Liz Halliday-Sharp and Fernhill By Night in Wellington. Photo by Kasey Mueller.
Marilyn Little had a bang-up day at Ocala Horse Properties Winter II Horse Trials, winning the Open Intermediate A and Intermediate Horse divisions. You might remember seeing RF Overdressed’s name from the first winter H.T. in Ocala, where he finished fifth in the Open Intermediate division on 38.5. He improved on that performance today, finishing on his dressage score of 28.1 to win Open Intermediate A.
So who is this new horse? Marilyn found the 8-year-old Hanoverian gelding in Germany last fall while shopping for a student. When that didn’t work out, Marilyn asked Jacqueline Mars, whose Meredyth South she is based at for the winter, if she might consider helping her secure the horse for herself.
“She was kind enough to agree to that so I could try to put together a syndicate, which we are in the process of doing,” Marilyn said. “I’m in love with the horse. He’s a wonderful horse to work with and train, an incredible character and super talented. He’s a beautiful mover and such a competitor in the dressage ring. I feel very, very lucky to have the ride on the horse.”
“Rio” competed at the two-star level in Germany before coming to the States, and Marilyn said he’ll go to the CIC2* at Pine Top later in the month; then she’ll work on his CCI qualification with the hopes of going to Ocala CCI2*.
“He’s only 8, but it’s all coming very easily to him,” Marilyn said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he did an Advanced prior to Ocala. I’ve been very lucky to have the opportunity to work with David (O’Connor) a lot with the horse and take part in the (USEF High Performance) training sessions with him, which has really helped speed up the partnership.”
Marilyn also took first and second in the Intermediate Horse division with RF West Indie and RF Quarterman, who ended their 2014 seasons with a win at the Galway Downs CCI2* and a third-place finish at the Dutta Corp Fair Hill International CCI2*, respectively.
“This was Indie’s first Intermediate of the year. She did two Prelims before this, the first one very slowly, and she was very fresh and excited to be out. She was very good today. She had a very successful year last year, but she’s come out as an 8 year old, and she’s a very different horse,” Marilyn said.
“The opportunity to be based at Mrs. Mars’ farm has done wonders for both Indie and Quarterman in terms of their development into upper-level horses.”
Marilyn is poised for a very strong season with what looks to be a very competitive strong, especially with RF Tabasco set to make a return to competition at Red Hills. “I’m really, really lucky,” she said. “Walking through the barn is like looking at a dream team.”
Holly Jacks-Smither finished second in the Open Intermediate A division with More Inspiration for team Canada on 36.1, followed by Jon Holling and Zatopek B in third on 41.8.
Liz Halliday-Sharp also had a great day in Ocala, winning the Advanced combined test with Fernhill By Night on an incredible score of 19.5. And even more incredible is the fact that the score includes “one little mistake,” plus an error because she learned the wrong test by mistake! The judge gave her three minutes to learn the right test, and she went in and delivered that. Liz said her super groom Gemma Jalinksa recorded video of the test, which will be uploaded to her Facebook page shortly.
Michael Pollard and the lovely Trakehner stallion Halimey won Open Intermediate B on 30.7, with his stablemate Ballingowan Pizazz finishing just behind in second on 30.8. HHS Cooley made his comeback after a nine-month break to finish in third place on 32, also with Liz. She said she wasn’t planning for a fast trip, put Cooley felt like he hadn’t missed a beat with “loads in the tank” at the end.
Nicole Dolitte and Tops won the Intermediate Rider division on 40.7, followed by Madeline Backus and P.S. Arianna on 42.5 and Victoria Clayton and The Secret Agent on 43.2. Click here for full scores from the Ocala Horse Properties Winter II Horse Trials, and stay tuned for Leslie Threlkeld’s full report from Pine Top Intermediate Horse Trials.
Ocala Horse Properties Winter II: Entries, Ride Times, Live Scores
