Tiana and Master Hill
Tiana Coudray and Master Hill stepped up big time today with the fastest ride in the CIC3* to maintain the lead going into the show jumping. I wasn’t very impressed with Tiana’s ride two Saturdays ago but I was incredibly impressed with how well she rode today. Tiana guided Master Hill around a tough CIC3* course under legit pressure, and Tiana’s ride made a big statement that she isn’t just going to be a great combined test upper level eventer.
CIC3* Results:
1. Tiana Coudray and Master Hill +4.4 53.4
2. Jennie Brannigan and Cambalda +6 56.4
3. Will Faudree and Pawlow +7.6 61.1
4. Boyd Martin and Otis Barbotiere +8.8 62.1
5. Phillip Dutton and Mighty Nice +13.2 66.1
6. Will Faudree and Andromaque +9.6 67.1
—Jennie did exactly what she wanted to with her ride. She brought Cambalda home nice and easy and finished the day with a great prep run for Luhmuhlen. She could have easily made the time and taken the lead, but wisely understands that no one remembers who wins the CIC3*’s and that Cambalda is definitely worth protecting.
–In some sense, Jersey is a Luhmuhlen prep event. 3 of the top 6 horses in this division are looking to head to Germany for the event this summer, with Jennie looking at the CCI4* with Cambalda, and Will planning on the 4* with Pawlow and the Luhmuhlen 3* with Andromaque.
–Of 19 CIC3* starters, one fell, two retired, one was eliminated on stops, three finished with stops, and 12 got home clear. Those numbers suggest that the CIC3* course rode better, but the CIC3* field was much more experienced than the CCI3*. As expected, no one made the time in the CIC3*.
–The Jersey Shore water complex just isn’t riding very well today, especially the jumps in the middle of the water. I watched about 7 rides through the CIC3* water, which was a brush fence into the water, a corner in the water, and then out of the water and over a narrow. 6 of 7 horses made the corner sticky and one rider fell. Whether it’s the footing, the jumps, or the surroundings, horses just don’t jump water to water well in that complex.
–In a classic case of a horse being very wise and helping their rider, Licuia Strini’s horse Oudo looked after his rider big time. She popped off after he scrambled over the aforementioned corner in the Jersey Shore water complex. Lucia’s Point Two popped and she was hanging with one foot caught in the left stirrup and the other foot on the ground. Oudo didn’t move a muscle and waited for the fence judges to untangle Lucia’s foot. Both were fine and walked away smiling. Other than that incident, Lucia and her sister Benita are having a good weekend competing here together on multiple horses.
–The Jersey Shore line that cause so many issues in the CCI3* was not on the CIC3* course so the award for most challenging jump is a tie between the other Jersey Shore line that caught Lucia and #5B, which was a skinny jump at the bottom of the hill after a log jump.
–Will Faudree and Andromaque had the best ride through the water from the rides that I watched.
–There was just one fall total for both of the 3* divisions. That’s a great sign and I would attribute it to good riding, a bit of luck, and course design.
That’s all for now. I didn’t video the CIC3* because most of the complexes are the same as the CCI3*. Three down and one to go, as they say. I’ll be back in a few with a quick recap of the CIC2*. Go eventing.
