Michael Pollard and Wonderful Will are determined to finish a four-star this year. After an unfortunate fall at the first Rolex water, this pair from Georgia packed their bags and traveled to Germany for the Luhmuhlen CCI4*. Their luck ran out even sooner in Germany than in Kentucky and they scratched before cross-country due to an abscess. Not to be deterred, Michael and Will mailed in their entry for Burghley a few weeks ago and headed to Europe.
This weekend, Michael and Wonderful Will are the only US pair competing at the CIC3* FEI World Cup in Malmo, Sweden. Michael and Will were 25th out of 50 starters after the dressage. On Saturday they jumped clear with some time faults and moved up to enter the show jumping in the top 20. Show jumping is the most challenging phase for Will, and the idea on Sunday will be to get a solid steady round.
I am definitely rooting for Michael and Will in their Burghley campaign not only because I’m a big fan of Michael’s but also because I’d love to see a good American result at an overseas four-star. Between Burghley ’09 and Luhmuhlen ’10, the last 11 US pairs to compete in Europe CCI4*’s have had just one top 10 finish (Phillip and TruLuck), and just four finishes with clear XC rides. Only Tiger Woods would be happy with that performance at major competitions right now.
According to the Malmo website, the event is offering “FRI ENTRE!” So, if you happen to be in Sweden, stop by Malmo for either free dinner or free admission and be sure to cheer for Michael on Sunday.
Now, let anonymous foreign sounding announcer guy tell you all about Malmo, courtesy of the FEI
Go eventing.
