Classic Eventing Nation

Sally Spickard contributed to this report.

Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous, winners of the CCI4*-S. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.

Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous repeated history today at Red Hills International, clinching a second wire-to-wire win in the CCI4*-S. After besting the three-star in 2015, they first won the marquee division in 2018 on a score of 36.0. They bettered their margin from that year today by a whopping 13.6 points, finishing on their dressage score of 22.4 — 10+ points ahead of the nearest competition.

The key cross country day departure between 2021 and past years’ editions is that the time today was doable. Historically, Mike Etherington-Smith’s twisty-turny pinball chute of a course has made time faults a near inevitability. The list of riders who have made optimum time in the four-star since 2013, when we began keeping notes, is a very short one:

• Jacob Fletcher and Atlantic Domino in 2019
• Whitney Mahloch with Military Mind in 2018
• Selena O’Hanlon with Foxwood High in 2013 and 2019
• Selena O’Hanlon and A First Romance in 2013

By comparison, nine horses made the 4*-S time today, with another five adding four or fewer time penalties. Marilyn and “Kitty,” a 16-year-old Oldenburg mare (Carry Gold x Richardia) owned by Jacqueline Mars and Phoebe and Michael Manders, made the time at the level today for their first time ever, crossing the finish two seconds under the optimum time of 6:44. There’s no better momentum-builder than a top result at the first major event of the season as this pair takes aim at Kentucky.

Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous, winners of the CCI4*-S. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.

“Kitty gave me a wonderful feeling on course today,” Marilyn said. “As is expected at Red Hills, the course presented plenty of challenges throughout and was a good combination of substantial fences and combinations with strong technical questions. There was a lot to do, but it was wonderful to feel Kitty so fit, confident, and rideable.”

Marilyn credited a new warm-up routine to get RF Scandalous’ head in the game ahead of cross country, allowing her to set out with the intent to meet her minute markers head on. “Instead of feeling that I needed to protect her from the pace until I was sure she was settled in the task, for the first time I felt able to let our first minute be one of our fastest.”

Expressing gratitude to her team and support crew, Marilyn says it was a key success today in many ways, and she’s “incredibly proud” of RF Scandalous. “Kitty and I owe so much to the many people that allow us the support to continue learning and trying to play the game better.”

Colleen Loach and Qorry Blue D’Argouges finished 2nd in the CCI4*-S. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.

Show jumping, rather than cross country, proved to be the sorting hat of this year’s four-star field with lots of scoreboard shuffling taking place on Saturday. The second- and third-placed runners up made big moves up the scoreboard from where they began on Friday.

Finishing second is Colleen Loach with Qorry Blue D’Argouges, Peter Barry’s 17-year-old Selle Français gelding (Mr. Blue x Hardie Du Bourg). The pair climbed from 10th after dressage to third after show jumping and bumped up one more spot when previously second-placed Allie Knowles and Ms. Poppins picked up 20 at #13B, the Hammock Table to Skinny Brush.

“He felt great!,” Colleen said. “He’s so dependable on the cross country, you sort of point and shoot. A track like this suits him because he’s easy to turn since he’s not going super fast.” Colleen will now head to The Fork as her last stop before Kentucky.

Leslie Law and Voltaire De Tre finished 3rd in the CCI4*-S. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.

Rounding out the top three is Leslie Law and Voltaire De Tre, a 12-year-old Selle Français gelding (Gentleman IV x Jasmina Du Fresne) owned by Tre Brook. They started in 15th before moving to fourth and ultimately third.

“He is a horse that is always going to move up,” Leslie Law said. “Although he was 15th he was in a very competitive place, and that’s the main thing, after dressage to have him in a competitive position, because then, if he’s only fractions of points behind the other horses, he’s going to get them in the next two phases.”

The pair was second here at Red Hills in 2020. Leslie attributes Voltaire De Tre’s success to becoming a “real seasoned cross-country horse.”

“He’s an absolute joy to ride cross country,” he says. “Over the years I’ve ridden a lot of horses, in Olympic games, in world championships, in European championships, and I think he has to be one of the best cross country horses I’ve ever ridden.”

Lauren Nicholson and Landmark’s Monte Carlo finished 4th in the CCI4*-S. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.

Karl Slezak and Fernhill Wishes finished 5th in the CCI4*-S. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.

Of 25 cross country starters, 18 pairs went clear. Two pairs picked up 20, another two had two refusal, there was one fall and two retirements on-course. Fence #6C, a coffin, proved a sticky spot, as did #11A, a skinny to a drop. Four horses were withdrawn before cross country. An exciting addition to the cross country this year was the addition of 18 frangible jumps across its six levels of courses.

CCI3*-S 

Tamie Smith and Solaguayre California. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.

Tamie Smith and Solaguayre California, a 10-year-old Argentine Sport Horse/Holsteiner mare (Casparo x Solaguayre Calandria, by Casall) owned by Jullienne Guariglia, also enjoyed a pillar to post win in the CCI3*-S. They finished on a score of 24.1.

“California is an animal cross country,” Tamie said of the mare. “You wouldn’t think so if you watched her warm up but she gets out there and eats up the cross country. Super proud of her.”

Leslie Law held onto second with Lady Chatterly, a 10-year-old Holsteiner mare owned by Jackie and Steve Brown. Sara Kozumplik Murphy was third with Devil Munchkin, her own 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood/Thoroughbred gelding.

Sara Kozumplik Murphy and Devil Munchkin finished 3rd in the CCI3*-S. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.

Rebecca Brown and Dassett Choice finished 4th in the CCI3*-S. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.

Rebecca Brown and Dassett Choice finished 4th in the CCI3*-S. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.

Hannah Sue Burnett and Capitol HIM finished 5th in the CCI3*-S. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.

CCI2*-S 

Alyssa Phillips and Cornelius Bo, winners of the CCI2*-S. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.

Red Hills marks the eighth win in a row for 7-year-old Cornelius Bo, who Alyssa Phillips and her mother imported from Germany in 2019. After taking some time to build a partnership with the gelding, who lives on the spookier side, Alyssa brought him out to test the waters in 2020. Soon enough, he came into his own and discovered his love for the game. This weekend in the CCI2*, Alyssa said, was about confidence.

Alyssa Phillips & Cornelius Bo. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.

“I came in and wanted him to have a good go, never having been to Red Hills,” she said. “I knew that he’s never run through the trees or anything and with his spookiness that can be a factor. I wanted to give him a good go on the flat and improve my score from the two-star at Virginia last year. I’ve just been wanting to give him the best go possible to keep him confident and I think he’ll definitely do an Intermediate at some point this year. I’m not trying to push him because he is really talented.”

Alyssa won the Advanced division in 2020 with Oskar.

Lauren Nicholson and I’ll Have Another finished second on 27.6; Caroline Martin and King’s Especiale finished 3rd on 28.4.

Advanced

Jennie Brannigan says the time off in 2020 has helped her shift priorities and rebalance her life — and that extra bit of focus showed this weekend as she takes home the Advanced win with Tim and Nina Gardner’s 11-year-old German Sport Horse FE Lifestyle, also finishing fourth and sixth with Stella Artois and Twilightslastgleam, respectively.

“(FE Lifestyle) was just a champ all weekend,” she said. “He is one of my fastest horses and he really felt good the whole way around. I was thrilled with how (Stella Artois) went; it was probably the nicest round I’ve ever had on her.”

Jennie credits a lot of changes at home — reducing the number of horses in her program, focusing on honing her skills, taking more dressage lessons — with allowing her to add more balance to a lifestyle that used to center around organized chaos.

“I used to thrive on the stress and the chaos, and if I wasn’t going flat-out I wasn’t happy,” she reflected. “I’ve really learned that working harder doesn’t always mean you’re doing better, and so I was all about the break because it gave me the opportunity to redo my life a little.”

Jennie spent massive amounts of time learning from Erik Duvander and James Burtwell, and says the extra focus on the flat has her feeling that much more prepared to take on a season that will see her return to Kentucky — and the five-star level — for the first time since 2015.

Maya Black finished second with Miks Master C on 33.1, followed by Liz Halliday-Sharp and Cooley Moonshine on 35.2.

Elsewhere on the horse trials scoreboard, Katie Malensek and Landjaeger, her own 7 year old Oldenburg gelding, won Open Intermediate; Hannah Sue Burnett and Coolrock Wacko Jacko, Christa Schmidt’s 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, won Open Preliminary; and Sallie Johnson and Fernhill DiCaprio, her own 7-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, won Preliminary Rider.

Red Hills International: Website, Results, Course Maps, EN’s Coverage

CCI4*-S Final Top 10: 

CCI3*-S Final Top 10:

CCI2*-S Final Top 10:

Advanced Final Top 10:

Good morning from cross country Sunday at Red Hills International Horse Trials! For many horses this is their first big ask of the season, and as usual course designers Mike Etherington-Smith and David O’Connor have assembled a stout set of questions to be pondered and hopefully answered correctly. Here is the link to Cross Country App’s presentation of courses for all the levels, including a virtual guided course walk with Mike for the CCI4*-S and Advanced tracks. Many thanks to Shems Hamilton for the photos.

The 2021 edition marks Mike’s seventh year as designer of the CCI4* track, with credit to builders Tyson Rementer and Levi Ryckewaert for creating a course that melds seamlessly with the Florida landscape. The pandemic has necessitated a departure from the usual protocol, though, as Mike explains:

“It was somewhat surreal having a facetime call with David, Tyson, and Levi setting the fences for this year’s 4* and Advanced course whilst sitting back here in the UK. I admit to a twinge of sadness at not being able to get to the event this year but things should be very different in 12 months time as we head back to normality.

“Fortunately, I am very familiar with the venue and can come up with plans for the courses without having to make a pre-visit even though it is obviously not quite the same and I wouldn’t want to do it like this every year. Nevertheless, I have complete faith in the team to produce the courses that everyone wants at this time of year: to ensure that the distances are correct, the lines work, and the small but significant final adjustments, for example, the cutting and shaping of the brush and the angles, are what they should be.

“A few changes have been made but the course still runs right handed as last year. This way round has a good feel to it and seems to flow better than going left handed. Having no sponsor tent opens up other options towards the end of the course where the last combination will be and this may even remain an option going forward.

“The change to running the cross country last for all classes will hopefully prove popular, there is no question that competitors prefer this for short format classes.

“Much work continues to be done on the footing, which I am told looks the best it has ever has and is a great credit to all involved. Credit also needs to go to Jane and Marvin and their excellent team for managing to put the event together in tough circumstances. Running events is like walking a financial tightrope, something I know only too well having run events for 30+ years, and so hopefully their efforts will be justly rewarded – the sport needs a variety of good events.

“My thanks as always to Tyson and Levi for their course building skills, Corinne and her team for all the fence dressing, to the team from the City Parks Department who look after the venue throughout the year, and to David who, in my absence, has very kindly set the fences on my courses.

“As always, I hope that everyone has a good time, that the courses ride well, and that this provides the good early season run that athletes and horses want. I shall be watching from afar and look forward to the feedback.”

Red Hills International: Website, Ride Times, Schedule, Live Scores, Course Maps, EN’s Coverage, EN’s Instagram, EN’s Twitter

Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Chris Barnard challenged riders both with his jumping questions as well as the clock on today’s Red Hills show jumping track, prompting a leaderboard shuffle that produced a nearly all-new top five after phase two.

Marilyn Little, also an experienced show jumper, and RF Scandalous (Carry Gold – Richardia, by Lario) managed to hang on their early lead and even lengthen their margin thanks to a clear round inside the time. The Kentucky-bound pair will have 8.9 penalties of leeway around Mike Etherington-Smith’s cross country track tomorrow, remaining on their dressage score of 22.4. “Kitty”, owned by Ms. Jacqueline Mars and Phoebe and Michael Manders, and Marilyn were tapped as the pair to beat this weekend, and they’ve thus far made good on that promise.

In total, 10 out of 28 CCI4*S combinations produced clear rounds inside the time allowed of 83 seconds. These hard-to-come-by clear rounds were valuable, allowing several pairs to leap from outside the top 10 after dressage to inside the top 5 after show jumping.

Originally seventh after dressage, Allie Knowles and Katherine O’Brien’s Ms. Poppins moved into striking distance in second place, adding no penalties to their dressage score of 31.3. This is the first FEI event since 2019 for both Ms. Poppins and Allie; the 10-year-old Westphalian mare by Congress, out of Copa Cabana (Champion Du Lys) competed only in National divisions in 2020, a lighter year for Allie, who gave birth to a beautiful baby girl last fall.

“It’s great to be back, that’s for sure,” Allie reflected. “It’s been interesting because a lot of things I think are better. I rode for most of my pregnancy but I didn’t compete at all because COVID hit and by the time we reopened I was too pregnant. I think a lot of things are a bit better bc I had time to reflect on it and just train and mostly I’ve just gained a new perspective. It’s way cooler now that I have a kid!”

Allie Knowles and Ms. Poppins. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

It wouldn’t be Allie if she didn’t tick every box of preparation en route to this weekend, her first FEI back since her pregnancy. “I kind of made a goal to be out at Grand Oaks in January, and I’ve been out there every weekend for the last eight weekends competing,” she said. “I’ve gone through the paces, I’ve fallen off, gone off course, I’ve won and lost and each weekend I feel stronger, sharper, and a little further away from having a c-section.”

As for Ms. Poppins, a mare who Allie knows like the back of her hand, having campaigned her since she was four, Mike Etherington-Smith’s twisty, tight track with “lots of natural half-halts” should suit her catty style just fine. “She’s a real catty, small mare that has a ton of heart and never pulls,” Allie explained. “She’s super light to ride, she goes in a Nathe bit in all three phases. So I don’t need to ride hard, I need to ride with finesse and efficiency. She’s able to make short turns on a twistier track and I can really keep riding forward.”

Allie’s got her eye on competing in the CCI4*S at Kentucky, near her home base in Lexington, with at least one of her top horses, but she hasn’t made a final decision yet.

Colleen Loach and Qorry Blue D’Argouges. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Kentucky-bound Qorry Blue D’Argouges (Mr. Blue – Hardie Du Bourg, by Count Ivor) also produced a clear round inside the time for Canadian rider Colleen Loach. Owned by Peter Barry, the gray Selle Francais gelding is 17 this year and will look ahead next to the CCI5* at Kentucky in April. Second to go in the ring today, Colleen said she figured time might be tight, so she made a plan to go for it. “I knew I would need to be a bit speedier,” she said. “Chris (Barnard) had a really great course put together. You really had to play with your broken lines to get the distances and pay attention to the clock. (‘Qorry’) listened and jumped really, really well.”

Leslie Law and Voltaire De Tre. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Leslie Law and Voltaire de Tre were also rewarded for their efforts today, moving from 15th into fourth thanks to a double clear effort to remain on a score of 33.8. The 12-year-old Selle Francais gelding by Gentleman IV and owned by Tré Book was second here at Red Hills in 2020.

Kaylawna Smith Cook and Passepartout. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Also moving and shaking their way up the board are West coast pair and fellow new mother Kaylawna Smith-Cook and Passepartout, who collected a clear round to move into fifth on their dressage score of 33.9. Passepartout (Pasco – Preschel, by Pardon), a 12-year-old German Sport Horse Gelding owned by Mark and Gretchen Cook, has won at the CCI4*S level and has one CCI4*L under his belt with Tamie Smith so far, but this is the first start at the level for him and Kaylawna.

Can we take a moment to honor all of these incredibly strong women who have successfully, somehow, managed to have a baby and turn around to make their way back to the top levels of an insanely demanding sport? In a sport that does not wait for a woman to return from maternity leave, new mothers have a daunting ladder ahead of them when they make their comeback. My proverbial hat is off to all of you beautiful, brave, inspiring women – you are all amazing.

Kaylawna, who was named to the US Eventing Emerging Athlete Program Training List this year, will also contest the CCI4*S at Kentucky in April with “Pasco”.

Tamie Smith and Solaguayre California. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Looking to the CCI3*S, dressage leaders Tamie Smith and Solaguayre California (Casparo – Solaguayre Calandria, by Casall), a 10-year-old Argentine Sport Horse/Holsteiner mare owned by Jullienne Guariglia, retained their lead with one rail down for a two-day score of 24.1.

Leslie Law and Lady Chatterley. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

2020 USEA Mare of the Year Lady Chatterly (Connor 48 – Jucy, by Mytens) piloted by Leslie Law and owned by Lesley Grant-Law, Jackie Brown and Steve Brown, also holds position in second on a score of 25.5.

Sara Kozumplik Murphy and Devil Munchkin. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Sara Kozumplik Murphy and her 13-year-old KWPN gelding, Devil Munchkin (Cariso 3 – Rhona, by No Ski), move from early fifth into second place with a score of 26.8. The CCI3*S show jumping also proved to be tough in terms of clear rounds; 13 of 35 pairs collected clear rounds inside the time.

Alyssa Phillips and Cornelius Bo. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

In the CCI2*S, Alyssa Phillips and Cornelius Bo (Concours Complet – Charlotte), who at seven years old is showing promising talent as a competitive horse in all three phases, retained their dressage lead thanks to a clear show jumping round today, remaining on a 27.3 heading into tomorrow’s cross country. Closely in pursuit is Lauren Nicholson with two rides, I’ll Have Another in second on a 27.6 and Hindine on a 27.7 in third.

Jennie Brannigan and FE Lifestyle. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Looking to the Advanced division, Jennie Brannigan will also hang on to her lead aboard Tim and Nina Gardner’s FE Lifestyle (Leo von Faelz – Berina A, by Brandenburger), taking her dressage score of 30.2 into tomorrow’s conclusion of competition. Liz Halliday-Sharp and Cooley Moonshine broke their original tie for second to hold the place on their own with a two-phase score of 31.6, followed by Maya Black moving from fifth into third on a 33.1 with Miks Master C.

Tomorrow’s cross country track designed by Mike Etherington-Smith promises to be exciting as always. “I think the course looks really nice,” CCI4*S rider Colleen Loach described. “It’s very inviting with fair questions. They’re doing a great job aerating the footing and I’m excited to get out there.”

Keep an eye out for a course preview coming your way first thing in the morning, and for our concluding report tomorrow after competition finishes. Go Eventing.

Red Hills International: Website, Ride Times, Live Scores, Course Maps, EN’s Coverage