Shannon Brinkman (Becky Holder and her Courageous Comet.)
Riding as an Individual, Becky Holder and her own and Tom Holder’s Courageous Comet were second to go after the lunch break. They set the stage for the remainder of the afternoon scoring a 39.3 leaving them in fifth place individually heading into the cross-country in the Eventing World Championship presented by Reem Arca.
Holder (Chattahoochee Hills, GA) and Courageous Comet, who are well-known for their strength in the first phase, lived up to expectations. They performed an exemplary test highlighted by an immaculate entry and fluid trot work. Holder could not have been more pleased with her longtime partner.
“I felt like he was with me every single movement of the test," she said. "He took a breath and was really there to show off, totally focused. I'm thrilled."
Making her fifth appearance at an Eventing World Championship, Karen O’Connor (The Plains, VA) led off the U.S. effort on Friday morning with Joan Goswell’s Mandiba. Riding as the third member of the U.S. team, O’Connor showed her international experience with a fluid and consistent test. The pair scored a 44.8 on the strength of their precision and accuracy.
O’Connor reflected on the 11-year-old Irish Thoroughbred gelding, "He got some very good marks. I think it's a decent Team score. I wish it had been at least five points better. It was just the outline and presentation needed to be much more forward, but I just couldn't get there."
Mandiba stands in 18th place at the end of Friday.
Phillip Dutton (West Grove, PA) and the rangy New Zealand Thoroughbred gelding, Woodburn, owned by Ann Jones, Mardie Faucette and Acorn Hill Farm, were the final combination to go for the U.S. scoring a 48.2. The combination was rewarded for powerful trot work and their extended canter, but a few tense moments kept them from the result for which Dutton had hoped.
“The horse had some tension. I'm pretty disappointed actually," said Dutton. "He's a great horse. I went for it all, and I think it caught up to me a little bit in the end."
The U.S. enters the cross-country standing in seventh place with a total score of 140. All five members of the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team look to improve on their Team and Individual standings over Mike Etherington-Smith’s impressive track on Saturday.
“It's not a dressage show. We've got a couple more days of competition, and it’s fence-by-fence tomorrow," said Holder.
The first two U.S. riders went on Thursday and Boyd Martin (West Grove, PA) was the lead-off rider for the U.S., scoring 49.5 on Neville Bardos and Buck Davidson (Ocala, FL) rode BallyNoe Castle RM to a score of 47.0.
Germany currently leads the pack in the Team competition with a collective score of 114.3 followed by Great Britain on 128.5 and Sweden on 131.2 respectively. While Michael Jung and La Biosthetique-Sam FBW of Germany lead the individual FEI World Eventing Championships with a score of 33.0.
The cross-country begins Saturday with British team members Nicola Wilson and Opposition Buzz at 10:04 a.m.
ENDS