Sometimes, whether by bad luck, a strange twist of fate, or some other mysterious machinations, Saturday just doesn’t go the way it should in eventing. Poplar Place and Southern Pines are two of the best and most reliable venues with some of the best courses in the US, but today was not a good day for eventing. Along with the sad news about Dekorum from this morning, Arden Wildasin’s intermediate horse, Mandar, pulled up suddenly on course at Southern Pines and was later euthanized. An official report will follow soon, but our thoughts and prayers reach out to Mandar and the Wildasin family. Despite the between-jump incidents today, the riders did a great job of negotiating challenging cross-country courses. Here are a few quick notes from the competitions:
Southern Pines: The rain poured as the day progressed at Southern Pines and although it probably made things uncomfortable for the riders it helped to soften the footing. Sinead Halpin and Manoir de Carneville leapt from 7th to 1st with a speedy XC ride in the Advanced-A. Lainey Ashker and Anthony Patch held on to their overnight lead in the Advanced-B. 5 advanced pairs withdrew before the XC including leaders Allison with Arthur, Will Coleman and Twizzel, Will Faudree with Pawlow, and Nicole Parkin and Lexus. 24 of the 38 advanced riders had clean rides.
Southern Pines Advanced-A XC Results:
1. Sinead Halpin and Manoir de Carneville +4.40 38.8
2. Kelly Sult and Hollywood +3.2 41.3
3. Tiana Coudray and Master Hill +8.4 42.8
Southern Pines Advanced-B XC Results:
1. Laine Ashker and Anthony Patch +6.8 38.1
2. Susan Beebee and Prowler +0 40.0
3. Allison Springer and Destination Known +11.6 47.9
The intermediate divisions were even more challenging and 25 of 44 riders had clear rides. Kendyl Tracy and Ever So Lucky are leading the intermediate rider and Boyd leads the OI with Cold Harbor. As an intermediate note, Phillip and The Foreman rode dressage but withdrew before the XC.
Several Training and Preliminary divisions finished the weekend today. Kathleen Hall and Sullivan won the Training Rider, Boyd and Summer Breeze won the Open Training C, Erin Freedman and Voila won the OT-B by 4 points, Lizzie Snow and Gotta Believe won OT-A. Emily van Gemeren and Berkley took gold in the Preliminary Rider.
Among the tough falls, Boyd and Last Monarch fell at a big oxer early on the course. From speaking with Holly, Stewie’s X-Rays are ok and he is resting comfortable in his stall. Boyd was up and walking around the barns, but headed to the hospital just to make sure everything is fine. I got a text from Boyd as he left the hospital giving two thumbs up.
Poplar Place: In Georgia, there was just as much movement in the placings. Erin Murphy and Say Wat held on to their overnight lead by adding just 1.6 penalties on the XC. Kim Severson and Wiley Post move up from 3rd to 1st in the CIC2* with 6.4 time penalties.
[Full Poplar Saturday Results]
Poplar CIC* XC Results:
1. Erin Murphy and Say Wat +1.6 51.5
2. Connor Hussain and Folk Lore +0 54.1
3. Skyeler Voss and Argento +0.8 57.2
Poplar CIC2* XC Results:
1. Kim Severson and Wiley Post +6.4 55.3
2. Heather Morris and Sportsfield Maisie Grey +4.4 56.9
3. Jonathan Holling and Downtown Harrison +12.4 59.2
Andrea Leatherman and Mensa moved up from 4th to 1st with the fastest time of the day in Advanced-A. In that division, Buck fell from Reggie and word is that he lost a front tooth. After a few horses misread and fell at a ‘waterfall’ jump in the middle of the main water, the jump was removed. In the Advanced-B division, Jon Holling and Jos Baco added just 5.6 penalties to finish on a 39.7 and take the lead. Scores from the intermediate divisions are still coming in, and the novice, training, and prelim divisions are set to ride XC tomorrow. That’s all for now.
