Lexington, Ky. - The exciting marathon phase took place Saturday at the Kentucky Classic CDE, the host of the final USEF National Combined Driving Championship competitions of 2014. Drivers demonstrated their skill through seven-obstacles on the marathon track at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky.

USEF National Pairs Championship       
By expertly guiding her pair through the tough obstacles, Misdee Wrigley Miller (Lakewood Ranch, Fla.) stayed atop the leaderboard in the championship with a total score of 127.75.

"I really enjoyed it. The course drove great, my horses were good. I was a little bit rusty but it came back to me," Wrigley Miller said of switching back to a pair after driving four-in-hand at the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

Steve Wilson (Louisville, Ky.) had a great day with his pair of Lipizzaner geldings and ended in second place with a score of 138.86. Max Montoya (Hebron, Ky.) had a steady round with his team of Georgian Grande geldings to head into the final day in third with a score of 146.01.

USEF National Combined Driving Pony Championships - Single Pony
Having the fastest times in five of the seven obstacles, Paul Maye (Fairfield, Va.) won the marathon phase and moved into the lead with Harmony Sporthorses' Markus on a score of 112.91.

"What can I say, he was his usual self. He is always good," Maye said of Markus.

Miranda Cadwell (Southern Pines, N.C.) also progressed up the standings with a wonderful effort in the second phase, putting her in second with an overall score of 124.50.

USEF National Combined Driving Pony Championships - Pair Pony

Amy Cross (Aiken, S.C.) maintained her lead with Wendy O'Brien's Welsh geldings. After an outstanding performance over the track, Cross goes into the final phase on a score of 111.44

"It went really well today actually. I was really happy with it," Cross said. "They really responded to me today."

Jennifer Matheson (Aiken, S.C.) piloted Katrina Becker's pony pair to a second-place finish in the marathon. She stays in second place overall with a score of 119.23.

The cones phase begins at the Kentucky Classic CDE begins at 9:00am ET on Sunday. The entire day of cones competition will be streamed live on the USEF Network youtube page. 

For more information on the Kentucky Classic CDE, click here.