Will Faudree and Pawlow. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Will Faudree and Pawlow, who were in second place after dressage, jumped right before overnight leaders Phillip Dutton and Shamwari 4, turning in a lovely double clear to put the pressure on. Shammie jumped beautifully in warm up, but the unthinkable happened after fence 3, when Phillip turned to fence 8 instead of proceeding on ahead to fences 4 and 5. He’d made that similar turn three times this morning during the Advanced division, and while he’d already jumped the three-star course with Fernhill Fugitive, sometimes even the best in the world have forgetful moments. And this one proved to be very costly.
Allison Springer and Arthur. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Phillip isn’t the only rider who will be appealing to the ground jury to still go around Tremaine Cooper’s course tomorrow after being eliminated. Ruy Fonseca and Tom Bombadill Too parted ways at the first fence of the triple combination when the horse stopped abruptly. Holly Payne and Never OutFoxed were also eliminated for going off course. Despite those three blips, the course actually rode very smoothly, with 22 pairs — about half the division — jumping double clear. The second fence, a plank vertical, came down quite a bit, and rails also fell throughout the triple combination.
Boyd Martin and Phillip Dutton. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Will Faudree and Pawlow move up to the lead, followed by Allison Springer and Arthur and Hannah Sue Burnett and Harbour Pilot. Aside from Phillip and Shamwari’s elimination, the leaderboard remained mostly unchanged from yesterday. Sharon White and Rafferty’s Rules, who were sitting in fifth place overnight, pulled one rail to drop outside the top 10, though Sharon was still all smiles after. It’s wonderful to have Reggie back competing! The scores are incredibly tight, with the top three separated by less than one time penalty. The top 10 will be running in reverse order tomorrow, so it’s guaranteed to be a very exciting conclusion in the CIC3*.
Hannah Sue Burnett and Harbour Pilot. Photo by Jenni Autry.
We’re sending healing vibes to Becky Holder, who had to withdraw Can’t Fire Me after dislocating her knee while walking the cross-country course yesterday. She came into the main barn last night while we were holding the press conference, and her knee looked incredibly swollen — ouch! There’s no word yet on whether or not she’ll still be able to ride at Rolex. Peter Barry also withdrew Kilrodan Abbott before show jumping, though I haven’t yet been able to confirm why. Eddie looked like his steady self yesterday in the dressage, so hopefully this was just all part of the plan. Stay tuned for much more from The Fork!
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