Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous have won three FEI competitions in a row at Galway Downs, Pine Top and Red Hills, and they’re one step closer to adding a fourth victory to that list after show jumping clear in the Setters’ Run Farm CIC2* at the Cloud 11-Gavilan North LLC Carolina International to hold their lead on 38.6.
The 10-year-old Oldenburg mare owned by Raylan Farms and Phoebe and Michael Manders continues to look more seasoned with every outing, and Marilyn said after the Red Hills win that she hopes the mare will be strongly considered for the U.S. Pan American Games team with her recent string of consistent performances.
Ryan Wood and Powell. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Nineteen riders in the nearly 50-horse field delivered double clears over Marc Donovan’s twisty track, with many of them rewarded with big jumps up the leaderboard. Ryan Wood and Summitt Sporthorses Ltd’s Powell moved from fifth place to second on their dressage score of 44.4 after jumping double clear in the horse’s two-star debut. The 9-year-old Oldenburg gelding bred by Ilona English won the Virginia CCI* last fall — definitely a horse to keep our eye on for the future!
Phillip Dutton and Evie Dutton’s Mighty Nice also enjoyed a nice move up the leaderboard, going from sixth to second place with a double clear to sit in third on 44.7. This is Happy’s first competition since the World Equestrian Games Prep Trials at Great Meadow in July, and the 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding looked very happy to be back out.
Elena Hengel and Zipp. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Eighteen-year-old Elena Hengel is having one hell of a two-star debut this weekend with Zipp, who pulled one rail to drop from third to fourth on a score of 46.3. The 11-year-old Dutch gelding she owns finished 11th in the Fair Hill CCI2* with Will Coleman in 2012 before stepping back to the one-star level to teach Elena the ropes. They placed eighth individually in the CH-J* at Young Riders last year.
Caroline Martin and Effervescent round up to the top five, moving up from seventh on a score of 46.6 after jumping double clear. The 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Sherrie Martin and Caroline finished ninth in his first CIC2* at Red Hills earlier this month, as he’s poised to improve on that finish if he can deliver a clear trip around Hugh Lochore’s cross-country course.
Phillip Dutton and Mighty Nice. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Rain fell here in Raeford, North Carolina, overnight, which made the going a little slick in the grass show jumping arena since the sun has stubbornly refused to join us today. We saw some horses slipping, and riders had to be careful in the turns to give their horses enough time to balance while still keeping clipping along to make the time allowed of 82 seconds. Click here to check out the course map.
Rails fell throughout the course, which, as Marc said while chatting on the USEF live stream, is the hallmark of good course design. Between spooky Stonehenge on the far end of the ring and four jumps lining the horse-eating white picket fence that separated the arena from the big sponsor’s tent, there was plenty to look at, and riders had to be vigilant from start to finish to deliver a clear round.
Caroline Martin and Effervescent. Photo by Jenni Autry.
If you couldn’t watch the USEF Network live stream this morning, you can watch a playback of the CIC2* later in the day. The CIC3* show jumping starts at 1 p.m. EST, so be sure to watch live here and check back later in the day for comments from the CIC2* leaders and much more coverage from Carolina International.
Go Eventing.
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