Kim Severson, Buck Davidson and Marilyn Little took a three-way tie on a score of 42.4 into the CIC2* show jumping at Plantation Field International Horse Trials this afternoon, and both Kim and Buck jumped double clear with Cooley Cross Border and Be Mine, respectively, to take the tie forward to cross country tomorrow.
Cooley ran his first CIC2* at Virginia Horse Trials in May, and he picked up just the third runout of his otherwise spotless cross-country record, so Kim will be looking to clean that up as she tackles Tremaine Cooper’s course tomorrow. Kim said she likes the course in yesterday’s press conference, though she said there are a few combinations where it’s difficult to get a read on the striding.
Be Mine just did his first Novice at Rocking Horse Winter I Horse Trials this January and has proceeded to rocket through the levels since. He was 7th in his first CIC* at Chattahoochee Hills in May and then won the Bromont CCI* the following month. “He just keeps trucking along,” Buck said, and he’s confident the horse is ready to step up to two-star cross country tomorrow.
Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous shared the overnight lead after dressage, but the mare dropped two rails today to move down to sit in equal 11th place. “Kitty” struggles with confidence in this phase, and Marilyn said after their round that the mare hit a jump in warmup and scared herself. She has a lot of jumper shows in her future to get confident and settled, Marilyn said.
But Marilyn is still enjoying a spot near the top of the leaderboard with RF West Indie, who sat in fourth place after dressage and moved up to third today with a clear round. Marilyn said the dressage score of 42.7 should have been in the 30s, as the mare missed three movements in the test. “She’s had a lot more good experiences than Scandalous has and a lot more time with me, so our partnership is much more solid,” Marilyn said.
This is Indie’s first two-star, so Marilyn said the goal on cross country will be to make sure the mare has a confidence-building experience. “The time on the approach is important so she really reads things well and goes away from the combinations understanding what she just jumped, and if that takes a few extra strides, that’s fine.
“It’s never a dressage competition here,” Marilyn said. “There are always time faults on cross country. The fraction of a point we’re struggling for on the centerline goes away in a second on cross country because time is such a factor. On a horse like Indie, I’m going to have to let that go a bit.”
Thirty-three of the 83 pairs entered in the CIC2* jumped double clear show jumping rounds. CIC2* cross country starts bright and early tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. EST and runs through 11:20 a.m. EST, so the stage is set for an action packed morning here at Plantation Field. Go Eventing.
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