Allentown, PA—Dressage for the CCI*** at the Jersey Fresh Three-Day Event got underway Thursday at the Horse Park of New Jersey in Allentown. The first two horses in the ring put in quality performances, and by the lunch break, they continued to hold the top two places. Veteran U.S. team riders Karen O’Connor (aboard Allstar) and Stephen Bradley (aboard From) got the division underway. Bradley held the lead well through the halfway point of the day on a score of 46.5. O’Connor held onto second for the morning as well, and by the end of the day, Bradley was in fourth, tied with Kristin Bond and Three Wishes II. O’Connor now sits in sixth place. From, the 14-year-old Russian-bred Thoroughbred, has completed Burghley and Rolex CCI****s but has been out of major competition for three years. However, he has had a successful spring in 2007, picking up a first, a second and a third at his three preparatory horse trials. “I was pleased with it, and I thought that because I still don’t quite trust him in the atmosphere, I overdid the warm up a little bit,” said Bradley. “We were both huffing and puffing a bit halfway through and looking forward to the halts.” Bradley’s main goal was to get From qualified for the Olympics next year, but he is keeping all of his options open for the seasoned campaigner. “I did sign up for the Pan Ams,” said Bradley. “I’m not sure they’re going to want to take him or not. They have a lot of nice horses to choose from, but my main goal is to get him qualified for the Olympics. I’m thinking about next year.” Scores in the 40s were hard to find throughout the day, and it wasn’t until Bonnie Mosser and Merloch went into the ring after the lunch break that Bradley relinquished his lead. The ten-year-old New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred-cross gelding was very consistent and accurate. Mosser made one mistake, picking up the wrong lead from the walk to the canter, but they scored a 46.3. Jersey Fresh is Merloch’s first CCI***. “I didn’t believe it was as good as my test at the Fork,” said Mosser. “It’s getting better. It’s a work in progress. He has a very good work ethic. He wants to do the movements and he’s very rideable. He knows all the movements…the half-pass is not hard. All I need now is to get more expression in it…that will come in the fall. The canter transition was the one mistake, but it was only one step. It’s about getting him a bigger, fancier trot.” Mosser’s lead lasted until the always-consistent dressage combination of Mara Dean and Nicki Henley flashed through the test, putting in the best test of the day to finish on a 42.9. The 12-year-old English-bred Irish Thoroughbred gelding owned by Willow Bend, LLC, was slightly slow in both flying changes, but the overall performance was very polished. Dean, who led after the dressage last year at Jersey Fresh, saw further evolution in her horse’s performance. “I was pleased,” said Dean. “He was very relaxed, I felt like I lost him a bit at times just from the heat on both our parts. His canter work needs to get better, and his changes need to get better. I like his whole mentality. It’s much softer. He loves to show off as long as he shows off and contains himself. He loves his job." Dean is adamant about getting the job done on Saturday as she has been in this position before. A run out on the cross-country took her out of contention last year at Jersey Fresh. “He had an injury this winter, so I haven’t run him too much, which has almost been better,” said Dean. “It has given me a lot of time to practice at home. He’s been really good at home, he’s finally growing up.” The third to last horse of the day, Nathalie Pollard’s Icarus, contesting his first three-star, showed class beyond his experience and put in a stellar, balanced test under Will Coleman to score 44.2. Coleman picked up the ride when Nathalie and husband Michael handed over the reins of their horses to Coleman for the remainder of the spring season. The nine-year-old Thoroughbred gelding put forth very polished trot work, and aside from a couple of green moments in the flying changes looked very professional.
“He’s a beautifully trained horse,” said Coleman. “Nathalie and Michael do a good job with their horses. Honestly, I’m very privileged. I couldn’t have been given two horses in better condition.” Coleman rides Ret Mercury (also owned by the Pollards) and Sir Wexford Seascape (owned by Sean McQuillan) in the CCI** on Friday. Ten points separate the top 12 horses. The CCI** gets underway at 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning, and all three divisions go cross-country on Saturday.

Day Two Results: Jersey Fresh Three-Day Event
1. Nicki Henley – Mara Dean (U.S.)
2. Icarus – William Coleman, III (U.S.)
3. Merloch – Bonnie Mosser (U.S.)
4. From – Stephen S. Bradley (U.S.)
5. Three Wishes II – Kristin Bond (U.S.)
6. Allstar – Karen O’Connor (U.S.)
7. Uni Griffon – Lisa Marie Fergusson (Canada)
8. Tipperary Liadhnan – Kim Severson (U.S.)
9. Arthur – Allison Springer (U.S.)
10. Rocket – Donna Smith (New Zealand)