I received a text a couple of hours ago that plaintively asked, “is it normal to feel hungover after watching eventing?” And the answer, of course, is yes: even if there isn’t any booze involved, I just know you all had your emotional bandwidth absolutely sapped over the course of this extraordinarily influential day. Honestly, if someone so much as whispers the word ‘frangible’ in my vicinity right now, I’m just going to start sobbing.
But with the last iota of my sanity, I want to look back on today’s action — through the eyes of those involved on site, on horseback, and at home.
The day started bright and beautiful:
Hannah Sue Burnett gave us all a tour of the challenge to come:
As did Caroline Martin:
Jennie Brannigan introduced us all to stable star Stella Artois:
The day start out with the first of three Jonelle Price rides, Grappa Nera — and the first of three classy clears for the rider:
The vet team was out in force, ready to deal with any complications:
EquiRatings reminded us just how tricky the day was going to be:
Buck Davidson celebrated completing a clear round with Jak My Style:
We got a sneak peek behind the scenes at the Head of the Lake:
Meghan O’Donoghue and Palm Crescent came home quick and clear:
Sharon White and Cooley On Show had the jump of the day over the ditch and wall:
Fylicia Barr and Galloway Sunrise recorded a clear round in their 5* debut:
Two-time winner and reigning champion Cooley Master Class popped round for overnight eighth place:
Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous led after dressage but slipped to 32nd after adding 28.4 time penalties to their 21.7 dressage:
Boyd Martin’s debutant On Cue ended up being one of the surprise heroes of the day, moving up to overnight second after coming home just two seconds over the optimum time:
He chatted through the round — which was the sweet spot in an otherwise tricky day in the office for the reigning national champion:
This cat shows off the same exact facial expression that was glued to my face for most of the day:
The heavens finally opened — and oh boy, they did not mess around:
Daniel Clasing and MW Gangster’s Game impressed on course:
And Ema Klugman did the Pony Club proud, climbing an extraordinary 30 places:
The Hollow caused a lot of problems today, but some combinations made light work of it:
Will Coleman chatted to the press after he and Tight Lines moved into the top ten:
The superstars of tomorrow watched along eagerly from home:
As did the four-legged variety:
Okay, okay, back to Ema for a sec, because she was incredible and we’re so proud of her here at Team EN:
The extraordinary Harry Meade provided one of the stories of the day, coming back from a serious accident and head injury in October to ride the best he’s ever ridden, aboard a new ride nonetheless. They recorded one of just four clear rounds inside the time — and were the first to do it:
Could he look any more relaxed?
He’ll go into tomorrow in fourth place — here’s his chat with the press:
One of the other clears inside the time went to Australia’s Kevin McNab and Scuderia 1918 Don Quidam, who jumped around the track as though they’d designed it themselves:
Tim Price and Xavier Faer find themselves in third place again — they finished there in 2019 — after producing the final clear inside the time:
EquiRatings crunched some numbers:
#LRK3DE21: Website, EN’s Ultimate Form Guide, CCI4*-S Live Scores, CCI5* Live Scores, 5* Dressage Ride Times, 4* Dressage Ride Times, Schedule, North America Live Stream, Worldwide Live Stream, EN’s Coverage, EN’s Instagram, EN’s Twitter
