More Than a Sand Dancer: Marilyn Little’s RF Overdressed Reveals His XC Hops in Bromont CCI2*

Marilyn Little and RF Overdressed. Photo by Leslie Wylie.

When it comes to “floaty-boat” warmbloods, to revisit the made-up adjective I used to describe Marilyn Little’s RF Overdressed on Thursday, you just never know. Sometimes the springs in the dressage ring translate into mad hops over fences, and sometimes a buoyant passage is as high above the ground as they want to go.

There’s no doubt that RF Overdressed, an 8-year-old German-bred Hannoverian, can win the dressage — they’ve laid down some pretty bonkers scores this spring. But he’s a new ride for Marilyn, just imported in December, and their partnership over fences has taken a little longer to cook.

Marilyn originally thought the horse might be a prospect for the Pan Am Games but after a couple hiccups at the CIC2* and CIC1* levels in the early spring, Marilyn decided to back off from that plan. “He’s only eight and our partnership is still quite new,” she explained after her winning dressage test on Thursday.

They spent the rest of the spring working on his performance over jumps and that effort paid off today, when the horse bounced around his first CCI2* in fine form.

Sharon White and Cooley On Show. Photo by Leslie Wylie.

Meanwhile, Sharon White has second place on lock with Cooley On Show and is tied for third on Clifford M with Ryan Wood and Woodstock Bennett. Sharon and Ryan both have had a busy weekend; Sharon has two horses in the CCI2* and one in the CCI3* and Ryan has two in each.

Sharon and Ryan, along with Ryan’s lovely mum and little dog Snoopy, kindly stopped by the media tent to tell us about their rides.