Classic Eventing Nation

Alexander O’Neal and Miss MoneyPenny V. Photo by Shelby Allen.

After an influential show jumping phase, Alex O’Neal has taken control of the CCI3*-S class at Stable View Oktoberfest with Miss MoneyPenny V.

This pair was on track to win the three-star at Chattahoochee Hills in Georgia last month, but two rails knocked them out of contention. Today’s double clear round felt like redemption.

“I was pretty upset about that because I thought she jumped great at Chatt and I just didn’t do her any favors,” Alex said. “Today she was really wild in warm up which had me a little worried because she’s usually pretty quiet. But she really used it to her advantage and jumped really careful and bold.”

Alex has nothing but praise for this classy 8-year-old Anglo European (Talan x Dime, by Irco Mena), who is owned by his mother-in-law, Sally Cox. They were one of 12 pairs to jump clear in this division.

“I thought it was really hard. I think Chris Barnard has been building really technical tracks this fall and kind of caught us all off guard because they aren’t very big when you walk them, but you start watching horses go and you can’t get away with making a small mistake or changing your line. I think he’s doing a good job of making sure we’re on our toes and riding like show jumping riders and not just event riders,” Zach said.

Boyd Martin and Fernhill Prezley. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Boyd Martin took second and third with two of his up-and-coming rides, Fernhill Prezley and Penhill Celtic, respectively.

Boyd got ride on Fernhill Prezley, Heidi White’s 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse (Aldatus Z x Killerisk Diamond, by Gildawn Diamond), last fall and most recently the pair took first in the Horse Park of New Jersey CCI3*-S over the summer. So far this weekend, he’s on a score of 29.4.

Boyd Martin and Penhill Celtic. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Stablemate Penhill Celtic is a recent East Coast transplant. He was previously piloted by California eventer Bec Braitling, and this weekend partnered with Boyd, Arnell Sporthorses’ 8-year-old (Je T’aime Flamenco x Norway Maid, by Coevers Diamond Boy) remains on his dressage score of 29.6.

Hallie Coon and her own Cooley SOS, a 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse (Emilion x Dalways Courage, by Courage II), are in fourth after a clear round kept them on their dressage score of 30.4.

Sydney Conley Elliot and Commando D’ Osthuy. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Fifth place is a shared tie between Sydney Conley Elliott with Commando D’ Osthuy and Kurt Martin aboard D.A. Liftime on a score of 31.

Liz Halliday-Sharp and Maryville Sir Henry. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Liz Halliday-Sharp and her own Maryville Sir Henry continued their domination of the CCI2*-S division after the second phase. They jumped clear to keep a score of 27.4. Liz got the ride on this 7-year-old Irish Sport Horse (Sir Shutterfly x Pennies Royale, by Cavalier Royale) from Erin and Robert Kellerhouse in California. With Liz, he’s won his last three outings at the level.

Kelly Prather and Catch Me Cooley jumped clear for second place on a score of 28.9, and Leslie Law took third with Tout De Suite on a two-phase result of 30.5.

More to come from Stable View. Go eventing.

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Liz Halliday-Sharp and Fernhill By Night. Photo by Shelby Allen.

With only one rail separating the top 17 in the CCI4*-S at Stable View Oktoberfest, show jumping was slated to be a game changer, but course designer Chris Barnard sprinkled in plenty of roll back turns and forward lines just to make sure the second phase was influential.

The veteran combination of Liz Halliday-Sharp and Fernhill By Night relied on their longstanding partnership to get the job done. A clear round inside the time bumped them into the lead of the 40-entry class on a score of 24.5.

“I thought he jumped amazing I was really, really thrilled with him. He’s like my old friend now because we’ve been together a long time and I was saying to the girls I just really enjoyed myself riding around because we know each other so well,” she said of the17-year-old Irish Sport Horse (Radolin x Argentina XII, by Argentinus) owned by Deborah Halliday. “He really does know his job now. In our past I suppose time penalties were an issue because I’d look after him too much, but I think now we’re in a place where we just know each other so we move on and keep rolling.”

A trip around without rails or time was no easy task, thanks to Chris. Consider this his service to the U.S. High Performance program — his courses really challenge riders.

“I think we’ve seen a lot of really tough courses, like in the ERM and things like that in Britain, and certainly from what this was even 10 years ago we now jump bigger, stronger, more square, difficult, technical tracks. I think Chris does a brilliant job. He challenges you to make sure that you’re accurate and you keep rolling, but he’s always very fair which I think is good course designing,” Liz said.

“It actually rode really well if you came in with a good flow I thought, but you had to keep moving, definitely. I thought that last line at the end was clever as well to have the triple down to the four stride. It made everybody keep riding.”

Matt Flynn and Wizzerd. Photo by Shelby Allen.

With a recent Advanced win in their back pocket, Matt Flynn and Wizzerd had a handy clear today to stay on their dressage score of 25.9.

Matt is aiming for the CCI4*-L at Tryon this fall, and he’s been traveling and competing with Doug and Jessica Payne to prepare. “About a month and a half ago they told me to get down here and jump with them,” Matt said. Together, they’ve gone to eventing and pure show jumping competitions, including a rated jumper show here at Stable View last weekend.

Matt took some bold, time saving measures with the 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Wizzerd WV x Oklund) owned by Patrick Flynn, Kathleen Flynn, and Merry Go Round Farm, like going inside some cleverly placed decoration between fences 9 and 10, to make the time work for him. “Jess says I go around like a hunter rider. She said I could go slowly like that, but I had to go inside the standards if I did,” he said.

Doug Payne and Vandiver. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Overnight leader Vandiver clipped one rail to drop to fifth, but Doug Payne saw another from his string, Quantum Leap, take over third. Quantum, a 9-year-old Zweibrücker gelding (Quite Capitol x Corporate Report) owned by Doug and Jessica, was Doug’s final ride of the day, and he he used what he learned on his previous rides to his advantage.

“I had “Gin” first and I made a turn and she lost it a little bit and had the front rail of the 7A, and I kind of wrote it off because she’s a little green,” he said. “I made the mistake on her, and didn’t think much of it, then I made the same freaking mistake on [Vandiver]. I’m kicking myself. Same exact set up too. I just made sure with Quantum not to make it again. It’s the benefit of having a number of horses. You only learn by making mistakes.”

Quantum holds 26.8 points ahead of tomorrow’s cross country, followed by Vandiver on 28.3. Starr Witness, holds 18th overnight after having two rails down on a score of 35.3.

“[Quantum] was excellent I couldn’t have asked for better. He and Starr Witness are definitely green at the level, but I was extremely happy with how well he jumped. They’re both starting to become extremely comfortable at the level and using their bodies better. He’s the biggest trying horse you’ll meet, so it’s pretty exciting,” Doug said.

Will Faudree and Caeleste. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Will Faudree is fourth with the flashy Caeleste, an 13-year-old Holsteiner mare (Contender X Happygolucky, by Lucky Lionell) owned by Jennifer Mosing and Sterling Silver Stables, after a clear round keeps them on 27.4.

Clayton Fredericks and FE Always In Time. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Vandiver shares fifth place in a tie with Clayton Fredericks and FE Always In Time, a 9-year-old Trakehner owned by Clayton, Adele Siewert and Eckart Siewert. It was a good day at the office for the Australian rider. His second ride, FE Stormtrooper, an 11-year-old Hanoverian (Stakkato’s Highlight x Levina, by Levisto) owned by Diana Crawford and Kingfisher Park, also jumped clear for seventh place on a score of 29.4.

Ellie O’Neal and Zick Zack. Photo by Shelby Allen.

This division produced a double clear jumping rate of 35%. Those who could push for a forward ride and keep the rails in their cups were rewarded, and none more so than Ellie O’Neal. She and Zick Zack were the biggest leaderboard climbers of the day, moving from 19th to 8th after a lovely round.

This show is far from over. The four-star pairs will tackle Capt. Mark Phillips’ cross country tomorrow morning. To see what they’re up against, check out our course preview at this link. Stay tuned for more from Stable View.

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Doug Payne and Vandiver. Photo by Sam Keats.

Doug Payne is comin’ in hot at the 2020 Stable View Oktoberfest. Paired with the experienced Vandiver, he won the Advanced two weeks ago at the Blue Ridge Mountain H.T., and the pair stepped up to lead this 40-entry CCI4*-S class today.

Where you shake out in the placings is one thing, but your individual results carry so much weight to these riders. Two weeks ago Doug and “Quinn,” a16-year-old Trakehner gelding (Windfall 2 x Mystic Replica XX) owned by Debi Crowley, Doug and Jessica Payne, had a personal best Advanced score (23.1), and today they produced a 24.3, their best result at the four-star level.

“He’s continuing to get better and frankly our time with Corona — our little Corona vacation — was really productive. He’s just getting better and better as he goes. There is certainly room for improvement, but I was honestly very happy with how he was,” Doug said.

In reflection, Doug says there isn’t any one moment that jumps out as particularly superb, it’s the progress with the overall impression. “In the end looking top down he was probably just about as consistent as he’s been yet. We had one little bobble, but that’s the thing that’s been missing in the past — being able to produce a very steady flowing test and he was able to do that today so that is exciting for his future.

“[We’re] trying to be super accurate and also making the transitions between movements seamless. I think that’s the biggest component that’s been missing in the past. It was lacking a little bit of the polish and especially the transitions. We’ve been lucky enough of late to be able to start to string that stuff together and produce a really polished, finished product,” he said.

Liz Halliday-Sharp and Fernhill By Night. Photo by Stable View.

Second place belongs to Liz Halliday-Sharp and longtime partner Fernhill By Night. Liz has been very selective of where “Blackie” runs over the last several years, so her decision to come to Aiken, S.C. was tactical.

“I try not to run Blackie anywhere he can’t win money if I can help it,” she said of the 17-year-old Irish Sport Horse (Radolin x Argentina XII, by Argentinus) owned by Deborah Halliday. “I don’t run him a lot these days.  I was here in June and the ground was really really good. The surfaces here are always really reliable, so I thought it suited him.”

This pair is just in striking distance on a score of 24.5. “He was a good boy. He obviously knows his job and he is notoriously lazy. He felt really jolly and he was happy to be there. There were two little things that kept him out of the lead. He had a little hop in the turn on the haunches, and he tripped and nearly fell on his face in the last halt,” Liz laughed. “I’m very confident he would’ve been in the lead otherwise.”

Matt Flynn and Wizzerd, an 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Wizzerd WV x Oklund) owned by Patrick Flynn, Kathleen Flynn, and Merry Go Round Farm, are in third place on 25.9. This pair, too, are on a hot streak after winning the other Advanced division at the Blue Ridge Mountain H.T. two weeks ago.

Waylon Roberts and Lancaster. Photo by Stable View.

Fourth place is shared between Sydney Conley Elliot and Waylon Roberts on score of 26.4. Riding for Canada, Waylon is here this weekend with Lancaster, a 13-year-old Canadian Sporthorse owned by John Koppin, Michelle Koppin and Waylon.

Sydney, a self proclaimed perfectionist, is focused on how she and QC Diamantaire, a 10-year-old Oldenburg (Diarado x Lantana, by Sandro Hit) owned by Carol Stephens, can continue to improve her score moving forward. “‘Q’ is always a good boy. There’s still a lot to be desired from that horse, but it was steady. I’m very critical of him and what he gives me every test, but he was such a good boy overall,” she said.

This pair is having only their second start of the year. “I think their brains and body got a much needed vacation. Q had not been out since Fair Hill, so Chatt Hills was our first outing — he hadn’t run cross country in almost a year. He was awesome. He’s such a lazy horse by nature, so it was fun to have him excited to leave the start box and a little riled up.”

With COVID-19 all but destroying our season, we’ve got a beefy CCI4*-S lineup for you this weekend. Forty combinations have stepped forward, and they’re packed to the brim. The top ten are spread over just 3.6 points — less than one rail over tomorrow’s show jumping. This will make accuracy and speed essential in the jumping phases, or the door will be wide open for a shake up.

Kurt Martin & D.A. Lifetime. Photo by Stable View.

Kurt Martin & D.A. Lifetime won the dressage in the CCI3*-S. They’re on a score of 27 ahead of the show jumping phase. Alex O’Neal is second with Miss MoneyPenny V on a score of 29, and Zoe Crawford is third with K.B.S. Quick Strike on 29.3 points.

Kelly Prather and Catch Me Cooley. Photo by Stable View.

Liz Halliday-Sharp leads the CCI2*-S division with Maryville Sir Henry on a score of 27.4. Dana Cooke holds second place with FE Whole Lotta Rosie on 28.4. Kelly Prather piloted Catch Me Cooley into third place on a score of 28.9.

Show jumping kicks off tomorrow morning for the International divisions. The four-star will start at 9 a.m. followed by the three- and two-star groups.

Go eventing.

Stable View Oktoberfest: Website, Entry Status, Ride Times, Live Scores, EN’s Coverage, EN’s Twitter, EN’s Instagram