Classic Eventing Nation

Boyd Martin & Luke 140. Photo by Kim Miller.

Boyd Martin had only competed once at Galway Downs, many years ago and, by his own account, “I did terrible.” After clear show jumping rounds in the CCI4*-L today secured the win on Luke 140 and third on Long Island T, Martin has a far more favorable impression to replace that bad memory.

“I came out here thinking ‘Ludwig’ (Long Island T) might beat Luke this weekend. But it was Luke’s weekend and I’m really glad I brought him out here.” Martin said he’s been touting the horse’s international potential to his many-member owner syndicate for two years and “this weekend is the first real moment that proves it.” While Long Island T’s usual strong point, dressage, was off due to excess energy, Martin was thrilled with his cross-country and show jumping.

Boyd Martin & Long Island T. Photo by Kim Miller.

Martin said both horses’ experience set them up for 5* excursions and the overall experience will likely lead him back to Galway Downs from his East Coast base. “I’d like to come here every year. Especially for the young horses, it’s a great experience to fly out here. The cross-country course was very challenging and both horses learned a lot. I’d prefer a trip like this than going overseas. It’s cheaper and the standard of competition is just as high. Plus, it’s good to support our American events. Sometimes I think it’s a little easy to run off to Europe.”

Over the roll backs and fast-coming fences of designer Mark Donovan’s course, Martin incurred minor time faults with both horses to hold their first and third places after the first two phases. Luke 140 finished on a 31 and Long Island T on a 36.40.

Boyd Martin & Luke 140. Photo by Kim Miller.

Martin described California as like “being in another country because I don’t know anybody out here.” Californians knew him, though. Many described the chance to watch Boyd and fellow East Coast-based master Phillip Dutton as a riding lesson unto itself, even when they were just schooling in the warm-up.

Tamie Smith & Passepartout. Photo by Kim Miller.

A Fine First 4*

“You almost won your first 4,*” Tamie Smith leaned over to tell Passepartout after laying down a clean trip with .40 time faults. The horse’s next compliment came from USEF Eventing High Performance director Erik Duvander: “You know he is still just a baby, but he comes off like a professional.” Smith “absolutely” agreed with that assessment of her daughter Kaylawna Smith-Cook’s 11-year-old German Sporthorse. “That was the classiest round of all three phases. He did not put a footfall wrong.” They finished on a 32.40.

The California-based 2019 Pan Am Team gold medalist has strutted the West Coast’s special stuff for several years now. She shared some advice with Texas-based Rebecca Brown, who finished 4th in the 12-starter field on Dassett Choice. “You can be based anywhere, you just need the right team,” Smith said. “You need the trainers that can help you develop your system. Erik (Duvander) has helped me understand that.”

Rebecca Brown & Dassett Choice. Photo by Kim Miller.

Charlotte Babbitt & 2 AM. Photo by Kim Miller.

As appreciative as she is of Duvander, Smith was happy to “annihilate” his Adequan® USEF Futures Team Challenge squad. Smith captained Team Leslie, with USEF Developing and Emerging Rider Coach Leslie Law, and including Rebecca Brown and young rider Charlotte Babbitt. The Futures program is designed to build the unique skills required of team riding and to foster connections, coaching and guidance for international hopefuls. There’s room for rivalry, too. Duvander’s crew had won the initial outings and with #1-ranked U.S. eventer Liz Halliday-Sharp, fellow 4* rider Emilee Libby and young rider Sophie Click, it could be described “as a little stacked,” Smith noted. “We had three really good performances and it was really fun to win!”

Erin Kellerhouse & Woodford Reserve. Photo by Kim Miller.

Earning applause equal to the winner’s, Erin Kellerhouse and Woodford Reserve completed their first CCI4*-L on a 41.10. The score included only small time penalties and earned a fifth place finish. Based at Galway Downs year-round, Kellerhouse has been patiently developing the Irish Sport Horse up the levels, earning the appreciation of those who’ve witnessed their progress.

CCI4*-L Final Top 10: 

USEF CCI3*-L National Championship for Smith

In 2015, Smith hauled Mai Baum east, then onto the international radar by winning the (now 4*) CCI3*-L and USEF CCI3*-L National Championships at Fair Hill. Mai Baum went on to be Smith’s 2019 Pan Am Games partner and has already earned his qualifying score for Tokyo Olympic consideration.

Does Elliot-V have the same potential? “Absolutely! 100% yes.”

Tamie Smith & Elliot V. Photo by Kim Miller.

The 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood’s off-to-college owner Louisa Southworth declared his Thursday dressage test “magnificent” after watching in on the livestream. She drove to Temecula Saturday in time to see Smith don the USET pinque coat and win it all on a 30.20 that reflected just .40 in jumping time penalties.

Asia Vedder & Isi. Photo by Kim Miller.

Time faults on cross-country widened what was a very narrow dressage gap between runner-up Asia Vedder and Isi and Smith and Elliot-V. That grew with one rail at the liverpool, but Vedder remained thrilled with the finish. Outside of a break for hip replacement surgery earlier this year, Vedder and Isi have been progressing steadily and gaining the notice of several sport leaders. “He’s hard not to like,” she said of the Holsteiner.

She also raised eyebrows with a newer horse this weekend: Get Cheeky, with whom she scored a 16.40 in dressage and stands second in the Open Beginner Novice division that concludes Sunday. Get Cheeky was sourced by Elmar Lesche of Germany, Vedder noted, the same source as the third-place winner in the CCI2*-L, Helen Bouscaren’s Irish Pop.

James Alliston & Paper Jam. Photo by Kim Miller.

Helen’s husband James Alliston celebrated his Halloween birthday today with a third place CCI3*-L finish on Paper Jam. The Hanoverian/Thoroughbred had been Bouscaren’s ride until just four shows ago when “she very kindly said I could ride him” to fill a gap in his string. “He has a lot of energy and is always on his toes, which I really like,” Alliston said. “That can be a bit of a challenge in dressage, so we are working on getting him relaxed for that.” Their 38.20 dressage score stood through all phases.

Charlotte Babbitt & 2 AM. Photo by Kim Miller.

More National Titles

The CCI3*-L National Championships also determined who’d be honored with the National Combined Training Trophy for the highest placed U.S. rider over the age of 16. Smith added that trophy to her crowded mantle, followed by fellow U.S. contenders Asia Vedder, Andrea Baxter, Alessandra Allen-Shinn, Auburn Excell-Brady, young riders Charlotte Babbitt and Sophie Click, and Stephanie Goodman.

Charlotte Babbitt & 2 AM. Photo by Kim Miller.

Sophie Click & Quidproquo. Photo by Kim Miller.

The National Young Riders Championship and its John H. Fritz Trophy. U.S. were at stake, too, for contenders aged 16-21. With eighth and ninth overall 3* finishes, Charlotte Babbitt and Sophie Click were champion and reserve.

Lauren Burnell & Freedom Hill. Photo by Kim Miller.

Burnell, Bouscaren and Sanborn Take the 2*

With 3-year-old dinosaur paying little attention in their ringside family fan club, Lauren Burnell and Freedom Hill continued a flawless weekend to win on a 27.20. The dinosaur was her Halloween-costumed son, who had already offered his coaching before cross-country. “He told ‘Jack’ to go fast and Mommy to hold on,” and the pair ran with that plan. It helped, too, riding her second horse and fifth-placed finisher Counterpoint first in the 34-pair division. “I just went in and tried to replicate that. The amateur in me came out and I got a little frantic in the beginning, but then it was nice to focus on the plan that my coach Bec (Braitling) and I had come up with.” Burnell has competed at the 3* level prior to having a baby and felt this weekend bodes well for possibly moving back up to that level.

Helen Bouscaren & Irish Pop. Photo by Kim Miller.

Helen Bouscaren and her new Hanoverian Irish Pop stayed on their 4th-ranked 30.50 dressage performance to rise to third, after cross-county, then second. Their jumping round rode like the breeze it appeared to be. “He is fast, sharp and fun. You can put him exactly where you want him,” she said.

Audrey Sanborn & OBOS Quality Time. Photo by Kim Miller.

Third place was earned by another of Bec Braitling’s riders, Audrey Sanborn and OBOS Quality Time. The Cal Poly San Luis Obispo communications student called it a high point of their finishes and a harbinger for moving up to 3* in the spring. She praised the flowing, curvy course as fun to ride and their double-clear kept them on a 31.30 dressage.

Tamie Smith & Luisa Southworth. Photo by Kim Miller.

The Challenges Continue

With the international competition wrapped up, Sunday is dedicated to show jumping finalés for the three new Challenge divisions at the Modified-Training; Training-Novice and Novice-Beginner Novice levels.

After dressage and cross-country tracks at maximum difficulty for each division, the show jumping phase is staged in the Grand Prix arena with pairs going in reverse order of their standings, just as the FEI divisions did today. Ninety-five pairs snapped up the chance to test themselves and their horses and enjoy the showcase usually reserved for the sport’s highest levels.

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It’s been quite pleasant to have a chance to watch the USEF Live Stream, provided by RideOnVideo this weekend. After a year of missing out even on live streams for the most part, it’s been a breath of relief for things to feel somewhat ‘normal’ again.

CROSS COUNTRY DAY ANALYSIS

Sometimes when a new course designer steps into a venue for the first time, the course ends up more doable and optimum time ends up more achievable than anyone realizes. Initially, it looked as if that be the case for this weekend, with a 100% completion rate at a North American 4*-L for the first time in at least five years and only two issues showing on the leaderboard.

Over the next few hours, that story changed several times, with penalties added and taken away multiple times, until finally this East Coast based writer called it a night and vowed to see if scores were final in the morning. In the end, the final tally appears to be two stops and five flags scattered amongst five pairs. For those wondering what a 30 represents, it appears to be two flag penalties, while a 35 is a stop and a flag penalty.

In the end, the flag penalty had significant impact on the top placings, removing Phillip Dutton from second and dropping him down the ranks on Fernhill Singapore. This rewarded Tamie Smith and Passepartout for being the only pair to finish inside the time, which unfortunately wasn’t as big an advantage as it usually is; the average finishing time of the field was only 8.73 seconds over optimum time, with is the second fastest average pace set at a North American 4*-L when more than 10 pairs start.

Needless to say, it was not hard to set a personal best pace today for the pairs who set out to do so, softening the advantage that a fast horse should have provided. Ultimately the bigger factor became the plethora of flag penalties ultimately awarded.

Tamie Smith & Passepartout. Photo by Kim Miller.

Long Island T, Luke 140, and Dassett Choice all greatly exceeded their speed expectations, posting personal best paces. Fernhill Singapore also was significantly faster than he has been previously, but unfortunately could not capitalize it as a victim of a flag penalty. Passepartout and Woodford Reserve both met expectations, which were to be among the fastest paces of the field; however they were not given huge advantages by their quick paces as they were joined by so many others.

Looking to the USEF Futures (view the team roster here), each team had a member who incurred a flag penalty (Cooley Quicksilver and 2 A.M.) but a second member of Team Erik had a stop (Jakobi). Unfortunately for Team Erik, the three members of Team Leslie also added only seven seconds of time penalties between them, giving them a respectable two-phase score of 117.9. Team Leslie will likely have trouble catching up today, currently sitting on a score of 166.6.

THE COURSE

Galway Downs will be using Marc Donovan for the course design of the stadium today. Marc Donovan is a commonly used course designer for Galway, although not the only one they have employed at this venue. However, he has designed the course for this division back through 2014, and is well familiar with the changes that the venue has undergone in that time frame.

Although the venue held the stadium on grass for a couple of years, in 2019 they returned to their ring for footing, which is what we will see this year as well. Unsurprisingly, every winner in the last five editions of the 4*-L has added no penalties in this phase, except for one. This year will almost certainly be no exception, with a trio of top jumpers clustered right at the top. In the last five editions, 41% of the pairs have jumped clear, which is a lower clear jumping rate than Fair Hill and Rebecca Farm, but a higher clear jumping rate than Bromont, Jersey Fresh, and Ocala Jockey Club.

This field has several strong jumpers, so we may end up seeing a higher percentage of clears than is typical for this venue. With the overnight withdrawal of Fernhill Fortitude, currently 6 of the 10 remaining horses are expected to jump around with no rails.

SHOW JUMPING SPECIALISTS

Emilee Libby and Jakobi. Photo by Sherry Stewart.

Our first likely shot at a clear round will be the second horse in the ring, Emilee Libby and Jakobi. This pair is more likely to put in a clear round than not; they have 6 clear career rounds at A/4* out of nine total rounds, have jumped clear in four of six rounds when cross country was last, and added no jump penalties to their score at both of the previous 4*-L completions. Although an occasional time penalty plagued their steps early in the horse’s Advanced career, they seem to have sorted the pace and have jumped within time limits in their last four outings.

Liz Halliday-Sharp and Cooley Quicksilver. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.

Cooley Quicksilver began his A/4* career in 2019 with an impressive string of six consecutive clear rounds at the level in venues as varying as Red Hills and The Fork at Tryon over to Wiesbaden and Millstreet. By the end of the year though, things began to change; in his last six rounds he has incurred rails in three of them, including two rails in his only 4*-L completion. He has also incurred 1-2 seconds over allowable time in four of his last six rounds. A rail or even a time penalty would be costly him and Liz Halliday-Sharp, and won’t let them climb the ranks like they ultimately would need to.

Phillip Dutton and Fernhill Singapore. Photo by Abby Powell.

The East Coast pair of Phillip Dutton and the feisty Fernhill Singapore are perhaps our mostly likely pair to see a clear round today; they’ve jumped clear in an eye-opening 13 of 14 career A/4* rounds. Although this horse’s single rail on his record did occur when stadium was last, he has jumped clear on three other occasions for that phase order, including his only 4*-L completion. He is also unlikely to finish outside the time, putting this pair as a good bet to add nothing to their final score.

Erin Kellerhouse and Woodford Reserve. Photo by Kim Miller.

The maiden pair of Woodford Reserve and Erin Kellerhouse will be facing two firsts today; it will be their first time jumping after a 4*-L cross country and it will be the first time jumping at the A/4* level when stadium is the final phase. This pair has previously jumped clear in one 3*-L, but had two rails in the other. Regardless of whether they incur a rail or not, this is certainly a pair to watch for the future.

Rebecca Brown and Dassett Choice. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Immediately after our first set of first timers follows our second set of first-timers, Dassett Choice with Rebecca Brown. In five career A/4*-S rounds, they have jumped clear in three of them. Only their very first start at the level has let them experience jumping stadium as the final phase; they jumped clear but incurred 8 time penalties. Time penalties have continued to impact their final result in the phase, as they have incurred at least four time penalties in three of their five rounds. 

Boyd Martin and Long Island T. Photo by Leslie Wylie.

Likely to be jumping out of order is Boyd Martin‘s third-placed horse Long Island T, who has generally been a one or none sort of horse. Only in two rounds out of 14 has he produced more than one rail; however it should be noted that both of those times occurred when stadium was the final phase. Having said that, at the CCI4*-L level the horse has incurred only one rail in two finishes. It could go either way today, but an average of 0.7 rails when stadium is the final phase indicates that a rail is more likely than not.

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

Putting the pressure on the top will ultimately come down to Tamie Smith and her ability to take a catch ride and produce a clear round. Passepartout is a good partner to have for this phase; he’s jumped clear in every FEI he’s competed in since moving up to the 3* level and produced 2 of 3 clear rounds with Kaylawna Cook before securing a win in his first 4*-S with a clear round under Tamie. The only caveat on his record is that when he did produce two rails under Kaylawna, it happened to be here at Galway in July. It will be a nail biter without much previous history to guide us, but there’s no reason to believe that this pair won’t produce a clear round.

Phillip Dutton and Luke 140. Photo courtesy of Phillip Dutton.

Luke 140 will be another horse that, similar to Woodford Reserve, has not yet completed a 4*-L, nor jumped stadium last at the A/4*-S level. However, this horse has not added a single penalty of any type in the stadium phase in his FEI career as a pair with Boyd Martin, nor has he incurred a single rail or time penalty at this level in four runs, even when Phillip Dutton catch-rode him through the summer. It’s not a guarantee, but seeing any penalties on the board for this horse today will certainly be a surprise.

PREDICTIONS – FINAL

Division Winner: As mentioned yesterday, the horses likely to be at the top were Luke 140 and Passepartout, both of whom are excellent in this phase. Boyd Martin was able to maintain the pace he needed keep his place atop the leaderboard with Luke 140; he now has about 5 seconds of grace in hand over Tamie Smith, but no rails. However, he won’t need it and will hold the lead from start to finish this weekend.

USEF Futures Team Challenge: Precluding a surprise elimination either at the jogs or the stadium phase today, Team Leslie (Passepartout, Dassett Choice, 2 A.M.) will win this going away tomorrow with a score between 120 and 130 penalties. Team Erik (Cooley Quicksilver, Jakobi, and Quidproquo) dug themselves too big a hole to climb out of and will finish with a score in the vicinity of 180.

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Boyd & Luke 140. Photo by Kim Miller.

New course designer Clayton Fredericks started working with Galway Downs this summer with the mandate of making things harder. Although today’s cross-country did not change the top rung of the 4, 3, and 2*-L leaderboards, there is evidence of mission accomplished in the standings below that and in riders’ reports.

In the CCI4*-L Boyd Martin and Luke 140, a Syndicate owned 9-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Landos x Omega VI), maintain their dressage day lead. They were a 10th of a second over the 10-minute optimal time to bring their score to a 29.8.

Boyd & Long Island T. Photo by Kim Miller.

“The course rode a lot harder than I thought it would,” said Martin. “Even on my more seasoned horse (third-placed Long Island T), there were angles on the corners that were very demanding.” Martin expected the track to be an especially big test for Luke 140 and was “over the moon” about his effort. “He has amazing fight in his DNA. If he sees a jump and the red and white flags, he does anything he needs to do to get himself through them. He showed me that he is a big-time horse today: that he is a tough, resilient mongrel. There were a lot of technically demanding fences, places where we only had a stride to see the narrow or the corner, and I was really impressed with his attitude.”

Phillip Dutton & Fernhill Singapore. Photo by Kim Miller.

Speaking of those demanding fences, Phillip Dutton and Fernhill Singapore were among four of the 11-horse field to get 15 missed flag penalties at the mid-course 16AB water complex. That knocked him out of second to seventh place after Thursday’s dressage, and made way for Californian Tamie Smith and Passepartout to gallop double clear into second on a 32. Smith and “Pasco” have a rail in hand over Martin and Long Island T in third.

Tamie Smith & Passepartout. Photo by Kim Miller.

“Basically, this horse is such a rideable, fast horse,” Smith said of the 11-year-old gelding (Pasco x Preschel). “He may not look like he’s that super fast, but he just skips across cross-country with a massive stride and an efficient jump.” Smith is riding Passepartout for her pregnant daughter and fellow professional, Kaylawna Smith-Cook. This was only their second cross-country trip together and Passepartout’s first CCI4*-L.

Tamie Smith & No App For That. Photo by Kim Miller.

Rideability was critical. “Two waters walked very difficult,” Smith said. “You just had to have a super rideable horse. If there was any wonkiness, you might have a flag.” She spoke from experience: she and her own OTTB, No App For That, also doing his first CCI4*-L and “very green,” were among those getting an “MF” at 16B.

Rebecca Brown & Dassett Choice. Photo by Kim Miller.

Martin and Long Island T pair jumped from sixth to third with no jumping faults and a 1.20 penalty for a 36. Texan Rebecca Brown and Dassett Choice stayed in the fourth seed, picking up 2.8 time penalties for a 36.

Liz Halliday-Sharp & Cooley Quicksilver. Photo by Kim Miller.

Liz Halliday-Sharp was another to get a flag penalty at 16B. An initial extra 20 penalty points were later removed after review by the ground jury determined she had not re-addressed the fence. Nonetheless, it was a disappointing day for the East Coaster in her native Southern California for the current #1 ranked U.S. eventer. The flag penalty plus 8.40 time penalties dropped she and Cooley Quicksilver from fifth to eighth.

Careful What You Ask For

“As the new course designer coming into a new venue, obviously the last thing you want to do is obliterate the whole field,” commented Fredericks at day’s end. “We had an agreement that the course needed to be stronger and the time needed to be harder. I think we achieved that.” Of the particularly problematic 16AB, “It was a fairly tight line and I think some people tried to bend it more than was ideal, so it became an issue of the left shoulder popping out.”

A new test earlier in the course exemplified Fredericks’ ideal outcome. The combination started with an open ditch element followed by the “Which Way Brush” option. “A lot of riders were scratching their head over that: it’s a fence you don’t see very often. For me, it’s ideal to cause a little confusion, then see it be ridden quite well.” Most pilots chose the right-side brush, and just one pair had a refusal.

At the “Mini Wine Bar” water complex at the 20ABC element of the 27-effort track, Fredericks was also happy to see better jumping through the water, barrels, and mound creation. “It wasn’t something that caused major problems in the past, but sometimes the jumping efforts through there were ugly. Today I was pleased to see horses jumping very nicely and being really careful.”

Tamie Smith & Elliot V. Photo by Kim Miller.

Smith, Vedder & Alliston Lead CCI3*-L

Elliot-V, an 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Zavall VDL x Vera-R) owned by Louisa Southworth, is top of the CCI3*-L — he and Tamie Smith earned that spot after a 29.80 dressage ride, and they were first out of the box in the CCI3*-L. Yet they took nothing for granted, maximizing the many long galloping stretches to stay on that score. “It was good to let him open up and blow off some steam, and his gallop is just incredible.” So is his jumping, Smith said, which bodes well for Saturday’s show jumping finale crafted by Marc Donovan and assistant Kelly James.

Asia Vedder & Isi. Photo by Kim Miller.

Smith can’t let up as Asia Vedder and Isi are within a rail after adding 1.20 in time to maintain their number two seed on a 31.1. Although the amateur rider and USEA Area VI chair saw one of Isi’s shoes fly off at fence 17, then another close to the finish line, neither horse nor rider were distracted by that or by the many other opportunities to lose focus. “It was a fair course, with no bugaboos, but there were spots where you really needed to pay attention. It was a little relentless. Even some of the single fences, you were jumping on an angle and you needed to be tidy.”

Isi is “still figuring out that he has different gears,” Vedder explains. She liked the course’s many opportunities to shift them. “There were places where you had the option of going forward and others where you could jump in quiet and nicely add.”

As for Saturday’s show jumping, “Isi is a funny horse. He’s spooky, but not always in a way that translates into spooking into clear rounds. I’ll be making sure he’s awake and keeping his canter active.”

James Alliston & Paper Jam. Photo by Kim Miller.

Behind Vedder, there’s a big gap in scores before a tightly packed group led by James Alliston and Alliston Equestrian’s Paper Jam. Cross-country dramatically reshuffled the mid-standings, with Alliston going from 8th to 3rd, Rebecca Braitling and Caravaggio II moving from ninth to fourth, and Andrea Baxter and Laguna Seca jumping from 10 to 5th. Less than a rail between these contenders sets the stage for another possible shake-up.

Andrea Baxter & Laguna Seca. Photo by Kim Miller.

Going in reverse order of their standings, the CCI3*-L jumping will also determine the USEF National CCI3* Championship and the U.S. National Combined Training Trophy. Only American athletes are eligible, so Great Britain’s Alliston and Australia’s Braitling aren’t in the running. Standing fifth and sixth, Andrea Baxter and Laguna Seca and Auburn Excell-Brady are. Smith likely has a special eye on the trophy, too. She won it in 2015 with Mai Baum, a major of many milestones in her ongoing successes.

India McEvoy & Redbull. Photo by Kim Miller.

McEvoy, Burnell & Bouscaren Atop the CCI2*-L

Amateur rider India McEvoy rode with Phillip Dutton when she was in college and had a refresher with him just last week in a clinic near her Northern California home. Getting Redbull, her own 8-year-old Oldenburg gelding by Redwin, more in front of her leg during the cross-country warm-up was among the suggestions she put into play today for a double-clear round to stay atop the standings on a 26.50. “He’s a funny combination of good temperament for dressage and he could gallop forever, but having Thoroughbred from his mom, he can get a little nervous. Phillip rode him a little during the clinic and gave me pointers about making sure he’s forward and letting him have a second to think so he doesn’t get frazzled.”

Show jumping hasn’t been the still-green Redbull’s strong suit so far and whatever Saturday’s outcome, McEvoy said she’ll be thrilled. “Today’s cross-country was really good because he ended feeling more confident. It’s great to have him gain that kind of experience.”

Lauren Burnell and Freedom Hill were also fault free today to be second on a 27.20. And professional Helen Bouscaren and Irish Pop were double clear to move up into third on a 30.50. Bouscaren and her husband James Alliston are McEvoy’s coaches “and they’ve found me some great horses!” McEvoy said.

In Other News …

Preliminary divisions continued today, highlighted by Josey Thompson and Pistol Annie staying on their 18.90 dressage score with a fault-free cross-country to lead the Open division. All other national divisions got underway, including the “Challenge” format at the Modified-Training, Training-Novice, and Novice-Beginner Novice levels.

Karen O’Neal and Cafe Noir lead the Modified-Training Challenge; Leah Forquer and Oakley’s Hunt SE top the Training-Novice Challenge on a 28.70; and CCI4*-L rider Erin Kellerhouse is atop the Novice Beginner-Novice Challenge with Sonata GWF on a 25.

The new showcase and test is a hit. “Last year, we had 17 entries in the Training Three Day event,” noted organizer Robert Kellerhouse during the Wednesday briefing with International riders and officials. “We were sad to see that division go, but we have 95 riders doing the Challenges this year. These are all riders following in your footsteps and excited to see you compete.”

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