Tom Carlile and Upsilon successfully defend their Barbury ERM title. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Tom Carlile and Upsilon made waves yesterday with their record-breaking dressage score of 16.8 at the Millstreet International Horse Trials in Ireland, and they’ve built on that success today with a smashing cross country round. Picking up just 0.8 time penalties in the CICO3*, they’ve got two poles in hand heading into the final phase.
Tom and the 10-year-old Anglo-Arabian stallion (Canturo X O’Vive, by Fusain du Defey) lead the way for the French team who are currently second in the FEI Nations Cup. France is fighting for a series victory as they’ve already won three Nations Cup titles this year.
Buck Davidson and Carlevo, an 11-year-old Holsteiner (Caresino X Ramatuelle, by Levernois) owned by Carlevo LLC, were standing proudly for the U.S. team in second place after dressage, but withdrew before the start of cross country.
Buck’s absence left the door wide open for Ros Canter and her own Zenshera who waltzed through easily with 2 time penalties added. Ros and the 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood (Guidam x Telvera, by Matterhorn), who are representing Great Britain as individuals, sit on a score of 26.
Great Britain’s Alex Bragg was one of only three riders to come inside the time, and he did it twice to take hold of both third and fourth place at the conclusion of cross country with Barrichello and Shannondale Percy, respectively.
Barrichello, a 9-year-old Ango European gelding (Balou du Rouet x Madon’s Even Wiser, by Matinee du Madon VII) owned by Caroline & Jane March, is in third on a 28.9, and Shannondale Percy, an 8-year-old Irish Sport Horse (Shannondale Sarco St. Ghyvan x Shannondale Maria, Lux Z) owned by Sara Hughes is fourth on 29 points.
Liz Halliday-Sharp and Deniro Z at Millstreet. Photo by Radka Preislerova Photography.
Liz Halliday-Sharp piloted both her rides cleanly around the CICO3* to give the stars and stripes two top ten appearances in Fernhill By Night and Deniro Z who share an identical score of 29.9.
“Niro,” a 10-year-old KWPN (Zapatero VDL X Zonne-Trend, by French Buffet xx), edges just ahead into fifth as the best-placed of the U.S. Nations Cup team after having only 1.6 time penalties. His stablemate “Blackie,” a 15-year-old Irish Sport Horse (Radolin X Argentina XII, by Argentinus) owned by Deborah Halliday, follows just behind with 4 time penalties.
Liz also finished 4th out of 70 starters in the CIC2* with Cooley Quicksilver, who is owned by “The Monster Partnership” of Rob Desino, Chris Desino, Renee Lane and Debby Halliday, on a score of 29.2.
Liz Halliday-Sharp and Fernhill By Night. Photo by Jenni Autry.
“Both of them were amazing and total class the whole way. I couldn’t have asked for more,” Liz said. “I’m a bit annoyed with myself for not making the time with Deniro, but I really tried. You had to really fight for it. I felt like I was just going at the time on both of them. You never had a time to get comfortable; you had to just keep going.”
Hallie Coon and Celien at the Irish Bank. Photo by Radka Preislerova Photography.
Our third U.S. rider Hallie Coon was first out of the start this morning with her and Helen Coon’s Celien. The 11-year-old KWPN mare (Tenerife VDL X R Quicksilver, by Hamlet) was unsure about stepping off the Irish Bank, and the pair picked up an unfortunate 20 penalties early in the course.
“It was a bit unfortunate because she came out guns blazing. These American horses have never seen the dreaded Irish Bank before, so she jumped up on it and she just got really surprised. I could see the wheels turning and she was thinking on what to do. It felt like she went a bit right and left and then popped down after assessing, but looking at the video it’s fairly obvious that I deserved the 20 I got,” Hallie said.
“It’s one of those funny things that if I had the chance to do it again, I’d do it exactly the same way. It’s a learning curve for both her and I. Now that she’s seen that, she’s seen about everything.”
Aside from the blip, Hallie was pleased with the mare, who has spent most of the summer overseas, and remains hopeful for their CCI4* debut this fall at Pau. “She cracked around. She was so good. She gives me everything she’s got every time out, and I was thrilled with how she felt. I think it was a really good prep run for the fall,” she said.
The FEI Eventing Nations Cup at Millstreet is the second team competition to test the new Olympic format of three-member teams. Having a rider withdraw adds an automatic 200 points, which dropped the U.S. to fourth. Great Britain took over the lead followed by the French in second, and one of Ireland’s two teams in third.
Stay tuned for more from Millstreet!
FEI Nations Cup at Millstreet: Website, Schedule, Start Times & Live Scoring, Live Stream, EN’s Coverage
