Heather Morris and Slate River “Ro” of Texas stepped their game up to take the advanced lead going into Friday’s dressage. Ro put in the best test I have seen from him, and every time I see the horse I am impressed by his size and athleticism. Heather rode a very correct test
Like the morning’s CIC3* dressage, no one really seized control of the advanced division at The Fork. Names like Arthur, Twizzel, and St. Barths finished the day towards the top of the division but tension seemed to prevent each of them from dipping into the low 20’s. Each of those horses had some lovely moments during the warm up and then seemed to take a slight step back in the arena.
Thursday advanced scores:
1. Heather Morris and Slate River 28.3
2T. Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister 29.3
2T. Allison Springer and Arthur 29.3
4. Will Coleman and Twizzel 30.0
5. Hannah Burnett and St. Barths 34.7
–This was just my second time watching Ringwood Magister “Fin” in person on the flat. He is an unbelievably beautiful horse and, as someone standing next to me pointed out, he definitely looks the part of winning an international medal when Tiana keeps him relaxed. I also had the pleasure to meet Tiana’s mother, who was a lovely lady and just as nice as Tiana.
–I forgot to mention this earlier, but I think every single rider in the CIC3* wore their helmet. Of course, all of the advanced riders wore helmets. I’ll be interested to see how many riders choose to wear their top hats at Rolex because top hats are officially uncommon at FEI competitions.
–You might remember that Mighty Nice is a Fernhill horse from Samantha’s post yesterday and he impressed the heck out of me today. After winning the CIC2* at Red Hills, Mighty nice looked every bit an advanced horse today in the dressage.
–EN’s Coren Morgan and Ebb Tide had a lovely test with some really nice changes. Call me biased (which I am), but I would have given her better than a 40.7. Coren’s fellow Kansas native, Julie Wolfert also put in an excellent test.
–Mark and David were out coaching the US and Canadians respectively all day.
–Several other horse trials divisions also ran today. Susan Beebee and Wolf lead the Prelim-A with an impressive 21.3. Laura Vello and Fanciful Mist are winning the Prelim-B on a 26. Kadi Eykamp leads the Intermediate-B and Kim Severson is winning the Intermediate-A on Fantasy Impromptu.
That’s all for now. Samantha will have some great video interviews later, and I’ll be back in the morning with news and notes and another big day from The Fork. For now it’s off to the pig roast hosted by the course builders and if the food is half as good as the course then we are in for a real treat. Dressage resumes in the morning at 8:30. Go eventing.
