Michael Pollard and Ballingowan Pizazz (StockImageServices.com)
Pollard, 33 of Dalton, Ga. and “Mango,” a 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse (OBOS Quality 004—Rocklea, Leabeg) owned by the Phoenix Syndicate, have had a strong spring season after the horse came back from a lengthy rehab for a tendon injury last year, then suffered a nasty overreach during the fall season.
Mango was previously ridden by Shannon Lilley at the 2011 Pan American Games (Mexico), and Pollard started riding him in 2012. Before he could take the gelding to their first advanced, Mango strained a tendon. Last summer they started competing again and finished sixth in the Richland Park CIC*** (Mich.) and won a division of advanced at the Five Points Horse Trials (N.C.). This is the horse’s first CIC***.
No stranger to success in the sandbox, Pollard also led the dressage at the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** two weeks ago, where he finished 14th overall with three rails down in the show jumping.
Buck Davidson, Ocala, Fl., is hot on Pollard’s heels in second riding Copper Beech (43.2) and Courtney Cooper, Nottingham, Pa., is third on Who’s A Star (44.6). Davidson is hard at work competing four horses in the CCI*** this weekend, and all of them are placed in the top eight after dressage.
In the CIC*** Doug Payne and Crown Talisman impressed the judges to score 42.0 and take the early lead. Payne and “Tali” were third after dressage at Rolex Kentucky, but did not run cross-country because Payne is planning to compete at the Pau CCI**** in France as part of his WEG selection battle plan.
Boyd Martin’s two WEG hopefuls Shamwari 4 (43.4) and Otis Barbotiere (44.2) sit in second and third place, respectively. Phillip Dutton is competing Shamwari 4 this weekend; Martin will ride “Otis” in the dressage and show jumping but skip the cross-country, since the leg that he broke at the Carolina International six weeks is not 100% yet and he finds it hard to hold the galloping position. He plans to ride both horses himself in the intermediate at Waredaca before he takes them to Germany to compete in the Luhmuehlen CCI**** in June.
Dutton, who won the Advanced horse trials at The Fork (NC) and finished 8th with Martin’s Trading Aces at Rolex Kentucky this year, is also 6th after dressage in the CCI*** riding Fernhill Fugitive this weekend.
Emily Beshear and her lovely grey mare Shame on the Moon (43.9) braved the muddy conditions yesterday morning to take the lead in the CCI** ahead of Kristen Bond on Seams Ready (45.0) and Lynn Symansky on Osborne 9 (45.4).
In the CIC** Lauren Kieffer, second-placed finisher at the 2014 Rolex Kentucky three-day event,. has a lock on the top two placings with 46.7 riding Meadowbrook’s Scarlett and 46.9 on Landmarks Monte Carlo. Courtney Cooper and R Star stand 3rd with 47.8.