Isabella’s Red Hills CIC3* Dressage Recap

The sun is shining and the wind is blowing on a blustery day here in Tallahassee.  The weather, several hundred spectators, flags flapping in the breeze, and close quarters for warming up made for some fresh horses this morning in the CIC3*.  Red Hills is the second or third last run before the spring three-day for most of the CIC3* horses.  The riders looked like their approach was to work on calming and focusing, and they saved adding the energy and expression for a calmer day.

1) Phillip and Isabella were the last to ride of the day, but they saved the best for last.  Sometimes Phillip is just a bit scary–he gives his top horses a break this spring, shows up at Red Hills for his sixth competition ever with Isabella, and beats everyone in the dressage.  If Isabella sounds familiar, she was eliminated at Rolex 2009 with Susie Beale aboard.  Phillip took over the ride late last year.  

2) Karen O’Connor and Mandiba had a very active and nice test to move into second, just 0.2 points behind Phillip.  Allison and Arthur are in third but they were handicapped by being the first ride of the day.  Conventional wisdom says that judges hold back a bit with their first few scores, so who knows what Arthur would have scored if he had gone last.  

3) Will Colemand and Nevada Bay look very strong this spring. Nevada Bay won Bromont last year and I’d love to see what he can do at Kentucky this spring.  Their 46.4 looked like it could have been lower with just a bit more relaxation.

4) Leslie Law and Rehy Lux are tied for 10th: 

5) Selena O’Hanlon and Comombo are the highest placed Canadian pair in the CIC3*.  Selena rode in a brown bridle and brown saddle that looked good on the bay Colombo.  

6) Only two riders, Aliison Springer and Karen O’Connor, have two horses in the CIC3*.  Karen’s Quintus 54 is in 8th and Allison’s Destination Known is in 18th.  **Update: Michael Pollard also has 2 horses in the CIC3*.

7) Thankfully, almost all of the competitors have been wearing their helmets in the FEI divisions.  I’d say that about 90% of riders have been voluntarily using helmets which is a great message for safety and a great example for the many young fans spectating here today. 

7) Speaking of helmets, we are big fans of Boyd here at EN, but I don’t understand why he wasn’t wearing a helmet this morning.  It’s certainly not required by the rules, but he has so many fans it makes sense to just wear one for publicity’s sake.  Nonetheless, he had a great test with Nev and he’s just three points off the CIC3* lead: 

8) As a 2* note, Samantha told me that Jessica Phoenix and Exotic had a 30 point difference in scores between her two judges.  That’s completely absurd and leaves Jessica without a positive learning experience about how she can improve.

9) Kate Brown and Mojito were eliminated from the CIC3*.  I believe it was due to naughtiness that started with the first halt when Mojito started to back up and kept going.

10) The local media is out in force here at Red Hills:

The advanced division starts at 1:40pm.  Notable names on the entry list include Fun Maker, King Billy, and Twizzel.  Hopefully the wind will settle down for the advanced riders so they can ask a bit more from their horses.  Check back soon for much more from Red Hills and go eventing.