Kylie Lyman and Trading Aces FTW
The CCI2* show jumping course at Fair Hill featured big fences and a long track. There were just 15 double-clear show jumping rounds and only three of the top 10 pairs after the cross-country jumped double clear. Kendal Lehari and Colleen Rutledge, 8th and 6th after the cross-county respectively put down two of those double-clears and at that point it looked like the course would ride well for the final few riders. However, Ideal Contini and Young Man both punched out rails, DHI Colour Candy tapped a rail that barely slipped off the cups, and Double Rivers Really Cool pulled the last two rails. Overnight leaders Kylie Lyman and Trading Aces had a rail in hand when they entered the arena, but they didn’t need it and jumped a beautiful clear ride for the Fair Hill two-star win.
CCI2* Results:
1. Kylie Lyman and Trading Aces +0 48.7
2. Colleen Rutledge and Dillon +0 53.9
3. Kendal Lehari and Totally Frank +0 54.7
4. Will Faudree and DHI Colour Candy +4 55.9
5. Kadi Eykamp and Double Rivers Really Cool +8 57.5
6. Will Coleman and Ideal Contini +4 57.7
7. Diana Burnett and Diamond Cut +4 58.4
*8. Laura VanderVliet and Mightly Mangaroo +0 58.6
9. Kylie Lyman and Garrison Flash +4 59.3
10. Karl Slezak and VDL Ulando H +0 59.3
–Kylie is a great champion and was all smiles after her win. She was really complimentary of Trading Aces and said “he really didn’t put a foot wrong all weekend.” Trading Aces was imported from Ireland two years ago and Kylie said she fell in love with him the first time she saw him. Kylie now rides out of Ocala and Vermont and works with Buck Davidson but Bobby Costello helped her this weekend since Buck is on a plane bound for Mexico as we speak. Trading Aces didn’t look like the easiest ride today, but Kylie did a great job guiding him around.
–Collen can head into the off-season after a great autumn of competitions. After doing so well at Burghley aboard Shiraz she finished second at the two-star with Dillion. Colleen has had a couple of tough falls on Dillon this year and re-routed to the two-star from their original plan of doing the three-star at Fair Hill and it worked out great for them. Fair Hill couldn’t have a classier group of podium finishers.
–I’ve known Kendal’s horse Frank for a few years and, in all honesty, two years ago I did not see this horse finishing third at his first two-star, but I couldn’t be happier to be wrong. Kendal and Colleen are models of riders who work incredibly hard to produce their horses and they do a great job at it. Frank won the highest placing American TB award for the CCI2* from the Mid-Atlantic Horse Rescue and Kendal won the leading foreign rider award for being born in Canada.
–Courtney Cooper won the sportsmanship award for the two-star, which is very much deserved. Courtney competed multiple horses all weekend including in the YEH divisions, and, as usual, I never saw her without a smile on her face.
–Libby Head won the highest placed young rider award. She moved all the way up from 55th after the dressage to finish on 17th with zero penalties Saturday and Sunday aboard Sir Rockstar.
–Just four pairs finished the weekend on their dressage scores in the CCI2*. The fantastic four: Kendal Lehari and Totally Frank, Sara Kozumplik and Tatton Winter, Kevin Keane and Fernhill Flutter, Libby Head and Sir Rockstar.
–Fair Hill was anything but a dressage competition. Of the top four finishers, only one of them was in the top 10 after the dressage–Kylie. Colleen moved up from 10th after the dressage, Kendal moved up from 19th to finish in third, and Will moved up from 14th to 4th with DHI COlour Candy.
The CCI3* starts jumping at 1:30pm ET. I’ll be around right after the division finishes with a recap. Go eventing.
