Matthew Brown and Super Socks BCF. Photo by Miles Barrett.
Matt Brown piloted a keen looking Super Socks BCF around Derek di Grazia’s challenging CIC3* course at Fair Hill this morning to seal the deal on the first win of his East Coast tour. Matt said yesterday that he wasn’t going to push too hard for the time, but he said that “Flaxen’s” natural cruising speed would likely get them close.
Matt and Super Socks BCF came home with 11.6 time penalties added to their weekend score for a final of 57.8, good enough to retain the lead over a quick Boyd Martin and Pancho Villa. Boyd picked up 9.6 time on course today, the fastest round of the day.
Thanks to Tamie Smith for capturing video of Matt’s ride through the final combination on course:
Matt & Flaxen at the last combo
Posted by Tamie Smith on Saturday, April 18, 2015
We asked Tamie to share her thoughts on the course, having watched many pairs go throughout the division, and she said the ground was soft, making the time very difficult. “This competition probably wasn’t one to try for time as everyone has bigger things in store soon,” she said.
Fence 4AB.
Tamie commented on fence 4AB, a skinny house to a big brush on an angle, as one of the more influential questions on course. She also pointed out the last water as a tricky combination, a brush to a jump in the water on an angle.
The course seemed to overall ride well, looking at the scores, but in all six riders encountered trouble. Kurt Martin unfortunately fell from Delux Z and was eliminated.
Kelly Prather and Blackfoot Mystery also enjoyed a great run today, holding their third position with 19.6 time added. Matt Brown and the second of his three rides, Happenstance, moved up from fifth to 10th overall with another quick footed round.
Colleen Rutledge and Escot 6, a 9-year-old Hanoverian gelding, steadily moved up in the standings, starting the weekend in 12th after dressage, seventh after show jumping and finally fifth after picking up 15.6 time on cross country today.
Many pairs competing this weekend are heading to Jersey Fresh next, so we’ll be seeing many of them back out in the CCI3* in just a couple of weeks.
Ryan Wood maintained his lead in the Advanced with Frankie, cementing a wire to wire win on a final score of 44.2. There was a bit more shake-up in this division after cross country with a handful of problems popping up.
Ryan also pulled off a 1-2 punch with McLovin finishing in second with a final score of 52.4, followed by Liz Riley and It’s the Truth, who moved from sixth to third on the weekend with a final score of 59.4.
We must also give a shout-out to Rachel Wilks and River King, who laid down a double clear round to move from ninth into fourth. Well done, Rachel!
Fair Hill April: [Website] [Ride Times] [Live Scores]
