Sharon White and Jaguars Duende. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.
The CCI5* at MARS Maryland 5 Star, presented by Brown Advsory cross country course may have thrown the leaderboard into an absolute uproar today (more on that coming soon), but the CCI3* cross country was nearly as influential, causing upheaval across the board. Today was deeply disappointing for some teams and exhilarating for others -– such is eventing.
Multiple riders moved up as many as 32 places, while others found themselves plummeting down through the leaderboard. But the competition isn’t over until it’s over. No matter where they are on the leaderboard today, everyone who’s still in play has a chance to make it through the horse inspection and leave it all out on the floor in the show jumping phase tomorrow.
Sharon White and Jaguars Duende. Photo by Shannon Brinkman
Sharon White and her own Jaguars Duende (Jaguar Mail x Latina, by Lancaster) skyrocketed up the rankings, moving rapidly from ninth to first place on their dressage score of 29.6. “Jag” is quickly becoming Sharon’s superstar and is poised to one day follow the footsteps of her barn mate, Claus 63, as her new 5* mount. Sharon has owned the mare since she was just three years old, sourcing her from Dirk Schrade, and has produced her up the levels. Thus far in her FEI career, Jag has never finished off the podium, nor has she ever had any obstacle faults on cross country (knock on wood).
True to form, Jag was her usual stellar self on the track today. “Well, I couldn’t have asked [Jag] to be any better today. It was really a special day for her,” Sharon said. “She’s a very good competitor. Her mind is excellent, and it is really nice to sit on a horse that wants to go and fight for you and will think of nothing else but doing her job. That’s just really, really wonderful.”
Sharon believes her focus on Jag’s fitness prior to the event was key to the 8-year-old Westphalian’s nearly foot-perfect round today. As a West Virginia resident, Sharon has had easy access to terrain relatively similar to the Maryland Five Star’s never-ending upward climb. “We know the terrain is a big factor coming here. I have a very good friend, Anita [Antenucci], with the most beautiful hill at home. So we’ve been galloping up that hill a lot in preparation so that the cross country would be a non-issue, physically, for Jag and I felt like that worked really well,” Sharon said, adding, “I’m just really proud of her.”
Sara Schulman and Cooley Chromatic. Photo by Shannon Brinkman
Out of the 53 riders who left the startbox this morning, Sara Schulman and Cooley Chromatic (Thorgal x Castrade) was the only one to maintain her position on the leaderboard. Adding just two points to her dressage score, Sara and Cooley Chromatic are still in second place this evening with a score of 30.6. At just 26-years-old, Sara has an impressive cross country record with “Caden.” Together, the pair has finished in the top ten in seven out of eight of their FEI starts.
“I’ve had him since he was three. He’s the first horse that I produced, and he has gained so much confidence over the years,” Sara said. “For instance, going to Bromont was a testament to that. To say, ‘Hey, how far has this horse come in the last four years since he was spooking over his first Beginner Novice?’ Going out there today, and again, me not getting it 100 percent right all the time, having full trust in him, giving him the reins a time or two, and just sitting back and supporting him– and he answered every question. I could not be prouder of how much confidence he’s gained, especially over these bigger tracks and in much bigger environments.”
Sara believes riding at the MARS Bromont CCI3*-L, where she also participated in the Bromont Rising Program, was good preparation for the terrain at Fair Hill. “We actually went to Bromont sort of as a preparation for this event, long term, just so that we had a baseline of what he would feel like at a three star long because neither of us had done the level before. So that was a good test of fitness, as Bromont is quite hilly as well, to get a good idea.”
Allie Knowles and P.S. I Love You. Photo by Shannon Brinkman
Allie Knowles and Katherine O’Brien’s P.S. I Love You (FSS Correlli Bravo x Woodmount Queen, by Crannagh Hero) are currently in third place on their dressage score of 31.4. The pair has a relatively short record, having done only seven FEI competitions together. What they don’t have in quantity, they do have in quality. Together they’ve placed in the top five in four of those seven starts.
“He’s a very sharp horse and arrogant, but also insecure, and you need to read between the lines with him and make sure that you can be reassuring but also firm and and really in tune with him,” Allie said. “So it’s been a really fun progression coming to this. And I came in here with a lot of confidence and I think so did he, but that confidence might be a little bit frail. It wouldn’t take much for him to question that. It happened a little bit in the dressage -– we’re having an amazing test, and then one mistake, and he’s kind of like, ‘I’m not sure,’ and then he gets frustrated, and you just need to settle him back down and reassure him. It’s the same on cross country. If a problem did happen, I think he would overreact. I tried to stay on the ball and not be casual with him. But also trust the training, trust that he knows what he wants to do, and he’s going to try to do it right, but not let him down and not forget that he’s actually only eight.”
Having gotten the ride on “Jerry” as a five-year-old from JP Sheffield, Allie says the key to producing the horse up the levels was to take her time and really slow down. Never one to do something halfway, Allie and Jerry were a full minute over the time at their first Modified event. “He was hot and sharp, and JP really encouraged me to take my time and be patient. And I have– I had a minute of time at my first Modified on him. I mean, I really, properly took my time, because he is so quick to get a bit frazzled.”
Today, Knowles showed just how much Jerry, owned by Katherine O’Brien, has grown over the intervening years. Going into this morning, Knowles’ biggest concern was whether or not the Irish Sport Horse would have the endurance required to navigate the nine-and-a-half minute course. “Jerry is a serious competitor. It’s like he knows he’s there to win. And he’s always right on the ball and very sharp and very ready to go at all times. And he’s very fast, but he has never gone nine-and-a-half minutes, so that was a question mark in my mind. And he probably went faster than he ever has. I couldn’t even believe it,” Allie said.
Nine riders made the time today, however only eight went clear as Tracy Bienemann and Venezuelan River activated a frangible device at fence four. Seven horses were eliminated and two retired. Following a fall with his first 3* mount, Mo Chroi, Boyd Martin withdrew his second ride, Barney Rubble, from the division and turned his attention to the 5*.
Tomorrow, the 3* riders must endure the scrutiny of the horse inspection at 9:30 a.m. (blissfully moved back from 8 a.m., thank the media gods). At 11:35 a.m., the first 3* rider will enter the atmospheric show jumping arena for the culminating phase.
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