Marilyn Little and RF West Indie at Galway Downs. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Raylyn Farms is dominating the competition so far here at Galway Downs International, with Marilyn Little and RF West Indie leading the CCI2* at the conclusion of dressage on a score of 44, and Ashlyn Dorsey and RF Kinetic leading the CCI* at the halfway point of the division on 43.4. We’re on the lunch break now; here’s what went down this morning:
Marilyn re-routed “Indie,” a 7-year-old Hanoverian mare owned by Raylyn Farms, to Galway Downs after they parted ways on cross country at the Dutta Corp Fair Hill International during the horse’s first two-star attempt. They scored a 49 on their test at Fair Hill and bested that by quite a bit today with their score of 43.4 thanks to a flowing, accurate performance.
Bea di Grazia and Lad’s Night Out, a 14-year-old Irish/Thoroughbred gelding she owns, held the CCI2* lead for much of the morning, and their score of 46.7 puts them in second place overnight. A couple bobbles likely cost them the lead, as Lad swapped during the canter down the long side, and they missed the trot transition at R to pick up an error, but this score puts them in a very good position for cross country tomorrow.
Bea di Grazia and Lad’s Night Out. Photo by Jenni Autry.
James Atkinson and Gustav, a 15-year-old Oldenburg gelding owned by Carolyn Hoffos, scored 47.5 to round out the top three in the CCI2*, as well as cap off the scores on the 40s. Lauren Billys and Ballingowan Ginger, a 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare she owns, led off first thing this morning to score 51.3 for fourth place, and Megan Lepper and her own De Mello, a 10-year-old Oldenburg gelding, sit in fifth place on 51.7.
Ashlyn Dorsey and RF Kinetic, an 8-year-old Hanoverian mare she owns, absolutely deserve the CCI* lead at the lunch break with a beautiful test. The mare is so elastic in her gaits and paints a lovely picture in the little white box. Their score of 43.4 gives them a narrow lead over Marilyn Little and RF Typecast, a 6-year-old Oldenburg gelding owned by Raylyn Farms, who scored 45.0 for second place.
Ashlyn Dorsey and RF Kinetic. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Lauren Billys is also enjoying a spot in the CCI* top five so far with Jitter Bug, her super cute 8-year-old Rheinlander mare. With a lovely, refined face and a striking presence in the ring, this mare will be a fun one to watch for the future. Their score of 48.1 puts them in third place with the second half of the division still to come.
We’re on a long lunch break now, with David Adamo and La Patrona leading off the CCI* dressage when it starts back up at 1:41 p.m. PST. CCI3* dressage starts at 1:45 p.m. PST, with Jen McFall and High Times kicking off the division of 19 horses and riders. Remember we’re posting on West Coast time, which is three hours behind the East Coast, so check back late in the day for a full recap on the finale of dressage.
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