Woodstock, England – Today it was an excting cross-country day at the Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials CCI3* as 98 combinations headed out on Eric Winter’s impressive track. Clark Montgomery and Loughan Glen easily maintained their overnight lead with three other American pairs sitting in the top 20. The U.S. combinations looked poised as they tackled the tough course against a top international field.

Montgomery (Tetbury, England) and Jessica Montgomery, Kathryn Kraft, and Holly and William Becker's Loughan Glen made light work of the renowned CCI3* course. He and the 2003 Irish Sport Horse gelding jumped the fences out of a great rhythm and covered the terrain effortlessly as they finished double-clear, one of 13 combinations to do so in the massive field. The duo remains atop the leaderboard with their score of 33.8 and an eight-point lead going into the final phase.

“He felt fantastic the whole way round,” Montgomery happily explained of his mount Loughan Glen. “He left the start box and wanted to gallop and was looking for thejumps. I couldn’t have asked for him to be any better. He is looking and feeling great after today.”

Listen to more of Montgomery’s thoughts about his cross-country round.

Lauren Kieffer (Middleburg, Va.) and Team Rebecca, LLC's Veronica had an excellent cross-country round, adding four-tenths of a time penalty for being a second over the optimum time of 10 minutes 51 seconds. She and the 2003 Dutch Warmblood mare delivered a strong performance on Saturday and move forward to the final phase in eighth place with a score of 46.6

“I’m really thrilled with how Veronica handled the course,” said Kieffer. “She’s seen a lot of tracks at this point, and it all felt quite straightforward.”

Sharing her gratitude towards her supporters and being a recipient of a Karen E. Stives Endowment Fund for High Performance Eventing Competition Grant through the USET Foundation, Kieffer added, “I’m very grateful to [the late] Karen Stives for the opportunity to be here and I only wish she was still here to share this with. A big thank you as always to Team Rebecca for giving me the opportunity to ride this mare and to everyone involved with putting these trips together.”

Listen to more thoughts from Kieffer about her cross-country day.

Emily Beshear (Somerset, Va.) gave Deep Purple Eventing's Shame On The Moon a great ride in the horse’s European debut, adding only 3.2 time penalties to their score. The USEF Land Rover Competition Grant recipients confidently tackled the imposing track and finished strongly. She and 2006 Trakehner/Thoroughbred mare sit in 11th place on a score of 47.7.

Will Coleman (Gordonsville, Va.) and The Four Star Eventing Group's OBOS O’Reilly earned redeption on Saturday after they had a tense dressage test on Thursday. Coleman and the 2003 Irish Sport Horse gelding displayed their jumping prowess as they galloped across the Blenheim Palace grounds and answered all the questions handily, despite being held on course. The USEF Land Rover Competition Grant recipients were double-clear and head into the final phase on their dressage score of 51.1 in 19th place. Listen to Coleman’s thoughts about his cross-country day.

Elisa Wallace (Jasper, Ga.) and David and Jill Hopcroft's Simply Priceless continued to demonstrate experience beyond their years as they make their European debut at Blenheim. The USEF Land Rover Competition Grant recipients looked more than capable over the tough track despite 7.6 time penalties. Wallace and the 2001 Thoroughbred gelding head into the last day of competition in 32nd place with a score of 57.7.

The first U.S. combination out on course, Elisabeth Halliday-Sharp (East Sussex, UK) and Deborah Halliday’s Fernhill By Night had a solid round marred by one stop at the Cheltenham Annual Members’ Badges skinnies combination at 17B. She and the 2003 Irish Sport Horse gelding determinedly finished the course, ending up with 26.0 time penalties. They sit in 76th place on a score of 91.9.

Jennifer McFall (Wilton, Calif.) and High Times, her own 2004 Holsteiner gelding, started off well, but elected to retire after running into some trouble at the Kubota Rails at fence 15 and the Chletenham skinnies at fences 17 A and B.

The show jumping phase will bring the competition to a close tomorrow, beginning at 9:15 a.m. BST.

Find out more about the Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials and view ride times and results.

The USEF International High Performance Programs are generously supported by the USET Foundation, USOC, and USEF Sponsors and Members. Without the support of these organizations and individuals, it would not be possible to support our athletes. The USEF is especially grateful to individuals who give generously of their time and money to support the equestrian teams.