United States Eventing Association

A heavy fog settled over the cross-country course Saturday morning at Chattahoochee Hills. I watched as horses disappeared into the mist on their way to warm-up, and volunteer jump judges sipped coffee while they waited. Eventually the fog cleared and cross-country got under way just a few minutes behind schedule. The CCI** riders were the first to tackle the course as the sun rose behind the water-complex. Open Intermediate and CIC* also ran cross-country in the morning while the Preliminary through Beginner Novice divisions rode for the dressage judges. All three overnight leaders maintained their positions heading into showjumping on Sunday.

Event organizers in the south are constantly faced with last-minute scrambles to improve rock-hard footing. The topic was on the mind of every rider and official at AEC, but it is clear that since the championships Carl Bouckaert has painstakingly kept the footing on his course manicured and tended. A stroke of luck brought the perfect amount of rain the week of the event to top of the improvements. The courses had also dramatically changed since the AEC; the finish line had been moved, and competitors rolled back and switched directions several times. Several dramatic passes on the bridge across the Chattahoochee River occurred early in the day as well. Overall, the weather was perfect, and the courses were challenging but fair. It was a great day for cross-country.