United States Eventing Association

It was a picture perfect day of cross-country at this year’s Dutta Corp. Fair Hill International where in both the CCI3* and CCI2* divisions, second-placed pairs moved into the lead. Going into the final phase of the competition tomorrow, Marilyn Little and RF Demeter top the three-star and Jennie Brannigan and Stella Artois lead the two-star.

Marilyn Little’s first ride, RF Scandalous, jumped clear adding 4.8 time penalties to her dressage score. Jacqueline Mars, Robin Parsky, Phoebe Manders and Michael Mander’s 11-year-old Oldenburg mare “Kitty” is green at the level, having only attempted one CCI3* at Boekelo last year, which ended in a disappointing withdrawal after the mare injured herself on cross-country. Kitty’s time penalties paved the way for Little’s second ride, RF Demeter, to take the lead after she had a fault-free round today.

“I was hoping Demi was going to be very good today and she was from start to finish. She jumped really well. She was focused and looking for the fences,” Little said of her long-time partner. “I had a little bit of a cross-country moment at the second water. She just got a little slow with her front end, but she’s a wonderful sport and picked herself up and off she went. She gave me a great run around, and was able to slow up a little bit at the end and come in nicely underneath the time.”

Marilyn Little and RF Scandalous. USEA/Shelby Allen Photo.

Kitty was not to be discounted against her sister, as she moved easily across Derek di Grazia’s course. “Scandalous is green to the level. She got a little excited going into the start box, so I started a few seconds late. I had to go back in so I wasn’t starting early. She had a hard time settling in the rhythm so started a little slower than I would’ve liked, but it was the right thing for her.”

“She always wants to do a good job, so I had a feeling if I presented it well to her she would try to get the job done. I wanted to put in the best round that I thought that Kitty was capable of for her day, and I think that’s what she did and I couldn’t ask any more from her,” Little added.

President of the Ground Jury Christian Landolt confirmed this afternoon that blood was spotted on RF Scandalous during her cross-country run today. He relayed to the media, “Fence 20 was the first time we got a report that there may have been some blood visible. Nothing before. A colleague of mine from the ground jury saw it at fence 22 and confirmed that there was some blood, but it wasn’t anything unduly. The two [Technical Delegates] were at fence 23 and 24 confirmed. At the finish the vet was informed, and on inspection she saw nothing. There was no open wound.” He added that the Veterinary Delegate suspects that the mare may have bitten her tongue.

Emily Beshear and Deep Purple Eventing’s 10-year-old Trakehner/Thoroughbred Shame on the Moon put the pieces together over fences today to slide into third place after a pleasant round with only 1.2 time penalties.

“I’ve had an on and off year with her. She came out this year much bolder and less focused, so I’ve had a few stupid run bys. I was really determined. I was probably a little more defensive with her at the end of the course than I needed to be and she was awesome. She listened a lot better than I thought she was going to based on her history, and she had tons of gallop left. I’m thrilled with her, I feel like I got my girl back,” Beshear said.

The CCI3* division saw many other shakeups down the leaderboard. Third-placed Ryan Wood and Powell had an unfortunate fall at the The Hollow [fence 12] ending his weekend early, and fourth-placed Heather Morris pulled Charlie Tango up and opted to retire after two stops. Two combinations fell on course, Julie Richards and Urlanmore Beauty and Colleen Rutledge and Roulette. Richards is reported to have a shoulder injury, and the others were reported to be okay. Of the 31 others who finished today, none had jump penalties and 14 were double clear.

Jennie Brannigan and Stella Artois. USEA/Shelby Allen Photo.

Stella Artois has been waiting in the ranks, and today was her moment to shine. Jennie Brannigan piloted the 8-year-old Holsteiner/Thoroughbred to a double clear cross-country run, which shifted them into the leading position of the CCI2* division.

“Everyone was saying, ‘the time is going to be harder,’ and I wasn’t thinking that, so it’s interesting that it worked out that way [and she went double clear.] I didn’t even look at my watch the last two minutes because my main focus was just to give the horse a good go and hopefully be as quick as I can,” said Brannigan who owns the horse in a partnership with Beth Battel.

“Of course I would love to do well at this event, but my main goal was to give this horse a good go. I think she is a three-day horse and I think she’s all the right stuff to be the real deal. She’s always been that horse that I feel like is probably one of the most talented horses that I have, but I’ve yet to have that day where you put it all in.”

Though they added two time penalties, Emily Beshear and Silver Night Lady also had a cracking round, looking very confident even to the finish. “I was a little slower than I would’ve liked to be early on, then had a great go through the majority of the course. I had to waste time at the end making sure I kept her on her feet and got her focused on the jumps. She’s a really big horse and this is her first CCI2*, so now I know when she gets tired she keeps pulling on things including me, so I’m going to have to keep working on that for the future,” Beshear explained.

Lauren Kieffer and Landmark's Monaco. USEA/Shelby Allen Photo.

Lauren Kieffer ended the day in third after she and Jacqueline Mar’s Landmark’s Monaco finished six seconds under the optimum time. “The two-star level is kind on his sweet spot. This is his third CCI2*, so it felt really simple out there on him. He’s a very quick horse, both of those brothers are. Monte Carlo went double clear in the three-star too. Both of them felt like they were just doing exercise out there,” Kieffer stated.

The two-star saw many more combinations finishing the course, but many pairs added single refusals to their weekend score. The corner after a verticle at the Osage Combo [7ab] and The Dutta Farm Yard [14ab] in the main arena caused many problems on course, along with the angled combination at The Elk Chapel Crossing [17ab].

Click here for scores.

The final horse inspection begins tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. with the CCI2* division, and they will also lead off the show jumping at 10:30 a.m.