Record Numbers Vie for USEF National Eventing Championships at the 2009 Dansko Fair Hill International

Updated: 2009-10-15

By Joanie Morris
 
Elkton, MD – The 2009 Dansko Fair Hill International Horse Trails was inundated with a record number of entries, as 141 horses will go forward to the dressage after a chilly Wednesday afternoon horse inspection. Of those, 113 will be vying for the United States Equestrian Federation’s (USEF) National CCI** and National CCI*** Eventing Championship titles.

The only fall CCI*** held in the United States, the Dansko Fair Hill International Horse Trials brings the best to Elkton, MD every October. The field has a wide range of horse and riders, from the ultimate in experience: Bruce Davidson, who at 59, has won just about every title in the world (at least once) to 18-year-old Allie Blyskal contesting her first CCI**.

Last year’s CCI** national champs, Kelly Prather and Ballinakill Glory, have moved up a level and are looking to win their first CCI***. The California pair is hot off a trip to Poland for the 2009 HSBC World Cup Final, after winning the CIC***-W at the Event at Rebecca Farm. 

(Right: Kelly Prather and Ballinakill Glory looking spiffy during the CCI3* jog Wednesday afternoon at Fair Hill International. Emily Daily Photo.)

Will Coleman and Sinead Halpin were second and third respectively behind Prather in the CCI** in 2008 and both have moved their promising young horses to the next level. Both Nevada Bay and Manoir de Carneville have excelled at Advanced throughout 2009.

Four-time CCI*** winner Phillip Dutton returns to the Championship with Kheops de Quesnay. Belmont II, the highest placed horse from 2008’s CCI*** back in 2009, returns to his rider Kate Hicks after a fifth placed finish with Boyd Martin last year.

The competition gets underway tomorrow with the first of two days of dressage beginning with the test ride at 8.40 am. 2009 also features the Spalding Labs/USEA Young Event Horse Championships for the first time at Fair Hill as a showcase of the most promising up-and-coming event horses in the country.

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