Jul 18, 2011

Bit of Britain Road To The AEC Blogger Post 7

May-Daze Horse Trial went UNBELIEVABLY well! Dressage was finished with a 35.0. Not amazing, but it was enough to put us in 3rd out of about 15 riders I believe! Stadium was double clear, the 2 people ahead of me had faults, and I was bounced up to the lead!

WOW! My instructor Sarah Kleintop didn’t let me look at scores after stadium on Saturday afternoon. Saturday night I waited at the show office beside the road for mom to pick me up, and was very tempted to check scores, but I resisted! Sunday comes, on goes the cross-country vest, and the claustrophobia, zip up my tall boots, stick bit burr’s on each side of my full cheek double twisted wire snaffle, pinny over my head, helmet on, crop, 1, 2, 3, Jump!

Up I go on my new Antares saddle, walking towards cross-country warm up. A few jumps and we’ve decided that is enough warm up, don’t want to tire Sammy out! I walked over to the start box, and as I was hearing 10, I started my watch, and Sarah starts yelling instructions for anything I may encounter on course, such as an uncontrollable horse, and then, "3….2….1! Good Luck!” We started galloping off and of course, here I go blabbing uncontrollably to Sam as he’s just galloping along like a good boy, ignoring me! We crossed through the finish flags with a time of 5:54 and if I recall correctly, the OT was around 6:05. Darn, I really thought we would have been closer to OT. There goes my first place award. I got back to the barn and cooled off my wonderful horse, and started packing up.

My best friend, and horse show buddy, went to check scores and I was too tired to go with her. She checked my score and came back with a very disappointed look on her face. "Oh no," I said, "What happened?!" "Well," Hope responded "You, you kinda….GOT FIRST PLACE!!!!" I honestly thought she was joking! I went up to her and grabbed her shirt and yelled at her for lying to me! But she swore on her life she was NOT kidding! I went to go see for myself, Alyssa Barrett-Sam I Am-Dressage 35.0 3rd-Stadium 0 1st- XC 0 1st. I got my 3 ribbons, one for overall (1st), one for dressage (3rd), and one for completing cross-country! Along with some fantastic prizes! Nutrena/USEA AEC here I come!! Watch out BNR Competitors!

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Apr 26, 2025 Competitions

The 2025 K3DE Daily: Cross-Country Day

If you are wanting to get a good parking spot at the Kentucky Horse Park this morning, you better be on your way as early as possible! Cross-country day at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event is easily the busiest day the Kentucky Horse Park sees each year, so it's time to grab your coffee and go ensure you get the viewing spot you want for both the CCI4*-S and CCI5*-L divisions today.

Apr 25, 2025 Competitions

2025 K3DE Rider Talk: What Are They Saying About Cross-Country?

Riders in both the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S and the Defender Kentucky CCI5*-L are sharing similar sentiments about this year's cross-country courses: course designer Derek di Grazia didn't play around this year. Here is what some of the riders across both divisions had to say about the tracks they will aim to conquer on Saturday.

Apr 25, 2025 Competitions

Off the Record Breaks Records in Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S at Defender Kentucky

Off The Record decided not to let Michael Jung be the only record-breaking entry at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event this week and delivered a career-best score in the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S on Friday morning. He and Will Coleman delivered a test that received a score of 21.8, not only marking a personal best for the horse but also securing their position at the top of the leaderboard going into cross-country tomorrow.

Apr 25, 2025 Competitions

Soaked, but Not Shaken: Boyd Martin Flies the Flag for the U.S. at Defender Kentucky in Second

Boyd Martin and the 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding Commando 3 were the last pair to go in the Defender Kentucky CCI5*-L field on Friday afternoon and were warmly greeted to the bluegrass with an impressive downpour that outshined anything the other horse and rider pairs had to combat throughout the day. But that didn’t stop this pair from putting their best foot forward and impressing the judges enough to earn them a score of 26.0, just 0.2 points ahead of second-place pair Tom McEwen (GBR) and Brookfield Quality.

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