Ali Smallpage attended Otter Creek in Wisconsin over the weekend and has sent us this recap of the event. Ali includes one of the most amazing videos I have ever seen of show jumping. Thanks for writing this Ali and thank you for reading.
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Watch the rail on the oxer at 0:40
From Ali:
I always have such a lovely time at Otter Creek, and this year was no exception!
First and foremost, a huge thank you to Mark and Lena Warner for hosting Otter Creek. They always go above and beyond the call of duty, especially in this case, making the show jump footing for the BN nearly perfect after the storms had washed some footing out of the in-gate. They kept everyone informed on the status of the storms as they were passing through by walking barn to barn and giving the latest radar updates. They do so much more in preparation and running the event, which many competitors and spectators can never fully appreciate, mostly because Otter Creek Horse Trials always run so smoothly.
Now, on to the results.
Virginia Stockburger won the Starter division aboard The Last Desperado.
*Note: The Stater Division ran as a combined test of dressage and cross country. Due to the storms, they did not get a chance to run show jumping.
Hayley Rich won the Junior Beginner Novice on her dressage score of 33.8.
Elena Miskowiec won the Beginner Novice Rider division on a score of 35.4 adding some xc time penalties to her dressage score.
Liz Lund won the Open Beginner Novice aboard her horse Rhine Maiden on a score of 26.5. Liz was also the Lowest Placing Area IV Adult Rider with that score. She also placed 4th and 5th in Open BN on client horses.
Hannah Leahey won the Junior Novice on her dressage score of 28.5 leading from start to finish.
Cigi Sutrick won Open Novice A moving up from third after dressage.
Jenna Sack won Open Novice B also moving up form third after dressage.
Talia Henkle won the Junior Training Rider division on Harlan’s Flight. She was also third after dressage.
Looks like being third in dressage isn’t a bad place to be!
Ann Bower won the Open Training on Prospero adding just a rail to their dressage score.
Erika Treis Petersen won the Preliminary/Training division adding just 1.6 xc time penalties to their score. She was the only rider to jump the preliminary show jump course with a double clear round!
Lisa Borgia won the Open Preliminary leading from start to finish.
Liz Lund won the Open Intermediate with a double clear show jumping round.
I spoke with Lisa Borgia after her cross country round. She was very pleased with her horse. This is his third preliminary and a pretty big course. She said the footing held really well despite the rain. In all her years coming here, her preliminary win is not her favorite memory. She had a horse, Izzy, who was tough to get around training level. She had her first clear xc course with him a few years back, and it still brings her lots of joy to think about it today. What’s your favorite moment of Otter Creek?
Hannah Williams aboard Aurelia NSF should have had a rail down at #5 in the preliminary show jumping. See her awesome luck in the above video.
Here is a quick shout out to Sara Fogelberg who was taken away in the ambulance on Saturday following a fall on the novice xc course. She landed on her left foot so hard it shifted her hips. Thankfully, nothing is broken, and her spirits are up! She is heading home as soon as she feels better walking. EN is sending its “speedy recovery” karma to you.
Liz Lund, Jennifer Johnson, and Maria Filsinger sponsored Flair Equine Nasal Strips for every competitor. You just had to find one of them to show you how to put it on for xc and you could ride your xc course with one. What a nice treat!
The competitors’ party again featured dancing on the preliminary/intermediate table. The food by Foster’s Catering is delicious as always. My favorite is their salads or their wraps.
