Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous Sail Into Day One Land Rover Kentucky CCI5* Lead

Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Marilyn Little wasn’t sure how the colder temperatures this afternoon would affect RF Scandalous, who is definitely a Florida girl who prefers not to experience being cold (I can relate to that, Kitty) – but she needn’t have worried as she marched down the ramp to throw down a lovely effort worth a 21.7 nod from the judging panel of Christina Klingspor, Peter Gray, and Bobby Stevenson. This is very nearly a Kentucky record, though a bit short of Bettina Hoy’s 19.2 (or a 28.8 on the old scoring system that was in place at the time) earned in 2009. Lucinda Fredericks also scored a 21.5 (on the new system) here in 2009.

Naturally, as most riders are, Marilyn was quick to point out areas where she felt she could have earned a few more points. This pair performed this test (CCI5* test B) a year ago in Wellington, where they earned a 19.9, and Marilyn said she had hoped to get a bit closer to that mark in order to give “Kitty” a little bit of breathing room come Saturday.

The addition of the mare now being five-star fit, the cooler temperatures, and a glimpse of the cross country in warm-up gave Kitty a “sense of Saturday”, Marilyn said, conceding that this mark was “fantastic” considering the circumstances (“considering the circumstances” – Marilyn, I once got a 47 on a Beginner Novice test. I’ll take your 21.7! These perfectionists, I tell you). “She just said, ‘I’m ready, let’s do it!’ so I was able to push a bit.”

Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Nonetheless, it was a strong start to a weekend that Marilyn has been looking forward to, albeit with a tinge of sadness as she is doing her first five-star without the support of her longtime friend and mentor, the late Packy McGaughan. In his honor, though, she’s focused on the task and knows there’s a lot to do this weekend. Above all, though, she echoes the sentiment of the other riders: gratitude.

“We’re always thrilled to come to Kentucky, but this year we’re so blessed to come to Kentucky,” she said.

A common theme that emerged in mixed zone interviews today was that this is, without a doubt, one of the deepest fields the Land Rover Kentucky CCI5* has seen – and one of the toughest cross country courses to go with it. Add in some forecasted rain and, well, let’s just say this won’t be a dressage show.

“It’s a real five-star test,” Marilyn said of the track. “When I walked it, I thought, ‘I’m really glad I’m riding (Kitty). It’ll be tiring early on and for horses that are a little shocked, it’s going to come up hard and fast in the beginning. She’s very experienced and so now I’ve got to do my job and be as efficient as I can, put as few footprints on the course as I can and just let her do her job.”

Marilyn has been working hard honing RF Scandalous'(Carry Gold – Richardia, by Lario) warm-up routine and working with the 16-year-old Oldenburg mare owned by Phoebe and Michael Manders as well as Ms. Jacqueline Mars to the point where at Stable View last month she said she finally felt like the mare was letting her drive. As a result, they’ve gotten quicker across the country, and they’ll get to practice their improved rideability on Saturday.

Watch the test:

It’s no surprise to see some of our overseas entries breathing down on our leaders’ necks after day one, and it’s Oliver Townend, twice a winner here in as many years, and Angela Hislop’s Cooley Master Class (Ramiro B – The Swallow, Master Imp) who earned the same score (hey, he’s consistent, eh?) as their last trip here, taking a 24.1 into cross country.

Oliver Townend and Cooley Master Class. Photo by Shelby Allen.

“I’m very very happy with him today. I think that’s the best test he’s done at Kentucky,” Oliver said. “I think he’s on pretty much exactly the same score as he was last time but at the same time it’s a different test which possibly doesn’t suit him quite as well. But at the same time very very happy and he felt very relaxed in there. He’s probably one that does miss the crowd a little bit because he is a very laid-back character and it does him no harm to have a bit of atmosphere. You don’t worry about him blowing up, you worry about keeping him going. He’s had a very quiet life and a quiet career. We just quietly get him ready and he seems to take to the plane journey and he seems to take to everything. He needs very little training in terms of dressage, it’s more about keeping him fit and happy and enthusiastic and he loves his job very well.”

Oliver’s had a light prep – as have his other British compatriots – to start the season as British Eventing saw the start of its season canceled due to ongoing coronavirus complications. With events only running for designated Elite level riders beginning March 22, the onus fell to the riders to do their fitness prep without a lot of runs. This isn’t so unusual for Oliver, though, as he typically can be found running his top horses on a lighter schedule.

“It’s probably been difficult mentally more than anything else because it’s been a little bit start-stop with the ‘is it on or is it off’ with Kentucky and Badminton,” he reflected. “It kind of takes the wind out of your sails a little bit because this is obviously what we’ve worked our whole lives for. But when it’s back on the wind went back into the sails. Then it’s how the hell are we going to pay for this. But we got that, we’re here, we can’t afford the flight home unless it goes well (haha). It’s very very special to be here. With the horses, at this stage they know the job very well so it’s just having them mentally and physically as ready they can be and we’re very happy with where they’re at.”

William Fox-Pitt and Oratorio. Photo by Shelby Allen.

It’s a warm welcome to another British competitor and a three-time winner here, William Fox-Pitt, who in all interactions this weekend has just been absolutely tickled to be back here competing after not making the trip since 2015. In between, he suffered a traumatic brain injury and made a miraculous return to competition – at the top level, too – and now just says he’s quite grateful to be here with the opportunity to compete again. He will sit in third place overnight with Oratorio II on a score of 27.9, one of the best dressage scores the horse has earned in international competition.

Oratorio II (Oslo Biats – Cinnamon Brûlée, by Topanoora) is a special horse for William, though he found his way back to his string in a bit of circuitous way. Bred by William and a progeny his former four- and five-star horse, Oslo, he crossed the heavier stallion with the lighter Thoroughbred former point-to-pointer Cinnamon Brûlée to produce a bloodier horse.

But when Oratorio was three and his owners offered the ride to William, he turned it down. Surely, he’d be retired by the time the horse was ready to go conquer the world. Why “waste” the ride on him?, he thought. So he recommended the horse go to Laura Collett, who did a world of a job producing him through his early international careers. At that point, he’d become a big and strong horse and it became apparent that he might be better suited for a male rider. Just like that, and with William firmly not retired, Oratorio found himself a new partner.

William says he’s feeling a bit on the underprepared side coming into this weekend, having just run a couple of Intermediates and an Advanced before hopping on the plane. “I’d like to be a little more prepared,” he said. “We couldn’t even go and do an indoor show jumping round, so we’re a little underprepared I would say. Our season didn’t really start until April. I think I went cross country schooling in March.”

To that end, William’s putting faith in his horse’s experience (and his own, though he’s too modest to say it) and breeding. While not the most experienced in the field at the level, Oratorio does have a Badminton top-15 finish under his girth. “Horses don’t forget,” William commented. “They’re amazing animals. They can do nothing for a long time and hopefully he’ll just switch into that mode. But with it being so ‘lukewarm’ in Britain, nothing very big and exciting, you certainly walk around a course like this and think, ‘oh, the jumps are quite big.’ It’s just about getting back into it and remembering that’s how the real world is.”

Boyd Martin and Long Island T. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Boyd Martin took command early on in the afternoon aboard the Long Island T Syndicate’s Long Island T (Ludwig von Bayern – Highlight, by Heraldik xx), whose score of 28.2 isn’t an FEI personal best but is nonetheless a damn good five-star debut. Boyd actually lost his stirrup for about five movements in the test, but in all the pair put in one of the nicer tests of the early sessions.”To be honest, he can be hot in the dressage and he was quite settled today, so I was pretty pleased with him,” Boyd said. “Cross country is going to be the deciding factor,” he said, electing not to get too “wound up” about the dressage, though it’s surely a nice feeling knowing you’ll at least be within striking distance come Saturday.

“(The course) looks like the biggest thing that this horses will ever see in his career so far, so I’ve got a mission ahead of us,” he said of Derek di Grazia’s track.

Tim Price and Bango. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Tim Price, part of the three-rider New Zealand contingent in Kentucky this week, was hoping for a personal best aboard the Numero Uno Syndicate’s Bango (Garrison Royal – No Sale, by Don Tristan), but the pair’s score of 31.5, while solid enough for early fifth place, won’t quite catch the 15-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding’s five-star personal best earned at Burghley in 2019 (29.6). In all, though, Tim says he was pleased.

“Probably 90 percent of it was the bet was the best work he’s given me,” Tim said after his ride. “He’s been working well all week, so I’ve been looking forward to having a personal best. It’s close to a personal best for him, but just a couple of little bits and pieces, that’s all it takes to knock you back a few marks, but that’s kind of the nature. He’s red-headed and he’s a blood horse that wants to gallop, and we’re just trying to bide our time until cross country day.

Tim will be looking for a bit of redemption come Saturday, as his last trip to Kentucky with Bango in 2016 saw them part ways just a few fences from home. They’ve since Burghley three times, including a fifth place finish in 2019, so that additional experience will no doubt be called upon when it comes time to leave the start box.

Will Coleman and Tight Lines. Photo by Shelby Allen.

Will Coleman and the 14-year-old Thoroughbred Tight Lines (Turgeon – Merindole, by Tel Quel) saw some marked improvement in terms of relaxation in their test today, and it’s a testament to the time Will has put into “Phish”, who isn’t what you would label as “easy-going” or “chill” on most days.

“I think maybe we’ve both matured a little bit,” Will, who stopped by the mixed zone with his adorable daughter, Charlie, mused. “In general, we prioritize his relaxation as the foundation of everything we’re doing in his training and I think we’ve been pretty consistent about that for the last couple years. I think our whole program has sort of embraced that approach. Certainly a more like him with his racing background and his high-blooded nature, it’s sort of necessary for us to kind of give him that extra time when he needs it and be a little bit conciliatory on certain things. So I think we’ve been on a good trajectory the last couple years and we’re just trying to get a little better every day.”

Fylicia Barr and Galloway Sunrise. Photo by Shelby Allen.

We were over the moon for our Rookie riders today, and Fylicia Barr finds herself in quite good position with her $500 Craigslist mare, Galloway Sunrise (Duty Officer – Coco Chanel), who earned a 32.4 to sit seventh overnight. It was a heck of a debut for Fylicia, who was impressed with her mare for going in there and putting the work in. “I’m so excited for her, she just works so hard,” Fylicia said. “She went in and just did all the movements and kept a straight head and I couldn’t ask for more than that.”

What about the data? Let’s bring in Maggie Deatrick to do some crunching:

Approximately two-thirds of the field scores at or over expected today, with the overall average score 1.15 points above expected. The first session saw the biggest disparities, with pairs in that session seeing on average 2.68 penalties above their expected scores, while the remaining three sessions average less than three-quarters of a point above expected.

On average, the judges saw a 2.69 difference between pairs, with all pairs seeing a difference at minimum of one percentage point. Eleven competitors saw a difference of at least 3 points or more, with Wizzerd and Cooley On Show having at least 5 points between their highest and lowest percentages. Robert Stevenson seemed the most reluctant to hand out marks at the highest end of the scale, offering the lowest marks for all but three pairs who scored sub-33.

A visual breakdown of RF Scandalous’ dressage scores.

Despite the drama of RF Scandalous laying down the lowest score of the last decade at this venue, her score was well within the expected range considering the average of her last three outings was a cool 22.4 penalties. Cooley Master Class however came and did exactly what he did two years ago, lay down a score equal to his personal best at this level and flirting with his personal best overall at A/4/5*.

A visual breakdown of Cooley Master Class’ dressage scores.

While many might think that Oliver Townend duplicating his score from 2019 was predictable, but the reality is that 2019 was the second-best test the horse had ever done at the top levels, and it was followed by a more typical 27.6 at Euros the following fall. It is quite the feat to come back in 2021 and equal that, particularly when your scores were trending in the opposite direction. This score, as it did in 2019, improves his chances tremendously, moving Cooley Master Class from the competing for the top ten to likely favorite to win.

Three other Rookies also made their debuts today: Emily Hamel and Corvett (38.1 – 25th), Mike Pendleton and Steady Eddie (38.4 – 26th), and Zoe Crawford and K.E.C. Zara (44.9 – 29th).

The show is far from over as we’ve only seen half of the pairs in both divisions. Though Marilyn’s mark might be hard but not impossible to chase down (looking at you, Mai Baum!), we’re likely to yet see some hefty shuffling in the ranks before we move ahead to cross country.

Notable rides tomorrow in the CCI5* that could threaten these early top placings include Phillip Dutton and Z, Tamie Smith and Mai Baum, Oliver Townend and Ballaghmor Class, and Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg TSF – though at this point it’s certainly still anyone’s prerogative to come in and steal the show.

We’ll be coming back tomorrow with lots more from the final day of dressage. We’ll also have a photo gallery to publish this evening as well as more social media, some cross country thoughts from designer Derek di Grazia, and much much more. Thanks for tuning in with us! Go Eventing.

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