Classic Eventing Nation

XC Video: Andrew Nicholson and Quimbo

By on Apr 28, 2013 12:23 pm -

The wait is over… thanks to the USEF Network, here is the full cross-country round of the overnight leader, Andrew Nicholson and Quimbo.  What an extraordinary horse!

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Rolex Jog Report: 29 Horses Move On To Show Jumping

By on Apr 28, 2013 9:39 am -

Andrew Nicholson currently leads with Quimbo.

All 30 cross-country finishers presented this morning at the jog at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event. Twenty-nine horses passed, with only James Alliston’s Tivoli being spun. Three horses in total were held: James’ Tivoli, Meghan O’Donoghue’s Pirate, and Kendal Lehari’s Daily Edition. Both Pirate and Daily Edition passed upon reinspection. Word around the barns is that the vast majority of horses look excellent after running Derek Di Grazia’s cross-country course yesterday, which we can likely attribute to excellent footing. A huge crowd turned out to watch the jog this morning, with the crowd stacked eight deep at some spots. The sun was shining at the beginning of the jog, but clouds began to roll in as the jog progressed, an omen that we will likely be seeing rain for show jumping later this afternoon.

Andrew Nicholson is sitting in second place with Calico Joe.

It’s a real shame for James that Tivoli was spun, as this horse was sitting the best out of his three rides in 14th place after cross country. But James’ two other mounts Parker, sitting in 21st place, and Jumbo’s Jake, sitting in 26th place, both looked wonderful this morning during the jog, and it’s still a huge achievement to bring two out of three mounts into Sunday’s show jumping at Rolex. All of Buck Davidson’s three mounts were accepted, and he heads into show jumping in excellent position with Ballynoe Castle RM setting in third place. The crowd waited anxiously to hear if Reggie would be accepted, and there was a huge cheer when that confirmation was made. The crowd is really pulling for Buck this weekend, who is the highest-placed American rider heading into show jumping. Buck is also sitting in eighth place with Mar De Amor and 23rd place with Park Trader.

Buck Davidson is sitting in third place with Ballynoecastle RM.

Quimbo looked incredible this morning and very fresh. Andrew gave him a pat on the nose to settle the horse as he pranced a little, showing that he looks in fine form to seal the deal and take the Rolex win this afternoon. Andrew said yesterday in the show jumping that this horse is a very good show jumper, so it’s hard to bet against him. Should things go awry with Quimbo, Andrew also has a chance to clinch the win with his second-placed horse, Calico Joe, although Andrew said this horse is not as solid of a show jumper as Quimbo. Buck has an excellent chance sitting in third place with Ballynoecastle RM, and, of course, we can’t count out William Fox-Pitt and Seacookie TSF — who looked lovely this morning — sitting in fourth place. Will Faudree, who is in fifth place with Pawlow, looked very dapper this morning; someone standing next to me commented that he was “bringing sexy back.”

Will Faudree is sitting in fifth place with Pawlow.

Quite a few horses looked very fresh this morning. Sal Dali hauled Beth Perkins down the jog lane and looked like he was ready to go around cross country again. Jan Byyny’s Syd Kent also looked very keen and ready to go; she heads into show jumping in 13th place. Kendal Lehari — who won our Ballsy Ride of the Day Award yesterday — wins Best Dressed today. She rocked a hot pink dress that someone standing near me observed matched the color of the geraniums lining the jog lane. Daniel Clasing’s Houston, who skipped around cross country yesterday for a double clear in his four-star debut, also looked ready to go, and Lynn Symansky’s Donner looked brilliant. It will be an exciting finale to Rolex this afternoon. Show jumping starts at 1:15 p.m. Stay tuned for much more.

Kendal Lehari sported a fabulous pink dress with Daily Edition.

Quiz Contest Presented by Tredstep Ireland

By on Apr 28, 2013 8:00 am -

Name this bum!

 

Since you all were so inquisitive with our last quiz contest… here’s another!

The theme of our quiz contest is “name that bum” in light of the next sponsor prize. EN sponsor, Tredstep Ireland, wants to reward the first person who can guess the Rolex Kentucky Rider who owns this photo-worthy rear.

Carefully review the photo and enter the contest by telling us who is pictured in the photo in the comment section below. The first person to guess correctly wins! Please give us your email in your comment so we can contact you! 

What’s up for grabs? A pair of the brand NEW Symphony Breeches by Tredstep Ireland and their Futura Sport Top! Also don’t forget to stop by the Bit of Britain tent to visit Tredstep Ireland at Rolex Kentucky!

 

Sunday Show Jumping Links from ERS-Eventing.com

By on Apr 28, 2013 12:33 am -

Casual

Well, after spending a full day of watching (and mentally) riding Rolex cross country yesterday, I’m feeling a mixture of exhaustion and elation. It was everything a 4* promises to be, and more. There were thrills, there were a few spills, there were some unforgettable rides from younger inexperienced pairs and there were also examples of excellent horsemanship from riders we know and respect. I have to give a shout out to a few people who I thought really shone, namely Meghan O’Donoghue at her first 4*, Lynn Symansky for absolutely smoking it on her beautiful Donner, and Kristin Schmolze for taking Rox around his first 4* with total class. Way to go girls!

Jogs are held at 8:30 AM EST, and Show Jumping doesn’t start until 1:15, starting from the bottom up. Some of the riders in the top ten have a little breathing room, but that doesn’t mean things won’t get shaken up tomorrow over the colored poles, so keep on your toes!

DON’T FORGET! All your Rolex needs will be met by moving your eyes to the right, and a little up, where we have all the links you could ever want. Additionally, the Rolex Guide 2013 will be updated all weekend long with all the information you can handle!

ROLEX LINKS:

[Website]  [Ride Times] [Live Scores]

[Watch via USEF Network]   [Watch via FEI TV]

Other Events this Weekend:

Fresno County HT: [Website] [Ride Times][Live Scores]

Loudoun Hunt PC HT: [Website] [Ride Times][Live Scores]

University of New Hampshire HT: [Website][Live Scores]

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Maddie Blackman had a rough day yesterday, only to find out that Gordy was injured, so props to her for retiring and Get Well Soon Gordy!

Andrew Nicholson Poised to Take Top 1-2 After XC (with Photo Gallery!)

Nicholson Makes Child’s Play of Rolex Cross Country

Nicholson Chasing Grand Slam

Lounge Interview with Boyd & Caitlin

Postcard from Rolex Day Three

Did you see  Buck Davidson, Maddie Blackman and Kendal Lehari sporting new and cool looking XC vests yesterday? Tipperary has launched a new vest, which is sure to become one of your favorites! A select group of dealers will be stocking the new Eventer Pro 3015 vest at Rolex. The new Eventer Pro 3015 has an improved anatomical fit-mobility with patent pending EVOLUTION FOAM that conforms to each individual athletes body shape and size. You can find out more about the vest HERE.

Daniel Clasing Talks About the Eventer Pro 3015 Vest

Since you’ve got a good long time between jogs and the beginning of Show Jumping…Tredstep Ireland will be showcasing their new line of breeches at the Bit of Britain booth this year! The symphony clothing collection is inspired by the extraordinary beauty and precision of symphonic music. So if you’re at Rolex stop by BoB and try them on and feel the music!

Even Nick Gauntlett, the former rider of Chilli Morning, was impressed with Quimbo. (How could you not be?!)

 

 

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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.

Eventers Reign at the Kentucky Reining Cup [Update: With Feedback from Reader]

By on Apr 28, 2013 12:18 am -

Rain is expected Sunday at Rolex, but we were indoors on Saturday night for the Kentucky Reining Cup, where eventers Bobby Costello, David O’Connor, Sinead Halpin, and Allison Springer tried their hands at reining.  Apologies to Bobby for missing his rides, but David’s, Sinead’s, and Allison’s videos are below.  Enjoy!

I give Allison extra props for riding in a helmet and without spurs.  Allison did finish with the best score of the eventers I believe, although her horse was by far the best and, from what I can tell, in reining the horse makes all the difference.  Go reining.

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Update: Here’s an email from one reader of this post, published without comment [sic].

“I just read the post on the website about eventers trying their hand at Reining last night.  I was shocked and sadden by the writer, John’s comment…..,” from what I can tell, in reining the horse makes all the difference.”

Really John???? Come on, as a “horseman ” you should know better than to make a comment that sounds so completely ignorant of horsemanship, competing and riding in general.   The same could be said by someone unfamiliar with our sport —-  in eventing the horse makes all the difference.   If you are going to cover and post a story about another horse sport, please do so with some respect.
I almost posted this on the evening nation face book page – but decided to give John the opportunity to post an apology.   This was the only email address I found. I really hope this makes it to John – whoever he is, and we see an apology posted.”

Rolex Saturday Interviews [Updated: More Videos]

By on Apr 27, 2013 9:12 pm -

Click on the pictures or text links to view the videos:

Meghan O’Donoghue Interview

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Buck Davidson Interview

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Daniel Clasing Interview: 2013 Rolex Kentucky

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Kristi Nunnink Interview

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Kristin Schmolze Interview

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Peter Barry Interview

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Caitlin Silliman Interview

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Jan Byyny Interview

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Hawley Bennett-Awad Interview

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Emily Renfroe Interview

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James Alliston Interview

See more videos at [Rolex Kentucky Youtube]

A Tale of Two Courses

By on Apr 27, 2013 5:59 pm -


Houston, we have liftoff

It seemed as though the afternoon group rode a completely different course than their morning competitors on Saturday at Rolex.  As Jenni mentioned in her afternoon recap post, only 10 of 20 afternoon starters finished, whereas 18 of 21 morning starters crossed the finish line.  Fifty percent compared to eighty-five percent is a huge difference and, although there’s no way to be certain, I would point to a variety of factors as causing the difference.  First, more first timers rode in the afternoon.    Weather may have played a factor as well.  A light rain started in the afternoon, but all reports are that the footing held up well throughout the day.  I tend to think that afternoon rides should be better than the morning ones because the afternoon riders have a chance to learn from mistakes made by the morning pairs, but perhaps the afternoon riders got lulled into a bit of a false sense of security as they watched the morning rides.  Three for five of the afternoon riders who had morning rides came home clear in the afternoon and the other two were eliminated.  Interestingly, Buck noted in the press conference that he feels that the long lunch break takes a bit of the wind out of the sails back in the barns.  Buck didn’t lose any wind in his sails, saving the best ride for last with Ballynoecastle RM.

Here are a few notes from the Saturday press conference:

–Saturday night’s leader (and runner-up) Andrew Nicholson said he was quite amazed when he asked Quimbo to up the pace at 8 minutes and Quimbo responded by galloping on.  He said he was worried about the Spanish sport horse’s fitness level.  Andrew said show jumping isn’t Calico Joe’s best phase but he does surprise Andrew sometimes.  In good news for fans who want to see Andrew and William face off for the Rolex Grand Slam at Badminton, Andrew said of Quimbo’s show-jumping: “If I ride him half right he normally does the rest himself.“

–William said “who knows” when asked what happened with dressage leader Chilli Morning, who stopped jumping into the first water and was then retired by William.  William said that the stallion might have surprised himself at the double hedges right before the water and just shut down mentally.  William said he decided to retire because the 13 year old Chilli wasn’t here for the experience. William described Derek Di Grazia’s track as “very good” and said the challenge was that the distances were slightly unpredictable.  He described the footing as excellent as a testament to the hard work done all year long by the Kentucky Horse Park team.

–When asked about the significance of having a good ride around Kentucky with Reggie, Buck said that Reggie’s career was deeply affected by the stop here at the World Games.  He said Reggie is a “different horse” after having wind surgery last year to repair a breathing problem.  Buck said the footing was perfect and the air quality (temperature) was excellent.

–26,872 people showed up in attendance for cross-country today.  It felt like the crowd was a little thinner than past years, with the rain predictions perhaps providing a deterrent.

Here’s video of the press conference:

 

A few notes of ridiculous commentary on the day:

–Two Canadian horses, Daily Edition and Gin N Juice, attacked the course with unbelievable enthusiasm.  Their riders, Kendal and Hawley, were probably the only two riders on the course who couldn’t wait for their horses to get a bit tired.  “Ginny” never seemed to wear out, and Hawley is probably still trying to pull her up.  Daily Edition “Ed” got better and better for Kendal and this pair finished their first Rolex in great form.  Team Canada is still getting used to their new coach, but all 5 Canadian starters finished today and four out of five moved up.  Canada just absolutely loves riding here in Kentucky.  Adding in Jessica Phoenix and Exponential, who withdrew before the day, I would also guess that the 2014 Canadian WEG team will look a lot like the Canadian team that rode around Rolex today (Update: Should also note that Riddle Master and Port Authority aren’t at Rolex this weekend but they will get a lot of attention for Canada in the lead up to WEGs).  I would argue that only New Zealand had a better day as a country.

–It’s Saturday at a 4*, and every single pair that left the start box walked back to the barns today.  That’s a tribute to great riding, great course design, great course building, and a little bit of Lady Luck.  Course designer Derek Di Grazia and course builder Mick Costello and his team are becoming experts at building courses that cause problems but not injuries.  In particular, I’d point to the increasingly heavy use of brush, and stacking the more technical questions earlier in the course as two factors that saved lives today.

–One of three riders who we have been giving attention to as pretty darn injured this weekend finished the course.  Lynn Symansky rode with a badly broken pinkie finger and a sore back and made the course look easy.  Donner looked like he was ready to tackle any four-star in the world.  Lynn crossed the finish line grimacing in pain.  Boyd could have and would have finished if Trading Aces hadn’t just run out of gas three fences from home.  Word is that Boyd is having surgery on Tuesday to repair his badly damaged ankle and I’m sure he was going through excruciating pain galloping around the course.  I have no idea how Marilyn got back on a horse, much less half way around a four-star cross-country course just a few days after separating her shoulder.  That was one of the toughest performances I have ever seen and I was sad to see it end with a fall at the Hollow.


All reports are that the EN tailgate was a great success, major thanks to Leslie and Jenni for organizing

–Jenni mentioned this in her afternoon recap, but I want to emphasize the fact that we saw some amazing horsemanship today from all of the riders.  Mary and Boyd in particular showed great horsemanship by pulling up just a few fences from home when they sensed their horses weren’t 100% full of run.  Both were already carrying a stop.  Imagine being a world-class competitor and working your entire spring (heck, your entire life) to get around a course and then stopping with home just a few hundred yards away.

–Jennie Brannigan noted on Facebook that Ping’s bone scan went really well and that “he’ll be back in action sooner than later.”

—Will Faudree and Pawlow might not get a lot of press this evening because of all the other story lines, but Will rode spectacularly and the pair is just one phase away from a phenomenal weekend.  They head into show jumping in 5th.

—Buck clearly led the way for the United States today, with three clear rides, two double-clear, and heading into tomorrow with two horses in the top-8.  Only Andrew is having a better weekend on the scoreboard.

–Great Britain’s James Alliston made up for a tough 2012 Rolex with three brilliant rides today.  James showed his talent by expertly riding three very different horses and I couldn’t have been more impressed.

–If you know this person, please have them email [email protected] and I’ll send them some cool swag.  Photo courtesy of Erin Sylvester.  And yes, he did go around getting riders (including P Dutty!) to autograph his body.

–Peter Atkins and Henny went clear with 1.6 time penalties.  What more can you say about Peter and Henny?  They have an absolute unbelievable partnership and they show it off every single time around the hardest courses in the world.  Peter was wearing his helmet cam, but he mentioned to me that it might have gotten turned off before his ride.  Fingers crossed that it was turned on.  Another Peter, Peter Barry, also showed off his unbelievable horse with a clear ride aboard Kilrodan Abbott for Canada.

–I want to take a moment to thank the incredible volunteers and Rolex team for making this even possible today.  This sport simply isn’t possible without you and all of us are extremely grateful that you spent your Saturday making Rolex happen.

–This competition seems like it comes down to the jog tomorrow.  If Quimbo passes, and I have absolutely no reason to believe he won’t, I think Andrew is obviously the overwhelming favorite to win, especially because Andrew has such confidence in this horse’s show jumping.  If for some reason Quimbo drops out, then the competition opens up.

The jog starts at 8:30am and show jumping starts at 1:15pm on Sunday.

Go eventing.

Andrew Nicholson and Quimbo Lead After Rolex Cross Country

By on Apr 27, 2013 3:52 pm -

Andrew Nicholson and Quimbo take the Rolex lead. Photo by Samantha Clark.

After a relatively quiet morning, Derek Di Grazia’s cross-country course took its toll on the second group of riders at Rolex this afternoon, with four riders falling — with no major injuries — and five horses retiring on course. The overnight leaderboard also saw a major shakeup, with only four of the top 10 horses after the dressage remaining in the top 10. Most notably, leaders William Fox-Pitt and Chilli Morning retired on course at the first element of the HSBC Water Park. Chilli looked very peaky at the Curving Brushes at 6AB and never really seemed to lock on at the first water complex. William’s retirement on course means Andrew Nicholson and Quimbo move into the lead thanks to a brilliant double clear cross-country trip. Saturday turned into moving day for the Rolex field, presenting an opportunity for anyone to skyrocket up the leaderboard with a good ride. Buck moved up a collective 17 places on all three horses today, moving up from 8th to 3rd on Ballynoecastle RM, from 20th to 8th on Mar De Amor, and remaining in 23rd with Park Trader. Hawley Bennett moved up 18 places from 29th to 11th by coming in just one second over the optimum time with Gin & Juice.  Kendal Lehari and Daily Edition moved up more than any other pair by jumping 20 places from 36th to 16th on a double-clear.

Andrew and Quimbo’s double clear was one of three this afternoon and 10 total double clears for the day. While the afternoon group included many of our Rolex first-timers, it also included seasoned pairs who were unexpectedly caught out. In addition to William and Chilli Morning retiring, Mary King also called it a day with Fernhill Urco at the Horse Park Shelters at 26AB just four fences from home. Mary had a runout earlier on course at the out element at the Head of the Lake and had been tied for fifth place overnight. Boyd Martin made the same decision to retire with Trading Aces at the Horse Park Shelters after Oscar began to tire badly toward the end of the course. Boyd, who was sitting in 12th place overnight, gave Oscar a brilliant ride the whole way around, and the horse looked very good early in the course. Oscar needed 30 seconds more of run today, but he showed earlier on the course that he’s definitely a possible team horse for Boyd in the future.  These two retirement decisions from Mary and Boyd were true displays of horsemanship.

We reported earlier this morning that Phillip Dutton would not ride Mighty Nice, as he had decided to save the horse for another day. Phillip changed his mind and decided to ride Happy after all, perhaps after so many riders in the top 10 were caught out this afternoon. Unfortunately, Phillip and Happy had a runout at the Bridgestone Park Question and subsequently retired on course. The heartbreaker of the afternoon came when Allie Knowles and Last Call, the first to go after the lunch break, had a rough ride to the Ditch Brush at fence 12, where Fergie banged herself on the fence. Allie and Fergie then had a runout at the first element of the Sunken Road at fence 13, and were then eliminated after more stops while trying to take the option. Allie and Last Call were the highest-placed American pair coming into cross country in fourth place, and today was just sadly not their day.

Buck Davidson and Ballynoecastle RM move into third place. Photo by Samantha Clark.

There were four falls in all this afternoon and five total for the day, with the most unfortunate fall coming when Marilyn Little took a spill from RF Demeter when the mare got her legs tangled at the out element of the Land Rover Hollow. Marilyn was riding with a Grade 3 separated right shoulder and looked like she was in immense pain when she fell. But she got up quickly, and both she and Demeter are fine. They were tied for fifth place coming into cross country. Ronald Zabala-Goetschel also had a scary fall from Wise Equestrian Master Rose when the horse hung a leg at the Head of the Lake. Rachel Jurgens fell from Ziggy at the first element of the HSBC Water Park, and Heather Gillette and Our Questionnaire fell at the Head of the Lake. Becky Holder fell from Can’t Fire Me in the morning session at the last water. Luckily all horses and riders were up and looked fine.

Buck Davidson gets a huge shoutout for coming home clear on all three of his rides, with double clear trips on Ballynoecastle RM and Mar De Amor. He moves up to third place with Ballynoecastle RM and eighth place with Mar De Amor. James Alliston also came home clear with all three of his rides and had a double clear trip on Parker. To bring three rides to Rolex and bring all of them home safely is an incredible achievement — HUGE kudos to both James and Buck. The Ballsy Ride of the Day Award goes to Kendal Lehari and Daily Edition, who had a blazing fast double clear trip around and quite a few Superman moments. Meghan O’Donoghue and Pirate also had a brilliant trip around their first Rolex, and Meghan rode like a seasoned pro.

Looking at the results from the perspective of nationality, there are five U.S. pairs in the top 10 after the cross-country (Buck on two, Will on Pawlow, Lynn on Donner, and Kristi Nunnink on R-Star), three pairs from New Zealand (Andrew with his two, and Jonelle), and two from Great Britain (William and James). All three Kiwi pairs to start the competition (Andrew with Quimbo and Calico Joe and Jonelle with The Deputy) finish the day in the top seven. Canada’s highest placed rider is Hawley in 11th, but four out of Canada’s five starters moved up on the day and all of them finished the course.

Five of the top 10 horses after the dressage were eliminated or retired. Going into show jumping, Andrew Nicholson is 7.2 points ahead of third-placed Buck Davidson and Quimbo going into the show jumping. In total,19 of 21 starters in the morning finished the course, with 18 coming home clear. Just 10 of 20 afternoon starters finished, with only eight coming home clear. The course definitely proved to be very challenging, especially when looking at the afternoon rides, but the course was still incredibly safe, with no falls resulting in major injuries. Stay tuned for a full report from the press conference.

[Full Scores]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ_Ouhc3g4E
Andrew Nicholson talks about his rides