Cross-country is ongoing right now for the one-star division. So far the difficult course seems to be riding okay. I’ve witnessed two three stops/runouts at the double corners, but most riders have done a great job. This is a pretty tough question for the one-star level– two right-hand corners on a bending line, forward five or quiet six strides.
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Post-XC Update:
Cross-country has finished for the day. I didn’t see everything on both courses, but they seemed to be of championship caliber– some serious questions out there for each level. The weather was about as perfect as can be for July in Kentucky: the ground was softened by 6″ of rain in the last week, and the sky blessed us with overcast clouds and an occasional breeze. Temps were in the upper 70s for most of the morning. I saw a few horses looking tired at the end of the course, but the weather can’t be an excuse today!
My “ride of the day” goes to #40, Sean McIntosh and Wild T’Mater of the Ontario/Quebec team. They looked brilliant, smooth and clever through the one-star coffin. The coffin walked in a two-to-two strides, but lots of horses shuffled in a third stride here and there, as the line was a bit curved from A to B to C. Sean had his horse set up on a great line, jumped right out of stride with no hesitation whatsoever. Great to watch! Other riders had to work a bit at the coffin, and a couple were bailed out by some generous horses, but all in all it rode pretty well.
I spent another large portion of the day out in the Hollow, where the one-star riders had their choice of a bounce question: bounce steps down (the short route) or a bounce of rolltops (the long route). The rolltops only added about 10 seconds (if that), so quite a few went that direction and it was fairly forgiving. The bounce steps down were a bit daunting (yes, they’ve been on the Rolex course before! ) but many made it through easily. Most trotted in, a smart decision that allowed horses to look down and step off carefully. While I was there, only one horse refused– caught off guard by the drop and the rider jumped up the neck. They made it through on second approach, a bit hairy but successful.
As seen in the scores, there was some trouble scattered throughout the course, but I didn’t hear reports of anything unusual or dangerous. I saw a lot of very nice horses and very nice riders today– Congrats to all and good luck tomorrow! Again, I apologize for the poor quality photos…Samantha is very much missed here in Kentucky!
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CH-J* Top 3 teams after XC:
1. Ontario (156.8)
2. Area V (157.9)
3. Area III (169.1)
[CH-J* Scores] [CH-J* Team Scores]
CH-Y** Team Standings after XC:
1. Area VI, VII & IX (168.2)
2. Area II, III & IV (177.4)
3. Ontario & Quebec (246.2)
4. Area V (246.6)
[CH-Y** Scores] [CH-Y** Team Scores]
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Careful, don't lean forward!
Eyes up!
Shoulders back!
