Mia Farley and Invictus. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.
Mia Farley and Invictus, owned by Karen O’Connor, took the lead in the B&D Builders CCI4*-L at the completion of the dressage phase in The Event at TerraNova with 27.9 penalties, followed by Olivia Dutton on Sea of Clouds (29.5). Overnight leader Lauren Nicholson is now in 3rd place with Jacqueline Mars’ Larcot Z (30.4).
The day turned cloudy and overcast after a short morning rain shower, but the sun peeked through the clouds as Farley and the stunning, big black American Warmblood gelding performed a brilliant and accurate test. Certainly, their striking presence in the arena caught the judges’ attention and then they laid down a performance that set them clearly above the rest.
The 24-year-old rider splits her time between Lexington, Kentucky and Ocala, Florida and is competing at The Event at TerraNova for the second time. She trains with David O’Connor and moved east from her home state of California to work with him six years ago. In 2023, Farley and her horse Phelps completed their first CCI5*-L at the Maryland Five-Star with a top-five finish and were the only pair to complete the cross-country phase double-clear. They followed up their debut with a second double-clear at the 2024 Defender Kentucky Three Day Event CCI5* and a top-15 finish. She was also the recipient of the 2024 USET Foundation Jacqueline B. Mars Spring National Competition and Training Grant.
Farley has been riding Invictus since he was four years old and said, “Invictus was bred by Karen O’Connor and he was born and raised in Middleburg, Virginia. I backed him when he was four and he’s now eight years old. My dressage test this morning went very well. I’ve been working on his dressage work a lot in the past few months and I’m glad everything came together today.”
Thinking about tomorrow’s cross-country phase she said, “I think the cross-country course looks good, coming here I knew TerraNova is more flat terrain, so thinking about ‘Sammy’ in particular, I think it’ll be a question of whether he’ll come back to me, and the communication there, but it looks fun and I’m excited to give it a shot.”
Olivia Dutton and Sea of Clouds. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.
Olivia Dutton and Sea of Clouds put in a polished, professional ride in the CCI4*-L this morning that was both relaxed and forward, and the pair were the picture of elegance from start to finish.
Katie Malensek and her ten-year-old Oldenburg gelding Landjaeger are the top-ranked Canadian pair in the CCI4*-L, in fourth with 31.7. Malensek, a small animal veterinarian who is based in Florida, also stood 5th after dressage with her ten-year-old, flea bitten gray, English Warmblood gelding STX Mex (32.1).
Phillip Dutton and Quasi Cool. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.
Today also began the CCI4*-S division, a qualifier for the US Equestrian Open of Eventing Finals next year at Morven Park in Virginia. Olivia’s dad, Phillip Dutton, was first down the centerline riding Quasi Cool, a 13-year-old bay Holsteiner gelding owned by Caroline Moran. One of America’s most accomplished event riders, Dutton rode a technically correct test that placed him third with 32.0 after dressage.
Robin Walker and SBT Barolo, a big, handsome 14-year-old, bay Irish Sport Horse gelding took the lead in the Insurance Offices of America CCI4*-S with a 30.8. SBT Barolo looked fit and well-conditioned and Walker didn’t leave any points on the table with a forward, fluid and accurate test.
Swedish rider Jennie Jarnstrom-Denis and Flower Girl stood second after dressage in the CCI4*-S. Jarnstrom-Denis wore a striking, royal blue shadbelly jacket with yellow piping and rode an elegant test with the 12-year-old Hanoverian mare.
The CCI4*-S division show jumped in the afternoon, and the brightly colored course with flags fluttering in the breeze and spectators watching from the Pavilion created an electric atmosphere that shuffled the standings.
Dressage leader Robin Walker’s STF Barolo jumped around clear, but added 2.8 time faults for a total of 33.6 penalties. Phillip Dutton and Quasi Cool, first to enter the arena, had a slightly conservative round but were just a little faster, with 1.2 time faults, and took the lead with a 33.2. Jennie Jarnstrom had a rail and then a refusal at the triple bar with Flower Girl, dropping to 5th place (44.0). Dutton and Azure jumped clear and in the time to tie for second (33.6). Jarnstrom and Splash Dance jumped clear and in the time to move up from 7th place to fourth (42.8).
Walker bought SBT Barolo as a young horse from the Go for Gold sale in Ireland, and has competed him through the CCI4*-L level. “He went to Kentucky a couple of springs ago and then I had to give him some time off because he wasn’t quite right,” said Walker. “He’d done a lot by then, but coming here is just getting him going again because he’s had a lot of time off. I didn’t know what would happen really, he’s seen tracks like that, but not for a long time. There’s a lot of atmosphere and not a lot of time to make decisions, but I’m thrilled with him, I couldn’t be happier. He just jumped great.”
Dutton said, “Obviously it’s the last event of the year and it wasn’t necessarily a requirement to come here, but we had the little bobble at Boekelo [in the Netherlands, where he competed on the US Nations Cup Team] and it’s such an incredible venue. Quasi Cool is a very talented horse; I thought he did a good test and show jumped well. The cross-country course has ramped up a lot since the last time I was here and I think it looks like a good course, they’re a little limited with flat terrain here but they’ve been thoughtful and put in some interesting lines.”
He added that he was happy with Azure, who has settled a bit as she has gained experience this year. “I was able to ride her more in the dressage test, a lot of time I’m sitting there on a time bomb and today was not like that.”
While Dutton didn’t come to TerraNova specifically to compete in the qualifier for the inaugural US Equestrian Open of Eventing, he said, “I think all the riders are very excited about the Open – any time you bring money and a bit of prestige to the sport, it’s good. I didn’t come here specifically for that, but it’s great if I do well and get some points toward qualifying.”
Finally, he said, “I couldn’t be more proud of Olivia and Sea of Clouds, it’s not easy for those high strung Thoroughbreds to stay calm and relaxed, and it’s a credit to Olivia that ‘Socks’ went so well and had a mistake-free test.”
Jennie Jarnstom and Splash Dance. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.
This year’s three and four-star courses are designed by Alec Lochore, who took over as designer from Captain Mark Phillips. The courses are built by ETB Equine Construction. Lochore said, “We’ve changed quite a lot; we’ve added two or three new features – the Ditch and Rails, or ‘coffin’, is a new feature, and the mound, known as ‘Mount Myakka,’ is going to give us lots of fun for many years because there are so many options there now. I’ve tried to straighten the course out and provide more gallops, so we come around and use the arenas in both directions, and we’ve never done that before, and we’ve looped into the main arena. The riders, when they get here, will see quite a difference in their routes and I’m sure they are going to give me the benefit of their wisdom shortly.”
The general vicinity was heavily affected by recent hurricanes Helene and Milton, but Lochore said that TerraNova was lucky overall – quite a few trees came down on the property, but the cross-country course was mainly unaffected. “Given that the area was pretty badly affected, we were very lucky,” he said. “There were lots of branches down and the team here has been amazing.”
Lochore was the Technical Delegate of the event for several years before becoming the course designer and said that he’s seen great improvement to the footing on the cross-country course over the years. “I can confidently say that the ground has improved so much – they have a really good irrigation system and all sorts of equipment to use to spike and Aerovate the footing. We’ve tested the firmness of the footing and we’re making improvements both for the short-term and the long-term.”
Cross country will follow this schedule on Saturday:
9:40am ET – CCI3*-L Cross-Country
11:10am ET – CCI4*-L Cross-Country
12:45pm ET – CCI4*-S Cross-Country
1:55pm ET – CCI2*-L Cross-Country
3:55pm ET – CCI1*-L Cross-Country
All live streaming can be found here. You can view cross country maps here.
The Event at TerraNova (FL): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Live Stream] [Volunteer]
