They days are ticking down until Team USA horses will be taking off for Tokyo. First they’ll head to the mandatory team outing at Great Meadow at the end of this month and then they’ll hang out for a bit at the USET headquarters in Gladstone, New Jersey as they get ready for their flight. When they board their plane, they’ll first be headed to Aachen, Germany for a nine day quarantine before finally heading to Tokyo.
As for right now, team members are honing their skills in jumper land at various shows. Down in Upperville, Virginia at the Loudoun Benefit Horse Show Phillip Dutton and Team SmartPak rider Boyd Martin are enjoying some coaching from Peter Wylde. Here’s Boyd aboard the Tokyo-bound Luke 140:
Luke 140 hopping around the course at Upperville like a champ this morning!
Posted by Boyd Martin on Thursday, June 17, 2021
Phillip also took Z out for a spin in a handful of 1.20m and 1.30m classes:
Peter Wylde also hopped aboard Boyd’s reserve horse, Tsetserleg, for a couple rounds:
Meanwhile, both Liz Halliday-Sharp and traveling reserve Doug Payne have been competing in Lexington, at the Split Rock Jumping Tour at the Kentucky Horse Park. Liz brought Deniro Z for a rock around some of the tour’s offerings and she’s back this weekend getting some additional reps in with her non-Olympic bound horses.
Doug brought his string of jumpers out to Split Rock, so’s he’s gotten lots of reps in too, of course. Vandiver made the trip as well and in addition to getting in some practice (and a win!) in the 1.30m classes enjoyed being back in the bluegrass at the Kentucky Horse Park and keeping his conditioning up with super groom Courtney Carson in the irons while he was at it:
The Queen of Soul accompanied Tokyo bound Quinn on his gallop sets this morning.
Posted by Mary Guynn on Saturday, June 12, 2021
Take a look at Vandiver’s winning 1.30m round at Split Rock:
