United States Eventing Association

It seems Boyd Martin worked out the puzzle that is Remington XXV in Adequan USEA Gold Cup Advanced division at the Fork Horse Trials. Without touching a rail in show jumping, the pair ended their weekend with victory and another big dose of confidence, a key ingredient to taking on the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event at the end of the month.

"He's quite a puzzle as to how to get the best jump out of him," Martin explained of "Remi," a 15-year-old Hanovarian gelding owned by the Juvonens. "One thing I've learned with him is to not be too hard on him. He thrives on confidence. I probably jump the smallest warm up jumps out of everyone in Advanced and three-star, but that's the secret; just making him feel like Superman."

Overnight leaders Will Faudree and Andromaque ended up dropping one rail which dropped them into third place.

While Martin and Remi have completed four-star tracks at home and abroad with some success, he said he feels that they are only now truly beginning to understand each other. "He's been around a couple four-stars now and and we're starting to click and understand each other so I'm pretty psyched up," Martin said.

Which is one of the reasons Martin decided to run the Advanced division instead of the three-star. Remington knows cross-country, but Marin wanted to mix it up a bit in the dressage arena to keep him sharp.

"My horse needed the more technical dressage test, which, ironically, the advanced test is tougher. But I feel good! We still need to get a little more fitness under our belts, but I'm confident," he said looking forward to Rolex.

Also Kentucky bound, Heather Morris and Slate River, who led the Advanced division after dressage, jumped a flawless show jumping round to complete their weekend in second place. "He was great yesterday, and jumped great today," she said smiling.

The pair made Captain Mark Phillips' Advanced cross-country course look simple, which was no easy task since many riders thought this year's Advanced track was on par with the CIC3* course.

Jennie Brannigan and Cambalda capitalized on the lead they captured in that CIC3* division after cross-country by show jumping without fault to earn yet another victory gallop. Canadian Stephanie Rhodes-Bosch and Port Authority managed to keep all the rails in their cups as well to finish in second place, while Clark Montgomery and Loughan Glen finished in third, catching only one rail.

Since the Advanced class is serving as the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series division, the winner will receive a Gold Cup trophy, $500 in prize money, 7-dose box of Adequan, a three-month supply of SUCCEED, and a pair of Nunn Finer American Style open front boots. The second placed finisher will receive: a 7-dose box of Adequan and a pair of Nunn Finer American Style open front boots. Top finishers in this division also earn valuable points towards the year-end purse.

Thank you to the wonderful Adequan USEA Gold Cup Sponsors for this continued support of this exciting series: Adequan, Nunn Finer, Nutrena, Broadstone Equine Insurance, and SUCCEED.

The CIC3* is the designated division for the PRO Tour Series. To learn more about PRO, check out their site: www.professionalriders.org