Elkton, MD – The weather blew through the Mid-Atlantic region on Friday night and cross country/ marathon day at the USEF National Championships at the Dansko Fair Hill International boasted perfect conditions and terrain.
Phillip Dutton, the overnight leader in the CCI*** Championships had to wait until the very end of the day to maintain his lead with Ann Jones’ The Foreman and put on a cross country clinic with the 11-year-old Thoroughbred gelding. The Foreman, who won the event in 2004, has had a somewhat quiet year struggling to overcome a minor injury to a splint, but Dutton from West Grove, PA is happy to have the veteran back on good form.
“He started out and he wasn’t quite as forward as I am used to with him," said Dutton, who won two Olympic Gold medals. “He hasn’t run in quite awhile but as the course went on he got more confident. I was down on the clock for most of the course but I was able make up probably about 8 to ten seconds over the last part of the course. It’s nice to have Thoroughbred horse that can do that. I think he needed the run.”
Dutton and The Foreman have one rail in hand over student Boyd Martin, finishing the cross country portion on their dressage score of 42.4. Dutton is third with Acorn Hill Farm’s Woodburn, who also was clear and under time, one of only six on the day, on 50.9.
“I have a lot of respect for Woodburn,” said Dutton about the 11-year-old New Zealand Thoroughbred. “He galloped really well and did the course pretty easily. He was maybe a little bit aggressive at the jumps which is something I’ll have to be working on. Overall I am really pleased with him. Hopefully they will trot up well and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Going every other with Dutton was his student/assistant Martin. Third out on course, Martin and his own 10-year-old Australian Thoroughbred gelding Ying Yang Yo romped around the track picking up .4 of a time fault to finish on a two day score of 46.5.
“He hasn’t done a big course like that in awhile,” said Martin about Ying Yang Yo. “He felt quite comfortable out there. The only hairy moment was at the first narrow (fence 5) and he was a bit spooky. Other than that he was a champion. He got bit tired at the end and I had to look after him a bit and back off a little bit and unfortunately he picked up a time penalty.”
Martin also sits in fourth with another Australian Thoroughbred, Neville Bardos. With the less experienced 8-year-old chestnut gelding, Martin added nothing to his dressage score and moved from 11th after the first phase to fourth after cross country.
“He was a little bit rank early on but after that he flew round,” said Martin. “He’s a very fast horse. He’s starting to feel more mature cross country and he’s definitely a galloping machine and he comfortably made the time. I never felt like I was pushing him or riding him hard through the course”
Dutton’s Gold Medal teammate from this summer’s Pan American Games, veteran Karen O’Connor, jumped up from 15th after the dressage to fifth with Joan Goswell’s Irish Thoroughbred Mandiba on the strength of a double clear cross country round. She also lies seventh with Hugh Knows. Young Rider Cayla Kityama splits O’Connor’s pair.
“He has been such a special horse to me and my whole team because he came from Ireland as an unbroken 4-year-old and was bred by a very, very close friend of ours in Ireland,” said O’Connor about Mandiba after he completed the cross country at his first three-star. “So it’s been a very special day for him. He stepped up to the plate, he’s only eight years old and he got tired at the end of the course, I don’t think he’s ever been tired before but when I asked him he kicked right in and finished inside the time and I’m just over the moon with how well he jumped.”
O'Connor started riding 11-year-old Hugh Knows in February, and this is the Irish breds first CCI*** as well. O'Connor broke her collarbone in September and missed a couple of events as a result.
"I don't know him at this level and he's only done two advanced for me but he really is a horse that is going to shine over the bigger courses," said O'Connor. "He has a huge engine and an enormous gallop and tons of scope and as long I learn to stay out of his way I think he has a really great future ahead of him. And by staying out of his way I mean to not ride him like he is smaller than he is, he's a nice big horse."
O'Connor jumped around on four horses, she picked up run outs on Allstar and Upstage but feels fortunate to have a very strong group of horses in her string.
"How fun for me that I have such a range of horses," she said. "I feel good about tomorrow. I look forward to seeing how they are. They are good showjumpers so I will keep my fingers crossed that they are not tired and jump the jumps and keep the rails in the cups. I'm optimistic."
Leaderboards Shuffle after Driving Marathons
The driving marathon got underway in the morning and Lana DuPont Wright's course hosted plenty of action and excitement.
Yesterday's leaders after the dressage didn't fair well in the first marathon classe. Single Pony dressage winner, Shelly Temple was eliminated for going off course which meant that Sara Schmitt's opening score of 95.59 was good enough to hold on for the win.
Driving Batman, she blazed around the difficult course and finished on a two day total of 147.99 which left her with a commanding lead going into the third and final phase, the cones. She has been driving the pony for three years and says that her navigator, Keith Haskell is a large part of her success.
"He was awesome today," said Schmitt about Batman. "I think the most difficult on the whole course was that there were a lot of tricks, like making sure you didn't go through the gates backwards. When you are going fast it is pretty hard to remember where you're going. I wouldn't say he was spot on but because he's fast even making a few minor errors he is fine. I'm quite a bit ahead and I've never actually gone into the cones with such a lead so it's going to be fun tomorrow. When you go into the cones with two points in hand it is a lot of pressure, when you go into the cones with 17 points in hand you can actually have some fun."
In the Single Horse Championship division, Robin Groves has a much smaller lead but sits atop the standings nonetheless. In second place after the dressage, she actually finished third in the marathon with a score of 100.92, but her two day total of 157.37 was good enough to bump her ahead of dressage winner Bill Peacock.
"My first hazard was lousy with my bad choice of route but the rest of it was wonderful," said Groves. "This is his first time around this course with me and I have no complaints other than I drove the first hazard abominably. He gave me all he had and was still running at the end which I really appreciate."
The 12-year-old Connemara gelding cruised around the course with relative ease defying his size and although Groves appreciates her position after the two days knows that Sunday's cones will be challenging.
"I have, maybe, one point in hand and I have to say that my two strongest phases have already happened," she said. "I have no leeway but my groom is very good at keeping me an my horse relaxed"
In the Pony Team Championship, Boots Wright held onto her lead with another convincing performance with her team. Sitting five points ahead of Lisa Stroud on a score of 166.55, Wright will bring her Ocala based team into the cones tomorrow hoping to go three for three of days of wining performances.
In the Pair Horse championship, Larry Poulin snuck ahead of dressage winner Lisa Singer by less than two points. Poulin, who is based in Massachusetts, scored 108.34 in the marathon to finish on a two day score of 160.56.
Sunday's activities get underway at 8 a.m. with the Final Horse Inspection and then the cones portion of the USEF National Driving Championships. Show jumping for the National Eventing Championships begins at 2 p.m.