The first CCI4*-S of the Olympic season is officially under our belts, and we can already feel the heat as our riders came out swinging. Despite near-flood conditions at the start requiring some phase rearrangements, the awesome folks behind the Bouckaert Equestrian H.T. International (aka The Event Formerly Known as Chatt Hills) really pulled out all the stops and managed to put on yet another fantastic opening show, complete with what seems to be a unanimously infamous new resident arachnid on course.
After what was likely rather soggy runs around the cross country course on Friday, and as the field’s fastest rider still coming in 11.6 seconds over time, Hannah Sue Hollberg and Capitol HIM held on to their lead with a beautifully double-clear show jump round to take the win on a 43.3. Despite a dropped rail, Phillip Dutton maintained his second-place position on new partner Jewelent (previously campaigned by Ireland’s Clare Abbott) to end the day on a 47.6. Repping for New Zealand, Joe Meyer climbed up the leaderboard from 14th to finish in third aboard Harbin, ending on 50.6 with huge smiles all around.
While our upper-level riders have already concluded their weekend for the weekend, there are still Novice through Preliminary levels to go as we finish out today. Check out EN’s show preview for more info on this event, and stay tuned for Gillian’s full report coming soon. This coming weekend will mark 2024’s first 4*-L with a favorite — our Sunday Links sponsor Setters’ Run Farm Carolina International CCI and Horse Trials — so watch this space as EN gets back into show season mode with event reports coming at ya on the regular! Go Eventing!
U.S. Weekend Action
Bouckaert Equestrian H.T. International (Fairburn, GA) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Scoring]
Full Gallop Farm March I H.T. (Aiken, SC) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]
SAzEA Spring H.T. (Tucson, AZ) [Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
Southern Pines H.T. I (Raeford, NC)[Website] [Entries] [Ride Times] [Volunteer] [Scoring]
International Events
Land Rover Horse of the Year (Hastings, New Zealand) [Website] [Program] [Equestrian Schedule] [Eventing Schedule] [Eventing Live Scores] [Live Stream]
Links to Start Your Sunday:
Participate in Noelle Floyd’s Market Research Study for a chance to win!
West Coast, Best Coast: Intercollegiate Eventing Heats Up at Galway Downs & Twin Rivers Ranch
At the end of the day, do stunts like “Mankini-Gate” generate interest in horse sports?
USEA Events A-Z: Jumping Branch Farm in Aiken
Sponsor Corner: Only three days left until the Yanmar America CCI4*-S cross country course walk! If you’re attending the SRF Carolina International 4*, you can’t miss walking the course with International 5* Eventer Ariel Grald. The course walk starts at 1pm, so [RSVP here!]
Morning Viewing: I’m always here for a side-by-side, so here are two runs by Will Coleman at the Grand-Prix Eventing at Bruce’s Field — one winning round aboard Chin Tonic HS last weekend, and one aboard 8th place finisher Obos O’Reilly in the inaugural 2019 event. What a difference five years can make!
