In the desert (well, not quite) at Copper Meadows, the competition is heating up in both the Advanced and Intermediate divisions. Jen McFall had the fastest time of the day, moving her into second place, right behind Tamie Smith and Mai Baum.
“Lexus got better throughout the course, “ Tamie said, leaving some of us to wonder exactly how much he’s going to take the eventing world by storm, as this is his first Advanced.
“I didn’t go for time today,” Tamie admitted. “They were surprisingly fast as their gallops were all opened and relaxed.” As Copper Meadows is serving as both a move-up and a final prep before going east for Tamie, she’s understandably excited about how her horses are doing.
Jen McFall’s High Times’ Rolex prep seems to be right on track. Jen, of Dragonfire Farm, is just thrilled with her personal “dragon” today. “Billy feels stronger than ever and is no longer over jumping, wasting time in the air, and he’s not looking hard at the ditches.”
Early in their career, ditches were a source of anxiety for Billy, but that no longer seems to be the case. “I think he’s telling me he’s ready to be a boss and I should just come along for the ride!”
Mackenna Shea and Landioso had a great trip around Copper Meadows today, as they also worked on their Rolex prep, and 3.6 time was enough to move her to third. It’s hard to say that you had a bad day when a couple of seconds is all that makes the difference.
Random but interesting fact: Two Michele Pestl sourced horses are in the top four — Alex Ahern’s Mai Baum and Dan and Sue Shea’s Landioso — as well as two members of Team Dragonfire, Jen McFall’s High Times and Cori Davis’ A Golden Effort. Good things come in pairs this weekend!
Tomorrow will be the deciding factor, as there is less than a rail between the top three. Time for the nail-biting to begin!
Go cross-country, Go Eventing, and Go #copperstrong!
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