Michael Pollard and Ballingown Pizazz. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Happy Friday from Carolina International! We have a lunch break at the halfway point of CIC3* show jumping, which works out beautifully to bring you a quick update. As always, Marc Donovan’s course is top notch, and we’ve seen a good number of clears so far in the division. Overnight leaders Jan Byyny and Inmidair will slip down the standings a bit after pulling a rail at fence 4, which will give Will Coleman and Conair a chance to take the lead if they jump clear after the break. Will said yesterday show jumping is not Joey’s strong suit, so the pressure is on to produce a clear.
Doug Payne and Crown Talisman. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Michael Pollard and Ballingowan Pizazz were one of the pairs to jump double clear later in the morning, which is particularly impressive considering Michael got a bit lost after the first fence. After turning to the right by mistake, he quickly re-routed in the correct direction back to the left and produced a lovely clear without time penalties. Michael and Mango move into second place provisionally, and they’ll hold the overnight lead should Will and Joey have a rail. Doug Payne and Crown Talisman and Sharon White and Under Suspection will stay inside the top five overnight thanks to jumping clear.
Sharon White and Under Suspection. Photo by Jenni Autry.
We’ve seen a lot of hard rubs at fence two and the final fence — both verticals — and the natural oxer off a bend at fence four is proving to be an interesting question due to its placement right next to the brand new Stonehenge combination. We saw rails fall there quite a bit this morning. Marc usually provides an option in his courses, and he did so again today at fences seven and eight. Riders could either go right over a vertical to an oxer in five strides or to the left over a liverpool oxer to oxer combination in five strides. In addition to requiring horses to jump the liverpool, the line to left also meant jumping right toward spooky Stonehenge, so it came as no surprise that riders chose to go to the right.
Buck Davidson and Ballynoe Castle RM. Photo by Jenni Autry.
We also saw double clear trips from Buck Davidson and Ballynoe Castle RM, Phillip Dutton and Fernhill Fugitive, and Jon Holling and Downtown Harrison. Hallie Coon and Namaste jumped clear but had three time penalties. The live scores are running a bit behind, so I apologize to anyone else who had a double clear and isn’t mentioned, as I’m going off my memory here. Sharon White and Rafferty’s Rules are the first out after the break at 12:13 p.m., and CIC3* show jumping will continue running through 1:20 p.m. We’ll be back then with the conclusion of CIC3* show jumping at Carolina International, as well as more videos. Go Eventing.
