3 with one horse. Andrew is simply a master at his craft and showed off his amazing skill this weekend.
–William Fox-Pitt finished in the top four of Rolex for the fourth straight year, including two winning years. Although I bet William looks at this weekend as something of a defeat, he’s establishing himself as the consistent master of Kentucky.
–Buck was the only U.S. rider to finish the weekend on more than one horse, finishing on all three of the starters. Andrew and James Alliston were the only other two riders to finish on more than one horse.
–In some heartwarming news, the USA’s losing streak at Rolex extends to five years, with only one victory in the past eight years. There’s no way I will consider our high performance program in top shape until we start winning Rolex consistently.
–What more can be said about Lynn Symansky and Donner? Lynn came into this weekend with a bad back and a badly injured pinkie finger and she left in 5th place with a double-clear jumping performance in Donner’s first four-star. The only other pair to finish without a cross country or show jumping penalty on the weekend was some guy named William Fox-Pitt. Veterans Buck Davidson and Ballynoecastle RM were the only U.S. pair to finish above them. Lynn had the quintessential emergent performance at Rolex and, premature or not, this young pair is instantly in the conversation for making the WEG team next year. Lynn also led the way for girl power at Rolex. Donner won Best Conditioned Horse and also Best Turned Out at the two horse inspections.
–Kristi Nunnink and R-Star have had two straight great four-star finishes including Burghley last year. R-Star is an absolutely fabulous mare — I might say the best of any U.S. mare right now along with perhaps RF Demeter — and I couldn’t be happier to see the West Coast so well represented this year. We’ve already written quite a lot about Hawley and Ginny’s brilliance, but they represented both the West Coast and Canada to perfection and won the hearts of the Lexington crowd this weekend.
–Will Faudree and Pawlow were the third-best U.S. pair this weekend, finishing in 6th. It was “Ernie’s” best four-star performance of his career and sets this pair up nicely for the WEG hunt. Will is no stranger to managing talented horses successfully in the second half of their careers.
–Canada finished four pairs in the top 20. Five of their six starters finished the weekend, with Exponential withdrawing before the cross-country. Only New Zealand (3/3) and Australia (1/1) can boast better percentages for finishing the weekend.
–This is the first time in a long time (at least three years) that Phillip Dutton and Boyd Martin, USA’s stalwart riders over the past few years, have both finished outside of the top 10. I don’t make much of this because Phillip and Boyd started the weekend with just three horses between them. I think it’s safe to say that Mighty Nice and Trading Aces still very much look like team horses of the future for the USA despite retiring here this weekend. Trading Aces especially looked terrific in everything except his fitness. Phillip has to be pleased with moving up 23 places on Fernhill Eagle this weekend. We wish Boyd the best in his ankle surgery this upcoming week.
–In all, eight of the 12 pairs making their four-star debuts completed at Rolex. Meghan O’Donoghue and Pirate were the highest-placed pair making a first appearance at Rolex, finishing the weekend in 12th place. They started the weekend sitting in 25th after dressage, and moved up to 14th after coming home clear on cross country with four time penalties. While they pulled a rail today in show jumping and picked up three time penalties, the crowd showed them a lot of love, and Meghan has to be ecstatic with her performance here this weekend.
–A big shoutout to the other four-star first-timers who completed: Austin O’Connor and Ringwood Mississippi (13th) (Update: Apologies to Austin, he clearly isn’t a first 4* timer, he is a Rolex first-timer), Shandiss McDonald and Rockfield Grant Juan (16th), Kendal Lehari and Daily Edition (19th), Daniel Clasing and Houston (21st), Caitlin Silliman and Catch A Star (24th), Emily Renfroe and Walk The Line (27th), and Michelline Jordan and Irish Diamonds (29th).
—Peter and Henny rocked it this weekend in front of an adoring crowd, moving up 18 places by adding just 5.6 jumping penalties to their dressage score. Check out Henny’s helmet cam video from cross-country here.
–It was great to see Katie Ruppel and Sir Donovan finish Rolex successfully after a forgettable previous two years. They added just 9.6 penalties to their dressage score on a great weekend of jumping.
–Last, but very much not least, we extend a huge EN thanks to all of the volunteers who made this weekend possible. Rolex is a tremendous operation that could never happen without the many men and women who dedicate their time to helping out at the Kentucky Horse Park. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Andrew Nicholson and Quimbo clinched the win with a beautiful clear round in show jumping.
Andrew Nicholson and Quimbo came into the Rolex stadium with two rails in hand, but ultimately didn’t need it, as the pair put in one of just five clear rounds of the day and added three time faults to clinch the victory. Show jumping proved to be very influential, with the last jump serving as the bogey fence, coming down more than any other jump today. But Quimbo didn’t touch any rails and jumped like he wasn’t fatigued in the slightest after his double clear cross-country trip yesterday. Andrew’s win here at Rolex this weekend creates an unprecedented situation we may never see again in the history of eventing, as Andrew and William Fox-Pitt will now battle it out for the Rolex Grand Slam next weekend at Badminton.
William finished in second place with Seacookie TSF after jumping double clear despite breaking a finger on his left hand in the show jumping. This pair also jumped double clear yesterday on cross country and looked very good today. The horse looked a bit tired coming through the Calumet triple combination, but William is one of the best show jumping riders in the world and knows exactly how to coax a tired horse home on show jumping day. This was not the weekend William envisioned, as he also came to Rolex with Chilli Morning and led the dressage overnight coming into cross country. But after retiring Chilli early on in the course, William opened up room for Andrew to slip by with Quimbo. Andrew also finished in third place with Calico Joe despite pulling three rails in show jumping, an outcome Andrew said could happen in yesterday’s press conference. While show jumping isn’t this horse’s strong suit, it still says a lot that Andrew was able to drop three poles and still take third place.
William Fox-Pitt and Seacookie TSF finished in second place.
Buck Davidson had a fantastic weekend overall, but unfortunately struggled today in show jumping, pulling two rails with all three of his rides. After two knockdowns at two of the three jumps in the last line with Ballynoe Castle RM — who was sitting in third place coming into today — Buck left the arena looking gutted. But the crowd still showed him an incredible amount of love, and Buck still finishes as the highest-placed American rider in fourth place with Reggie. Buck also finished in ninth place with Mar De Amor and 22nd with Park Trader — definitely a result to be proud of. If it’s any consolation for Buck, he’ll have a two-year lease on a Land Rover Evoque thanks to coming home closest to optimum time yesterday on cross country and winning the Land Rover Ride of the Day.
Lynn Symansky and Donner had the weekend of a lifetime, finishing in fifth place in the horse’s first trip to Rolex with a fantastic clear show jumping round. While Lynn was a bit disappointed after her dressage test, she didn’t let that faze her going into cross country yesterday, where she finished double clear despite riding with her right hand in a cast due to a spiral fracture in her pinkie. She raised “the claw” — as she’s been calling her hand — to the very enthusiastic crowd when she came home clear, and she sported a million-dollar smile when she came through the in-gate. Donner is quite simply a horse for the future, and we will be seeing much more from him. He’s also one of three Thoroughbreds to finish in the top six, the others being Calico Joe and Pawlow. Although Will Faudree pulled a rail with Pawlow, he still had an excellent weekend and very quietly stalked the leaders all weekend. He brought Ernie around cross country yesterday with a smooth trip, picking up 6.4 time penalties to move into fifth. While he dropped a rail today to drop one place to finish in sixth, this was still a super weekend for this pair.
Buck Davidson and Ballynoe Castle RM finished in fourth place.
Canada had a great day, with Hawley Bennett-Awad and Gin & Juice finishing as the highest-placed Canadian pair in seventh place. Hawley had one of the only five clear trips this afternoon, and considering the explosive cheer she received upon crossing the finish line, you would’ve think she’d won the whole thing. Hawley took a celebratory gallop past the grandstand with a very excited Ginny doing airs above the ground. Hawley and Ginny won the hearts of the Rolex crowd on Saturday by energetically flying around the cross-country course. Ginny proved that yesterday’s brilliance was no fluke, and they moved up four places into seventh. Peter Barry and Kilrodan Abbott delivered the first clear trip of the day and also received a lot of support from the crowd. Peter and Eddie moved up eight places from 25th into 17th — more than any other pair today — thanks to their double-clear trip.
Kristi Nunnink and R-Star finished in eighth place after dropping one rail. The mare jumped beautifully today despite the rail, and she also looked fantastic on cross-country yesterday, pulling Kristi around and absolutely eating up the course. Crowd favorites Peter Atkins and Henry Jota Hampton — the only pair competing for Australia this weekend — came oh so close to having a clear trip today, but pulled the final rail. The crowd still showed Peter and Henny a lot of love, and they finished the weekend in 10th place after jumping clear on cross country yesterday and coming home with just 1.6 penalties. In a very touching moment, Peter gave Henny a huge hug after hopping off at the in-gate, showing just how much this horse means to him.
Lynn Symansky and Donner finished in fifth place.
There were five clear rides this afternoon out of 29 pairs — Andrew Nicholson and Quimbo, William Fox-Pitt and Seacookie TSF, Lynn Symansky and Donner, Hawley Bennett-Awad and Gin & Juice, and Peter Barry with Kilrodan Abbott. There were just four double-clears in the show jumping, with Quimbo finishing three seconds over the optimum, likely spending a few extra seconds as he cleared each fence by inches. Seven pairs had just one rail. Four other pairs incurred time penalties. The U.S. only had one of five double-clears, despite starting the day with just over half of the show jumpers. Canada was the only country with more than one double-clear show jumping round. Breaking down the results by country, New Zealand dominated with Andrew Nicholson finished with two horses in the top three. Great Britain claimed second with William and Seacookie TSF’s performance. The U.S. finished five pairs in the top 10, Canada had Hawley Bennett-Awad and Ginny, and Peter Atkins and Henny gave Australia one pair in the top 10 with 10th place.
Only two pairs finished on their dressage score — William Fox-Pitt and Seacookie TSF and Lynn Symansky and Donner. William and Seacookie moved up from 10th to second on a perfect weekend of jumping, and Lynn Symansky and Donner moved up from 19th to fifth. Hawley Bennett-Awad and Gin & Juice moved all the way up from 29th to seventh by adding just one second on the cross country to their dressage score. Phillip Dutton and Fernhill Eagle moved up 23 places to 11th with just a rail added for their weekend’s work. James Alliston and Parker moved up an impressive 36 places with just a rail today and a double-clear yesterday to finish in 14th place; he also finished in 23rd with Jumbo’s Jake.
It was a wild weekend here at Rolex, and things are only going to get more interesting going forward this week as we prepare for a showdown at Badminton between William Fox-Pitt and Andrew Nicholson. William joked at the press conference that Michael Jung would win anyway, so there was no use predicting a battle for the Rolex Grand Slam, but it will be a very exciting week nonetheless. Stay tuned for a full report from the Rolex press conference with William, Andrew and Buck, as well as a lot more photos from show jumping today at Rolex. Go eventing.
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Video: In addition to Rolex, the FEI World Cup Finals for dressage and show jumping took place in Gothenburg, Sweden over the weekend. America’s big winner was Beezie Madden aboard Simon, who won the show jumping title after a heart-pounding jump-off against London Olympic gold medalist Steve Guerdat on Nino des Buissonnets (Switzerland). Steve’s pedal-to-the-metal, turn-and-burn round resulted in two costly rails; Beezie took a more conservative approach and kept all the rails up for the win. [Results]
