United States Eventing Association

The CIC3* division at the Richland Park Horse Trials in Richland, Michigan got underway in a style much like the day’s inclement weather- the action rolled in with steady conviction and finished with a bang, with several competitors putting in fantastic tests that went straight into the lead during the second half of the day. As the division is part of the exciting Adequan USEA Gold Cup and Pro Tour series, fame and fortune are hanging in the balance for the winner of each one of these qualifying events. Naturally, entries were high, and after all was said and done, 46 competitors from all over the country headed down the centerline to duke it out for the top spots.

The overall take-away from the day was that a well-memorized test is nothing to take for granted. A very surprising number of riders had errors, with some even having multiple errors, and a lack of preparedness for future movements left many superfluous points scattered on the floor of the judges’ booths. The dressage judge at C, Wayne Quarles, commented that not only were their errors, but that they tended to snowball. “The number of errors really surprised me, and once you have errors, you get discombobulated,” he said.

Overall, Quarles felt there was something left to be desired in the tests performed today. “There was some very nice horseflesh out there, but I was surprised at some of the points that got thrown away. This is not an easy test to put together. From the beginning, there’s medium on the broken diagonal. It’s really hard to get that organized and keep it good.”

Quarles also wondered if maybe the threat of an impending storm, which finally arrived around 3 pm this afternoon, had an effect on the horses. “I really think that horses have a tendency to be affected by the atmosphere, and I think we sort of had this storm coming all day, and a lot of the horses appeared to be pretty inattentive throughout the test. I didn’t see anybody reacting to any local stimuli, but it may have been all of the atmospheric pressure, because they’re more sensitive to that than we are. Whether it’s the weather, or the atmosphere out here, I don’t know.”

However, despite the doom and gloom, several pairs were able to rise above and execute a test that was worthy of a top spot on the leaderboard. Currently leading the charge is none other than Phillip Dutton, riding Team Rebecca LLC’s twelve-year-old Holsteiner gelding, Ben. The pair put in a flashy, yet extremely accurate test, earning them a penalty score of 41.8. Ben seems to have found quite a comfortable home at the top of the leaderboard lately- his impeccable record over the last few months includes a win at the Bromont CIC3* in June, and a third place finish at the CHC International CIC3* in May. Earlier this year, the pair placed third in the CIC3* at the Red Hills Horse Trials in Tallahassee, Florida.

Sitting just behind Ben and still very much in striking range is the lovely Trading Aces, piloted by Boyd Martin. Trading Aces is a nine-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Trading Aces LLC. After a brief hiatus from the competitive circuit after retiring during the cross-country phase at the Rolex Kentucky CCI4*, Trading Aces trotted down the centerline only once prior to arriving in Richland (he and Boyd competed in the Advanced division at the Millbrook Horse Trials just three weeks ago). But today, Boyd and Trading Aces were in tip-top form without even a hit of rustiness, with Boyd riding a test commensurate with his skill and experience.

Sitting just behind the boys in third place is the reigning queen of the Richland Park Horse Trials, Becky Holder, and her gray 14-year old thoroughbred gelding, Can’t Fire Me, owned by Tom Holder, Phil Town, and Melissa Town. This pair was second in the CIC3* at this very same event a year ago, with Can’t Fire Me’s talented gray counterpart, Courageous Comet, taking the top honors. With such impressive results at Richland on her record, Becky admitted she looks forward to coming to this event each year. “I love coming here and trying to lay it down and be competitive, so I’m looking forward to trying to do that this weekend.”

When it comes to her test, which scored a 45.3, Becky was pleased, yet recognizes room for improvement. “I was really pleased with him. He hasn’t done a lot of showing since Rolex, and he’s getting more and more consistent about going in and delivering under pressure. But, I think I gave away a few marks.”

Following the typical CIC format, the 46 competitors will head to the show jumping ring tomorrow. With just a few points separating the top places, the weekend should prove to be an exciting one.

Cross-country will take place on Saturday. Ian Stark has built a tough, big, galloping track for the CIC3* riders to take on, but Becky is already looking forward to tackling it. “I walked the cross-country and love the course,” she said. “Ian’s put kind of a doozie of a combination in late on the course that I’ll be dreaming about for the next few nights, so I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to ride it, but it looks good.” When asked if the course would suit her horse, she responded with a laugh, “As long as he doesn’t come out trying to be too much of an orangutan, we’ll be good.”

Check back tomorrow evening for a wrap up of the second day of competition at the Richland Park Horse Trials CIC3*.