Boyd Martin and Commando 3. Photo by Sally Spickard.
No one will ever know (nor will ever truly want to know, I hope) if Boyd Martin actually rides commando, but he certainly did ride Commando 3 (Connor 48 – R-Adelgunde, by Amigo xx) to the CCI4*-L victory here at the 50th anniversary Morven Park International & Fall H.T. this afternoon. Executing a foot-perfect show jumping round over a technical Chris Barnard track, Boyd secured his second consecutive FEI victory with the 10-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by Yankee Creek Ranch LLC, with whom he’s been paired for less than a year.
Taking a horse that’s been campaigned to the Advanced and 4* level with another rider is always a challenge, given many event riders would generally opt to put their stamp on a horse from its origins in the sport when possible, but when the striking bay gelding stepped out of the stall at Swedish Olympian Louise Romeike’s yard, Boyd was overcome by the feeling that this was the horse he’d been seeking on that particular shopping trip.
“I mean, the first time I saw this horse as soon as they pulled him out of the stall that just had this championship look,” Boyd told me at Carolina International earlier this year, the first FEI event and third event he brought the gelding to. “He just oozed with class… give me 12 months, and I think the sky’s the limit with him.”
Boyd Martin and Commando 3. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Taking the win with just 3.2 time penalties added on cross country yesterday and a final score of 29.4, Commando now takes his place as one of the contenders Boyd will be putting forward for Olympic consideration in 2024. He’ll have some stiff competition for the nod, as the world #3 rider is currently blessed with one of his strongest strings of 5* horses in recent memory, but as he puts it, “he’s unbelievably elegant on the flat, he’s gallops like a racehorse cross country, he’s sharp and careful and scopey for the show jumping, and he trots up good. It’s very hard to find all those characteristics in a horse — it’s a needle in a haystack, so I’m just really feel a privilege to ride him.”
Caroline Pamukcu and Kings Especiale. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Caroline Pamukcu capped off a strong weekend, flip-flopping her two 4*-L rides and finishing second with Redfield King’s HX Group King’s Especiale, who jumped a double clear today to finish on a score of 39.8. Caroline’s quite high on this eight-year-old, who she’s had in her barn since he was five. She frequently practices at the 1.35m/1.40m height with “King”, giving her confidence to go in and ride a positive round (something Chris Barnard encourages with his designs).
“He’s really gonna be five-star horse too,” Caroline said of King. “He’s got the blood. He’s obviously got the movement we know. But going from a [cross country] course from there, you never know how their body’s going to cope the next day and he to me felt like… I was like, ‘Maybe I should go practice a second round because I think he’d be a really good Olympic horse, maybe I should go back in and see if I could do it!'”
Working for many years with show jumping legend Anne Kursinski for her jumping, and Erik Duvander as well, Caroline credits the mentors she’s had for the success she’s earning with her horses. Most recently, she spent some time in England with Pippa Funnell, who kept up with her rides via the live stream all weekend and sent encouragement throughout. “I’ve got good coaches and good, good mentors between Eric and Pippa,” she said. “I bounce ideas off of them, questions, and I just kind of lean on them totally.”
Despite lowering three rails today, Caroline’s second ride, She’s The One (Jaguar Mail – One to Watch, by Condios), the Pan Ams-bound rider (selected to compete in Chile with HSH Blake) was unfazed. “Our relationship’s new, I’ve only know her for a few months,” she elaborated. “And she gets a little bit blood in the ring. So we’re just trying to figure her out and just keep her relaxed — that’s where I got the three rails, just losing relaxation. But it’s gonna be there. She has more heart than anyone else. She’s unbelievable and she fights and gives you everything she has.” She’s The One is owned by Andy and Mollie Hoff, Sherrie Martin, and Caroline Pamukcu.
Lucienne Bellissimo and Dyri. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Two riders of the six to finish out the 4*-L secured double clear jumping efforts on a day where rails and time penalties were flying: Boyd and Commando 3 as well as Great Britain’s Lucienne Bellissimo and Dyri, who finished the week in fourth.
As strong as this field and finish were, it was sorely disappointing not to see more support for this 4*-L division that’s a newer addition to the fall calendar. It’s a truly top-class, 5*-preparing track designed by Derek di Grazia, there is plenty of atmosphere and centralized logistics to make this a truly top-caliber show, and the footing is spectacular. I’ll have more thoughts on that to come this week…
Will Coleman and Chin Tonic HS. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Will Coleman and Chin Tonic HS Win Again in CCI4*-S
Will Coleman and Hyperion Stud’s Chin Tonic HS collected their fourth win of the year together, taking the wire-to-wire victory in the CCI4*-S division. Originally slated to be used as a final prep for Pau, Will’s plans for the 11-year-old Holsteiner gelding were altered after he felt some minor health interruptions abbreviated the prep the horse would need for a fall 5*. It’s a disappointment for sure, as “Chin” would have been a serious contender to collect the second 5* title for the U.S. in 2023, but as Will says, “it’s a long game.”
So this weekend, Will said the horse felt excellent and allowed him to gallop and “self-regulate” a bit more on cross country yesterday than he may have if Pau was the next stop. While he remains noncommittal on whether Chin Tonic will do anything else this fall, he’s pleased with the maturity he’s feeling from this superstar of a horse.
Will Coleman and Chin Tonic HS. Photo by Sally Spickard.
“I’m just really pleased with just how he just continues to feel more and more mature. It’s awesome, feels easier,” Will commented. “I haven’t actually given [what’s next] much thought — the Pau thing, we kind of just decided on this in the last kind of 10 days. So we were going to come here and run him and sort of see how he felt, and then I’ll probably talk with his owner Vicky [Castegren, of Hyperion Stud] and kind of decide what will be best for him.”
Liz Halliday lowered one pesky rail with The Nutcracker Syndicate’s Cooley Nutcracker, but remained in possession of third place in the 4*-S. “Bali” will next board a plane and meet Liz in Southern California for the Eventing Championships at Galway Downs (November 1-5), straight after Liz competes as a member of Team USA at the Pan American Games with Miks Master C. We’ll be keen to see how that entry list fills out, as the USEF CCI4*-L National Championships will be hosted at Galway this year.
Will wraps up the top three in the 4*-S with the Diabolo Group LLC’s Diabolo, the newest addition to his string who joined his program from Australian rider Gemma Tinney. This is another horse that will be supremely interesting to watch as he continues to build partnership with his new rider — keep an eye out! He’ll head to TerraNova’s CCI4*-L (November 17-19) in Florida to round out his first Northern Hemisphere season.
Dana Cooke and FE Quattro. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Dana Cooke Takes CCI3*-S Win with FE Quattro
Reserve pair for the Canadians at the Pan American Games, Dana Cooke and Kingfisher Park’s FE Quattro (Quaterstern – Elina, by Coriograph B) secured a first FEI win in the CCI3*-S on a score of 29.1. Sourced by Clayton Fredericks in Germany as a five-year-old, FE Quattro has been a long game horse for Dana, who’s taken her time producing the athletic and “super sweet” gelding who’s just stepping up to the Advanced level this season.
“Sometimes those big moving horses just take take a little extra time,” Dana elaborated. “So I’ve just been very careful. I don’t want to break him, so I’ve been very careful to bring him along. I probably could have, with this horse in particular, just kind of kept going up the levels right away. But again, I just decided to say a little bit slower because he is one that you could totally — I could have just done four Preliminaries and an Intermediate — he’s that type. He’s got that brain. I’ve got Clayton who helps me to slow down and kind of think about it. I use him as a sounding board quite a bit with my horses on what’s best for them, when I should move them up or if I should wait, or if am I being too cautious.”
Dana will next head to Ocala, where the named Canadian team and two reserve pairs await, one of which are Dana and “Quattro”. Should they not be called up for Santiago, Dana plans to head to California for the 4*-L at Galway Downs.
She also takes home the Sparrow’s Nio Partnership Award with Harlequinn, owned by the Harlequinn Syndicate, who also competed in the 3*-S this weekend. Chosen by the Ground Jury, the award in honor of the late Sparrow’s Nio, piloted by Allie Sacksen, rewards a rider for a strong partnership with their horse throughout the weekend. It’s a fitting award for Dana, who’s also taken her time to build a partnership with the quirky 10-year-old gelding who came to her as a horse virtually no one else could or wanted to ride.
“He tries really hard and he’s a good jumper and he’s a good mover, but he’s tricky on the flat. He’s super horse shy and he’s people shy around the fences. So I’ve had him for quite awhile, and he’s done three seasons at Intermediate. He’s just kind of just stepping up and he’s trusting me more and I was yesterday for the first time really able to kind of trust him. I totally trusted him cross country, and normally I’m babying him around and I didn’t, I just let him gallop and felt that he was with me. So it’s been cool because he’s taken a lot of work.”
Beautiful Morven Park! Photo by Sally Spickard.
Results Recap
I sadly did not get a chance to catch up with every winner this weekend, but let’s go through and recap who won what at Morven Park:
CCI3*-S Young Horse: Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Connor (28.1)
CCI2*-S: Maya Clarkson and Clueso (30.9)
CCI2*-S Young Horse: Tim Bourke and Electric Quality (27.0)
Open Prelim A: Emily Beshear and Bad Moon Rising (29.2)
Open Prelim B: Kurt Martin and Kelodiena W (34.2)
Jr. Training: Mary Cooke Catlett and RF Eloquence (28.7)
Open Training A: Martin Douzant and BSF Frame Charleston (29.8)
Open Training B: Melissa Baumann and Arden Juliet (33.3)
Open Training C: Madison Temkin and Fernhill Bertus (30.5)
Training Rider: Devon Champlain and Champagne Event (31.9)
Jr. Novice: Alexa Pratt and Compromise Elsewhere (37.8)
Novice Rider A: Alicia Turner and Key Play (26.9)
Novice Rider B: Kara Goggins and Silver Bop (28.6)
Open Novice A: Rachel Livermore and Accuraat Z (29.4)
Open Novice B: Ashley Taylor and Excel Star Opportunity (30.6)
Many thanks to the whole crew here at Morven Park for such an incredible weekend. It’s truly difficult to do this venue proper justice — so you’ll just have to come and see it for yourself! Until next year, keep calm and Go Eventing (and maybe not commando).
Morven Park International & Fall H.T.: [Website] [Final Scores] [Live Stream Replays] [Volunteer] [EN’s Coverage]
EN’s coverage of Morven Park International & Fall H.T. is sponsored by Kentucky Performance Products, home to 5*-caliber supplements for horses from all walks of life.
