United States Eventing Association

Aiken, S.C.—Sept. 26—Day 1 of Stable View Oktoberfest began much calmer compared to day 1 last fall. Riders, officials, and Stable View staff were heard around the facility this morning recalling the horrors they woke up to last year from the destruction Hurricane Helene left in her wake. Friday, while starting with slight rain, turned into a beautiful sunny day until a weather hold partway through the CCI3*-S division.

Going into cross-country, Pamukcu holds the top two spots in the CCI4*-S with Martin and Bellissimo tied for third. Bellissimo shared, “[I am] very pleased with Kitsch Couture HPK today in the CCI4*-S. It’s a personal best for us at this level in both the dressage and the show jumping. She still has a lot to learn but I’m optimistic by 2026 I’ll have her into the 20s. Chris built a super show jump track; kept you thinking. Cross-country looks and feels very different to normal in both direction and feel. Helen [West] integrating the three arenas with fences will definitely be impactful.”

Regarding his rides Martin shared, “I have three horses here. I have Cooley Nutcracker in the four-star, Bruno in the Advanced, and Miss. Lulu Herself in the three-star. They all did good dressage tests, jumped around the course pretty well, and are getting geared up for tomorrow’s cross country.”

When asked about West's track for tomorrow he said, “I think they are good. They are challenging. It’s a little bit different in the four-star where you are in and out of the Mark Phillips Ring. It’s pretty exciting. I’m not quite sure how it’s going to go. It’s sort of an arena eventing feature in the middle of a four-star course.”

Regarding his fall plans for the horses, he shared, “The two horses in the Advanced are going to Pau in France after this. It’s an important competition for them because this is sort of their preparation event. This course kind of emulates what we’re expecting at Pau. I’m sort of glad in a way there are some fences in the arena because at Pau they have the same sort of thing.”

West shared a few notes on her CCI4*-S track she desgined. She said, “The four-star track is designed very much with Maryland [5 Star] and also Morven Park [CCI4*-L] coming up. It’s quite different to the Advanced track. There is plenty on the four-star track. We have deliberately incorporated the arenas. We have fantastic arenas here at Stable View, and the footing is just so good on those arenas. I wouldn’t have bothered if we were only running in there for 100 meters but have nearly a whole minute on the arena footing. It’s a little bit twisty in there, but equally there are some really good galloping sections on the course and at the end of the day eventing is about the ultimate test and being able to go up and down the gears. I think there are plenty of opportunities to showcase that here.”

The CCI3*-S had almost an hour weather hold halfway through their division's show jumping. After resuming competition Bellissimo and Dyri jumped double-clear round to keep their first place position on a score of 23.6. Allison Springer and HTS Jensen R also stayed on their dressage score of 27.5 to remain in second. Martin and Miss LuLu Herself also went double-clear to move up to third place on their score of 31.3.

In the CCI2*-S, Katie Malensek and STX Mex are leading after dressage on a 27.8. Sydney Elliott and Greenhall Good Decision are in second on a 29.0, and Mya Poulos and DHI Rock Dancer round out the top three on a 30.1. This show marks the first running of the CCI1*-S division at Stable View. There are 10 combinations in the running. Dressage leader Candace Elizabeth Bell shared, “Stable View provides an excellent platform for up-and-coming competitors. The top-notch courses and welcoming atmosphere create an ideal environment for riders to gain confidence and observe higher-level competition. I’m confident Shmick will have a strong, positive run here.”

Mogie Bearden-Muller said she made some significant differences on her Modified and CCI1*-S cross-country tracks. She shared, “I was so excited that we were running the one-star this Oktoberfest. The Modified has a completely different combination at the beginning. The one-star has a combination in Boyd’s Water which we haven’t used for the lower levels ever in the past. I have two completely separate coffin combinations for each of the levels. The one-star is more challenging with more slope. It should lend itself as a nice progression from the Modified to the one-star. I’m hoping everyone has so much fun at the one-star here that we’ll have more entries when more people know about it."

A few of the national divisions also began competition today. In the Advanced, Martin and Fedarman B hold their lead on a 30.3. In the Intermediate, Lucia Strini and Keynote Dassett climbed to first place after a beautiful double-clear show jumping round to stay on their score of 29.4. The Preliminary divisions completed dressage today. In the Open division, Lauren New with her own Chatharga PS, and Ariel Grald with Annie Eldridge’s Obalix are tied on a 23.7 for first place. In the Preliminary Rider division Donna Miller and her own Coud'Poker lead on a 29.7.

Full results can be found here.