United States Eventing Association

Jessica Phoenix Rises to the Top with Fluorescent Adolescent in CCI4*-L at The Event at TerraNova

Myakka City, Fla.— Nov. 16—Only two horse and rider combinations finished within the time allowed in the B&D Builders CCI4*-L Saturday at The Event at TerraNova. Canadian Jessica Phoenix on her 16-year-old Canadian Sport Horse mare Fluorescent Adolescent (Gaudi x Amelia II) made a huge leap from 14th place after dressage to take the lead on 39.1 penalties.

Cornelia Fletcher and the HCS Syndicate's 14-year-old Oldenburg mare Daytona Beach 8 (Duke of Hearts x Sandance), who were 15th after dressage second, are now in second on 41.4. Rounding out the top three is Brooke Burchianti riding Karin Burchianti’s 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Cooley Space Gray (Harley x Zaylanda) who made the meteoric rise from 17th, or last after dressage, to third place after cross-country. Just ten out of 17 horse and rider combinations completed the CCI4*-L cross-country phase.

Fluorescent Adolescent has been competing at the FEI levels for the past ten years, and Phoenix has been competing him since 2022.

“I was excited to get out on the cross-country today and thought what a great job they had done to glow up the course from previous years," said Phoenix. "Having said that, there was a lot of work to do from start to finish: the combinations just kept coming at you and it didn’t let up. You had to be really on your game and have a horse that wanted to fight for it.”

Fluorescent Adolescent was meant to run her first five-star at the Maryland Five-Star last month, but after a successful dressage test, the mare developed a sinus infection and had to withdraw from the event. After treatment with antibiotics and a nebulizer she fully recovered and thanks to having been prepared for the five-star, was still fit enough to reroute to TerraNova for the CCI4*-L.

“The coffin was a really challenging jump, especially early on, right next to the warm-up area, with a lot of terrain,” she said. “I just had to trust in the horses, that they had enough confidence to do it, and they totally did.”

Phoenix had already been out on course with Wabbit, a 14-year-old gray Thoroughbred gelding (Line of Departure x No Kissing) owned by Jim Phillips, but didn’t make it past the coffin jump.

“He jumped in beautifully, jumped the ditch beautifully, and then just completely misread the way out and I had a fall there," she shared. "The third time was the charm on Aeronautics!”

“Eventing is such an incredible sport, it’s one of the hardest sports you could ever choose to compete in; it’s also one of the most rewarding," Phoenix continued. "But when everything comes together on one weekend, it’s something to treasure.”

Phoenix dedicated her rides this weekend in memory of farrier Brian Leith, who passed away a couple of weeks ago. She shared her regrets that she could not attend his Celebration of Life, which was held today in Ocala.

The Insurance Offices of America CCI4*-S wrapped up Saturday with cross-country. Phillip Dutton went into the final phase in the lead with Quasi Cool, a 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Quo Vados x B-Estelle) owned by Caroline Moran, but added 22.4 time faults and finished second overall (55.6). Quasi-Cool’s stablemate Azure, the Irish Sport Horse mare (Omar x Cavalier Roselier) owned by the Moran Family, won the division (43.2) with Dutton in the irons.

Dutton said, “They’re both pretty experienced horses, so I felt confident that the course was in the realm of what they could do. They both campaigned pretty lightly this year. I’m very impressed with the cross-country, the footing was great and the design was inventive and tested a lot of different skills. I’m full of praise. I mean, it’s not meant to be easy, it’s meant to test the horse and rider and whether they’re ready for that level.”

He said that his goal is for Azure to compete in the five-star at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event next spring and ideally place in the top five. “I was pleased with her dressage yesterday and I thought she show jumped well,” he said. “She’s a beast on the cross-country, she just goes. You’ve just got to sit there and steer. She’s certainly a hot horse and loves to compete; she thinks she’s a rock star and that everyone is just out there to watch her. I was pleased that this event was the first one where I could properly ride her and not just pray that she would keep it all together.”

Jennie Jarnstrom-Dennis, riding for Sweden, finished third overall with her own 12-year-old Hanoverian mare Flower Girl (Futurist x Lucy). The pair was placed second after dressage, then dropped to fifth place after show jumping with two rails down.

Lucia Strini and the 9-year-old, gray Dutch Warmblood gelding DHI Kevin G (Dakar VDL x Vaira), owned by Plain Dealing Farm, added just .4 time faults on cross-country to take the lead in The Estates at TerraNova and Laughlin Tanner Group at Premier Sotheby’s International Realty CCI3*-L with 29.5 penalties after overnight leader Isabelle Bosley parted company with Paper Doll on course.

Lauren Nicholson had one of only three clear rounds within the time allowed and is currently second riding Landmark’s Jungle’s Gold (Diarado x Jungle Tale), a nine-year-old Holsteiner/Irish Sport Horse cross owned by Jacqueline Mars. Canadian Karl Slezak also went double clear riding Zenith Petite Etoile, a seven-year-old gray Westphalian mare by Quebec owned by Molly Adams, and is currently placed third (32.8).

Lucia’s sister, Benita Strini, rode DHI Kevin G in his 7-year-old year.

“She competed him for a year but he grew bigger and he’s kind of a weirdo, so now she lets me ride him,” said Lucia. “He’s very special and I’m grateful. There’s no sibling rivalry, we just support each other. It’s hard because I was in the warm-up while she was out on course and I wanted to be able to watch! But we’re used to it, we’ve been doing this together since we were young and it’s nice to have each other.”

Lucia said that Kevin was off to a good start with his dressage test on Thursday and continued to show good form around Saturday’s cross-country course. “The day before our dressage test we were in the ring schooling and the flags were going and he got pretty nervous, so I was proud of him for going back in the ring and staying calm,” she said. “He’s done two three-longs before this but hasn’t had a heavy competition season because I’ve been busy having babies and such, so I thought that he could really use another run and have a bit of a longer season. Everything went pretty much according to plan; it was the longest course he’s run and that was nice to feel him keep galloping all the way home.”

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