Highlights from the dressage phase of the CIC3* at Richland Park Horse Trials in Kalamazoo, MI this weekend. The CIC3* is the Advanced division of the Adequan USEA Gold Cup series, where riders compete for cash, prizes, and points on the Gold Cup leaderboard. Photos by Emily Daily and Joshua A. Walker (noted).
Karl Slezak of Canada and Braveheart kicked things off bright and early at 8:00 AM on Thursday morning.The early morning light was absolutely gorgeous and this pair performed a lovely test to earn a 60.9. (JW Photo)Braveheart looking rather pleased with himself!Olympic gold medallist Leslie Law of Great Britain went next on Evening Shade.The 9yo Dutch WB gelding is owned by Peter Green. (JW Photo)The grey gelding was the first of Leslie's two rides in the CIC3*, and started his day off well earning a solid 53.4.Buck Davidson and Carl Segal's 12yo Irish Sport Horse gelding My Boy Bobby.This pair took over the lead early on in the competition with a 46.3. (JW photo)Exuberant changes!Diana Burnett of Canada and Manny performed well to earn a 55.9, putting them smack in the middle of the pack of 19 riders. (JW Photo)Manny looking quite handsome. (JW photo)Andrea Baxter of California and her mare Estrella have been making themselves at home in Middleburg, VA for the past few months until Fair Hill CCI3* this fall. (JW photo)The 9yo Westphalian mare is sired by Anne Kursinski's famous jumper stallion Starman... so we know this little redhead can jump!Strelly thinks dressage is a bunch of rubbish, and can't wait to get her little hands on Michael Etherington-Smith's amazing cross-country course.Megan Lanzarone's 7yo Thoroughbred gelding had a very nice test, looking smooth, accurate, and quite powerful! (JW photo)Megan hails from Kentucky, where she operates a popular training barn with lots of up-and-coming eventers who fondly call Team CEO home.Megan and her handsome gelding will be easy to spot on the cross-country course... you'll see her smiling and thanking each volunteer jump judge for their time!Sara Dierks of Berryville, VA and Edith Rameika and Chris Desino's Somerset II performed their usual stellar test, bumping them up to third with a 48.1. (JW photo)Sara and her husband Eric own Overlook Farm in Berryville, VA and have many students and horses competing at Richland this weekend.Sara and Eric are always giving back to the eventing community, and generously donated a lesson to be auctioned off at this year's 2008 USEA AEC Benefit Auction.It was nice to see Jan Byyny out competing at the upper levels again, especially after the devastating loss of longtime partner Task Force earlier this year.Jan's 10yo TB gelding Syd Kent performed very well for her, earning them a fourth place spot in the standings with a 49.4. (P.S. Jan earns the "Best Smile" award in this division!)Australian Boyd Martin and Acorn Hill Farm's Bailey Wick, fresh off their win in CIC2* at Stuart HT in July. (JW photo)This pair performed their usual steady test to plop them into a solid 6th place heading into tomorrow's cross-country with a 52.5.
Welcome back to the horse park, eventing family! Dressage will wrap up today, and there is the potential to see some shakeups on the leaderboard. First up for the CCI4*-S at 8:30 a.m. is the Oldenburg gelding Bounce 6, owned by Linda Graves and Alice Lawaetz and ridden by Lynn Symansky. Rounding ...
Will Coleman’s competition history with the 14-year-old Holsteiner gelding Diabolo (Diarado x Roulett M) has had some major highs and some major lows. The horse had a hard time acclimating to life in the United States after Coleman imported him from Australia in 2023, but every time the rider bro...
Despite not being able to ride Danito for the past couple of days, Tamie Smith and her longtime partner put in a solid dressage test on the first day of dressage in the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day event to take the early lead.
