United States Eventing Association

Best for Last in the CCI4*-L at the Eventing Championships at Galway Downs

Temecula, Calif.—Nov. 2— Being the last rider in the final competition of the day can be an unenviable position. Molly Duda felt the pressure all day while gearing up for her ride on her own 15-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding Disco Traveler (Donatelli x Cadence).

“This sport is so challenging mentally, especially in the long formats. Having show jump on the last day is always nerve-wracking,” she said. After a less-than-ideal ride earlier in the morning on her CCI2*-L ride Jutopia (Caretino Gold x Bali-Utopia), Duda struggled to keep her cool.

“I was honestly panicking a little bit after that about my confidence. Tamie [Smith] pulled me aside, and she was like, 'Are you okay?' I didn't say anything, but she could tell that my energy was a little bit nervous.”

Smith, her coach, pulled in help from sports psychologist and high-performance coach Natalie Hummel to help bring Duda’s mental focus back into play.

“I know what a struggle it is mentally to be in that position,” Smith remarked. “To execute and be rewarded for it, and then also not be rewarded for it.”

With a mental game plan in place and a riding plan set for the show jumping course of 450 meters and 15 jumping efforts set by Marc Donovan, it was time to face the music and go in the ring as the leader. She had one rail in hand to maintain the win.

“Definitely, I came in a little bit bold [to fence one],” Duda explained. “I've worked a lot this season [on] having that base pace in the show jumping because I like to go a little too slow. I overdid it a little bit to fence one, and I think that's what caused fence two to come down. After that, I thought, 'I'm probably not going to win this.' I already had a fence down. I only had one fence in hand, and I accepted that as the likely outcome. [I told myself] I'm gonna ride my best for the rest of the course.”

Her best was good enough to keep the rest of the rails in their cups and within the time to take the win in her first CCI4*-L with her once-in-a-lifetime ride in Disco Traveler, a fellow CCI4*-L first-timer.

“He's one of those horses that you look at on the ground, and you're like, 'That's not a very impressive horse.' Then you see him jump, and you see the fighter that he is; that's when his true character shows.”

Smith finished in fourth with The Kynan Syndicate's 9-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Kynan (Envoy x Danieta) after a disappointing cross-country and 0.4 time penalties added in time in show jumping, but she couldn’t have been happier for her student to take the limelight.

“I won two FEI divisions today, and you always want to win,” she laughed. Indeed she took the titles in the CCI3*-L with Molly Duda’s Lillet 3 (Livello x Princess L) and the CCI1*-L with Julianne Guariglia’s Solugaurye Cantata. “[We're all] super competitive, but to have that happen for Molly, it was way better than winning. I was pretty emotional about it. To watch her go into that ring, have that much poise and composure, and even though she had the rail and thought she had not won, she kept her plan. She rode fantastic!”

The hugs and tears after Duda came out of the ring were a testament to just how much Smith and the whole team behind the two enjoyed Duda’s success.

For now, 'Disco' gets a nice break.

" He gets a nice, long vacation— very well deserved! After this, it's been a big season for both of us!” Duda said with a laugh. Travel is also an option as Duda hopes to be selected for the European Development Tour again next year, but her fall plans wouldn’t be a bad consolation prize. “Potentially a five-star at the end of the season if everything keeps going as well as it's been.”

James Alliston took the second place spot on the podium with Alliston Equestrian’s Cora (Commissario x La-Montana) after adding 1.2 time faults to their score, giving Duda a little bit more breathing room.

“I definitely have to walk the course with her in mind,” James commented about the 9-year-old Hanoverian mare’s large step. “[But] She jumped beautifully [today]. She’s very ladylike, goes in a snaffle, and very rideable.”

Growth was the name of the game for the partnership as Alliston added that he thought the course design really played to the horses’ confidence all weekend,

“The horses learned a lot and grew in confidence, especially Cora doing her first four-long. I think picking the right venue and the right course is really important at this level because you can really set them back. So I was really happy that I came to Galway for her first four-long, it was a wonderful experience.”

Jennie Brannigan rounded out the podium in third with her and Tim and Nina Gardener’s mount, FE Connory (Conrato x Hocaponta).

“He's been very unlucky going four-star long, and had so many three-star wins,” Brannigan rued. Sheh and the 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding added one rail and 0.8 time penalties to their final tally today.

“Clayton [Fredericks] sourced him for me and he let me buy him $5,000 at a time,” she said of the start of their partnership. At a time when Brannigan needed some help, Fredericks worked to help her career continue with a new ride in Connory. With a late partnership formed with the Gardeners, she and Connory have been able to travel the world together from California to Montana to the Netherlands.

“I am proud of him. Sometimes the results don't always represent what happened underneath you.”

That concludes the final FEI competition on the West Coast for the year. National competition and championships continue at Galway Downs tomorrow.

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