United States Eventing Association

The first post-Rolex competition as part of the 2014 Adequan USEA Gold Cup and PRO Tour Series is taking place this weekend at the CHC International at Chattahoochee Hills in Fairburn, Georgia. Fourteen competitive combinations started in dressage and there is a tie for first place. Jessica Bortner-Harris and Jonathan Holling scored a 55.1 with Win the War and Proper Timing, respectively.

Holling, of Ocala, Florida, is busy competing five horses in this event from Preliminary through CIC3*. Proper Timing (Bonus Time Cat x Primly Proper) is a 12-year-old Thoroughbred owned by Chuck McGrath and Meghan Richey. Bred by Earl Brashear, Proper Timing started his eventing career with David Adamo in 2008 followed by Stuart Black, and partnered with Holling in 2012. The pair moved up to Advanced in 2013 and competed at the Gold Cup Final at the Nutrena USEA American Eventing Championships, presented by VTO Saddlery, in Tyler, Texas last September.

Holling is competing Zatopek B, who he took to Rolex this year but retired on cross-country, in the Advanced division this weekend. They lead after dressage with a score of 38.2.

A Horse That Makes You Happy
Bortner-Harris, of Thurmond, North Carolina, is focusing on just one horse this weekend. Her own 13-year-old Thoroughbred gelding, Win the War, is a former racehorse that she brought home from the track when he was four years old.

Win the War is known for his extravagant jump, but Bortner-Harris has been working hard with trainer Bonnie Mosser on the first phase.

“I was hoping to break 60. That was my goal, so 55 I’m really happy with!” she said. “Bonnie is just amazing. She’s not cookie-cutter and he’s not a cookie-cutter horse.”

Bortner-Harris has also employed the skills of Kathryn Scheiss of TRP Bodywork to help with some of the less obvious issues, which has made a world of difference in “Bug’s” way of going.

“He’s very cheeky and cocky and doesn’t want to be told what to do,” Bortner-Harris said. “I always chalked up my issues with not doing well in dressage to that just being who he is. But that was not the case. He had some body issues we had to work through.”

Bug has had “massage and chiropractic [work] to death,” but Bortner-Harris felt like these methods did not have staying power. Bodywork by Scheiss, however, seems to do the trick. It has also helped Bug's jumping, giving him better flexibility in his hindquarters.

“He’s very stoic. I think because the jumping is his thing it doesn’t show up as much there because he wants to jump. Now that he feels good I think he likes the dressage. He was excited and happy today. He wanted to extend everywhere.”

Bortner-Harris admits the extra attention for her horse is expensive, but worth it if her horse feel good. “I put all my money into trying to figure out what’s best for my horses,” she said. “If I’m blowing hundreds on entry fees and he gets around but doesn’t kick butt like he should...it’s worth every penny. Already I’ve gotten my money’s worth.”

Bortner-Harris hopes Bug carries over his typical carefulness to tonight’s show jumping and looks forward to riding around Hugh Lochore’s cross-country course on Saturday. “It’s big—it’s a three-star. But Hugh’s courses are amazing. He teaches the horse as they go along and very systematically builds on it. I like the way he designs. Yeah, you've got to be bold, but it’s cross-country. You have to be. Hugh encourages good forward riding, and if there are mistakes to be had it’s usually a rider mistake.”

What’s In a Name?
Bug’s Jockey Club name is Little Jitterbug (Entropy x Jitterbug Mary), hence his current barn name. Bortner-Harris was originally going to keep that name except for an encounter when she picked him up. She had prepared the horse up for the trailer ride with boots all around, a sheet, head bumper, and such. A gentleman came by and said the horse looked like he was wearing armor. As they were loading the horse up later, the same gentleman rushed out to wave goodbye and yelled, “Win the war, buddy!” It stuck.

Nearing the end of a 20-minute interview this afternoon, Bortner-Harris said shyly, “I’m sorry I talk about him a lot, but he makes me happy. He’s my life. He’s that horse for me.”

Making Plans in Pencil
Twenty-two-year-old Alexandra Green had planned to take her 10-year-old Holsteiner gelding Fernhill Cubalawn (Con Capitol x Corse Lawn, bred by Tom Goode) to Rolex but withdrew after an unscheduled dismount at The Fork this spring. “The horse is sound and I’m good to go. So we’re just going for round two,” Green said.

The first in the ring for the CIC3* dressage this morning, the pair is placed third with a 56.3. They have been partnered for four years and have a clear bond. “It’s just nice to go in there and have a pleasant ride. Neither of us worked too hard and we enjoyed it!”

Green did a lot of fitness work with the horse in preparation for a four-star but have tapered off the fitness work since then. “He has a lot left in him…I do think the fitter he is the better his test will be.”

She is also competing Falconet in the Intermediate and a young horse, Fernhill Bold Gesture, in Open Preliminary. Green has made no plans for the summer. She will reevaluate after this competition but is working towards her Marketing degree from the University of Tennessee and is set to graduate in December.

Show jumping for the CIC3* starts at 8:44 tonight “under the lights,” which Green pointed out is a rare occasion for event horses. We will be reporting live on Facebook and Twitter during that phase so be sure to tune in! See full competition results from Chattahoochee Hills here.

About the Adequan USEA Gold Cup and PRO Tour Series
Qualifying for the 2014 Adequan USEA Gold Cup began last fall with the Plantation Field CIC3* (PA) and the Woodside CIC3* (CA) and features 11 qualifying competitions throughout the United States at the Advanced Horse Trials and CIC3* levels. The final will take place at the Nutrena USEA American Eventing Championships September 2014 in Tyler, Texas. Riders who complete a qualifier earn the chance to vie for $40,000 in prize money in the Adequan Advanced Division and the title of Adequan USEA Gold Cup Champion.

The Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series is made possible through the support of its many sponsors:Adequan; Standlee Forage Nunn Finer; SmartPak Equine; Nutrena; Broadstone Equine Insurance Agency, Point Two;Dubarry; and FITS.

The PRO Tour Series consists of 13 premier destination events in the United States and Canada in 2013/2014 featuring the best riders and most entertainment. Riders and Horses are awarded points on the PRO Tour Rider Leader Board and PRO Tour Horse Leader Board. Riders can also earn points on the PRO Tour Series at the Intermediate or two-star level for the Multi Radiance Intermediate Challenge. The 2014 Multi Radiance Challenge Leader Board Champion will win a Multi Radiance MR4 ACTIVET Portable Laser System.

The Professional Riders Organization would like to thank the following sponsors for their support of the 2014 PRO Tour Series: Multi Radiance Medical, The Official Laser Therapy of PRO & Sponsor of the Multi Radiance Medical Intermediate Challenge ; Tex Sutton, the Official US Equine Air Carrier of PRO; Optimum Time, the Official Timing System of the PRO Tour Series; SSG Riding Gloves; Midlantic Ltd.; and Triple Crown Nutrition.