Allison Springer and Arthur are such good show jumpers that their 10 point lead felt insurmountable going into the CIC3* show jumping at Rebecca Farm, but they added a shocking 7 rails and 1 time penalty to drop all the way to 11th. Upon entering the arena Arthur really spooked at a life-sized horse shoe statue that has been spooking horses all weekend. Allison did everything she could to ride him through it, but Arthur has a reputation for being very spooky and it got the better of him today. Arthur and many other horses spooked at the same statue yesterday when it was on the cross-country course and it caused several problems today after being moved into the main show jumping arena, including costing Therese Russell the Training 3-Day win by spooking her horse Dante through the triple. It is frustrating that the show jumping would be so heavily influenced by something that has nothing to do with the jumps and I can’t imagine how Allison must feel.
That being said, nothing should take away from Hawley Bennet-Awad and Gin N’ Juice’s victory. They added just 4.8 penalties to their dressage score with a great weekend of jumping. The only rider who added fewer jumping penalties was Sara Kozumplik. Buck Davidson and Ballynoecastle finished in 2nd. Alexandra Slusher and Last Call jumped one of only 4 double-clear rounds in the show jumping to finish in third. As some bonus footage of Hawley, you can watch helmet-cam footage of her cross-country ride here.
Rebecca Farm CIC3* Results:
1. Hawley Bennett-Awad and Gin N’ Juice +4 53.4
2. Buck Davidson and Ballynoecastle RM +4 54.4
3. Alexandra Slusher and Last Call +0 58.2
4. Jolie Wentworth and GoodKnight +0 59.2
5. Barbara Crabo and Everady II +4 59.8
6. Heather Gillette and Out Questionnaire +8 60.8
7. Carl Bouckaert and Cyrano Z +4 60.8
Samantha is already on her way home after a wonderful weekend at Rebecca Farm, but here are a few other notes from the other three-day divisions:
In the CIC*, Karen Laidley and Snow Globe Effect led from wire to wire and ended up winning by an impressive 11.5 points. Former USEA President and good friend to EN Kevin Baumgardner and Jefferson D’Aurois finished a great weekend third in the CIC*. There aren’t too many sports in the world where the former president of the governing body can compete at a really high level. Pretty cool.
Tamra Smith made up for a tough technical elimination on the cross-country in the CIC3* by winning the CCI* with Fleeceworks Fernhill. Tamra was the only rider in the CCI* division to finish on her dressage score.
James Atkinson and Gustav of Canada led wire to wire in the CIC2* and by a margin of 10 points. James Atkinson is someone to keep an eye on as a rider of the future for Canada, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him added to the Pan American list.
One name that is almost certain to be added to the Canadian Pan American list is Jessie Phoenix and Pavarotti, who finished a redemption weekend with a win in the CCI2*. Other than the cross-country debacle at Jersey Fresh, this horse has proven himself to be one of the best 2* horses in the country. Jessie rode him in a double-bridle on Saturday, which is a bit unconventional but seemed to work well. I feel like Jessie really got the short end of the stick with being suspended and I was really rooting for this pair this weekend. Ronald Zabala-Goeteshel and Mr. Wiseguy finished in second.
That’s all for now. Stay classy Eventing Nation.
