Kelly Pugh and Corazon Take It Home in Rebecca Farm CCI*

Kelly Pugh and Corazon. Photo by Sally Spickard. Kelly Pugh and Corazon. Photo by Sally Spickard.

The pressure was certainly on Kelly Pugh as she entered the main arena here at Rebecca Farm. A large crowd had gathered and second placed Tamie Smith and Under Wraps had just put in a flawless clear round. Kelly had not a rail in hand to spare, but she needn’t have worried as she, too, jumped a beautiful round to clinch the CCI* win.

Many of the CCI* pairs ended the weekend on their dressage score, and Kelly and David Garrett’s Corazon finished on a final score of 41.3. This weekend was Corazon’s first U.S. FEI competition, having campaigned in Europe previously, and he’s certainly one to keep an eye on for the future. I feel an EN’s Got Talent coming on…

Tamie Smith and Under Wraps. Photo by Sally Spickard.

Tamie Smith and Under Wraps. Photo by Sally Spickard.

Tamie Smith had a tense morning at the horse inspections, but she shook it off and jumped a beautiful round aboard Beth Lendrum’s Under Wraps for solid second place on a three-day score of 43.0. Tamie has been very pleased with Under Wraps throughout the weekend, who she says keeps improving on a daily basis.

Ruth Bley and Silver Sage. Photo by Sally Spickard.

Ruth Bley and Silver Sage. Photo by Sally Spickard.

Ending their weekend in third are Ruth Bley and Silver Sage, her own 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding. This pair has quite a few one-star miles under their belt, and this weekend’s score of 48.3 is one of their lowest to date.

Auburn Excell Brady and Royal Lux. Photo by Sally Spickard.

Auburn Excell Brady and Royal Lux. Photo by Sally Spickard.

Auburn Excell Brady and Royal Lux enjoyed a nice move up with a rare clear round that landed them in fourth up from eighth after cross country. Auburn and R. Lawrence Sawyer’s Royal Lux picked up two time penalties on course today for a final score of 49.0.

Amanda Hund and Pik Pilot. Photo by Sally Spickard.

Amanda Hund and Pik Pilot. Photo by Sally Spickard.

Jetting up the board from tenth place to finish in fifth are Amanda Hund and her own Pik Pilot, who are contesting their first CCI* here this weekend. This pair will also finish on just their dressage score for a total of 49.4.

Richard Jeffery’s course was definitely tough, which is to be expected. The earlier morning light may have caused some of the fences to become “bogey” type fences, and clear rounds were hard to come by as time went on. Particularly tricky were the liverpool as well as the “railroad crossing” jump which featured a pesky plank that preferred to live on the ground.

I have more photos to add from this division as a gallery, so I’ll add that to the bottom of this post once I am able to. Congratulations to all finishers on a successful weekend!

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