United States Eventing Association

The second leg of the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series got underway today out on the west coast at the Galway Downs CIC3* in Temecula, California. The CIC3* is running in the popular British format with both the Dressage and Show Jumping phases occurring today with the Cross-Country running in reverse order of standing tomorrow.

James Alliston served as both lead and anchor rider in the CIC3* and this strategy served him well as ended the day on top with his anchor and most experienced mount, India McEvoy’s Jumbo’s Jake, and finished in third with his and Chuck and Peggy Moore’s Tivoli. Jumbo’s Jake, a 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding, put in a very steady performance in the dressage arena to earn a 45.6 as well as top spot on the leaderboard. The pair then carried that momentum into show jumping where they left all of the rails in their cups to become overnight leaders.

“I had another ride in the Advanced, so I literally had five minutes warm-up,” explained James. “I’m not joking - I just trotted around for five minutes and went in. It is remarkable that a horse that fit can go in and behave that perfectly. I didn’t practice any movements or anything just went in and did it. So it is a testament to Jake’s temperament; it couldn’t be any further from my Tivoli horse really. I think it would be very big number for a score if I tried that warm-up with Tivoli.”

“I have done so many tests with him [Jumbo’s Jake] and he is always cool and relaxed. You can ride close to the boards and ride every point out of him without worrying about him blowing up. A lot of the ones I rode today were definitely on the hotter side, so to get on him and kick him around is definitely a nice change.”

Following the morning’s dressage, the FEI divisions show jumped in the main arena in the afternoon competing in the same order in which they did dressage. James pulled out two clear rounds on both Jumbo’s Jake and Tivoli to maintain his standings.

“Jake is a very careful horse and he is pretty reliable in that phase too. You just have to keep your leg on and keep him motivated. I thought it was quite big and square actually. The first jump was rampy but after that oxers were square everywhere and the triple combination looked pretty huge. I just watched the two-star to get a feel for a track and there were fences falling everywhere. It was maybe not the best to sit there and watch there.”

Sandwiched in the middle of James’ rides is Jolie Wentworth with Tracy Bowman’s Killian O’Connor who currently lies in second on a 51.1. The longtime pair added four penalties to their dressage score when the 13-year-old Thoroughbred/Selle Francais gelding had the first jump down.

“I was really pleased with how my gray horse, Killian O’Connor, went,” said Jolie. “He is coming back from a two-year hiatus and so there is a lot of pressure this weekend because we would like to take him to Rolex, but I have to get a qualifying score here.”

“Yeah, the first jump came down,” continued Jolie. “He just about tripped and nearly fell down. I think he was just a bit surprised that we were actually doing something . . . actually show jumping.”

Excitement will surely be in the air tomorrow as the three-star riders take to Ian Stark’s cross-country course as one stop could send any rider plummeting in the standings.

Advanced

The Advanced Division looks nearly identical to the CIC3* as James Alliston sits in both first and third although this time on his own Parker II and The Lilley Group’s Ballingowan Pizazz respectively. Maxance McManamy is only .3 off the lead though with her own flashy Trakehner gelding, Project Runway.

“I did the Advanced here with Parker before Rolex last year,” said James. “And he went well and it seemed to work well so decided to do it again. I also had two in the three-star so from a timing prespective it would have been quite difficult. Parker is also a bit wild at the trot-up so I figured we would avoid that all together.”

Another of James’ many rides is Shannon Lilley’s Ballingowan Pizazz. Shannon is out of commission currently due to back surgery and wants to get him qualified to do a three-star at some point, so phoned James up to ask him to ride ‘Mango’. James rode him for the first time on Wednesday but that didn’t stop them from scoring a 37.8 to lie in third in the Advanced division. “He has an unbelievable trot,” said James. “I found it quite hard to sit actually and I was flying around all over the place. The extended trot was a bit ridiculous. Shannon has done a great job producing him.”

The Advanced riders also have their turn on the cross-country course tomorrow before finishing their competition with show jumping on Sunday.

CIC2*

The show jumping round was tremendously influential for the CIC2* riders as only two of the ten pairs left all of the rails up. Katherine Groesbeck moved up from third into the top spot with her own Oz the Tin Man after a double clear show jumping round while Kaitlin Veltkamp and Flashpoint D bumped from fourth into second as the other clear round. Dressage leader, Teresa Harcourt and Bonza Twist of Fate, round out the top three on a 64.2.

CIC1*

Only two pairs jumped clear as well in the CIC1* but dressage leader, Barb Crabo was one of them as she made the course look easy with Over Easy to go into tomorrow’s cross-country phase on their score of 41.9. Frankie Thieriot and Tory Smith’s Uphoria sit in second while Erin Kellerhouse and Cheryl Reynolds’ Roxabelle earn the third spot.

About The Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series

Now in its ninth year, the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series is an exciting format of competition and entertainment for U.S. Eventing, encompassing seven of the top eventing competitions from around the U.S. where the best of the best vie for prize money, trophies, and the title of Gold Cup Champion.

Winners of each of the seven Gold Cup events across the country take home a trailer-load of prizes for their achievements. Winners receive an Adequan USEA Gold Cup Trophy, $500 in prize money, 7-dose box of Adequan, $200 Point Two Gift Certificate, and $500 worth of Nunn Finer Products. Second place finishers also take home a 7-dose box of Adequan and a $100 Point Two Gift Certificate.