United States Eventing Association

Jordan Linstedt and Revitavet Capato, a 12-year-old Hanoverian gelding (Contendro x Annabelle) have the honor of becoming the first ever CCI3* dressage leaders at The Event at Rebecca Farm in Kalispell, Mont. Scoring a 43.7, the Redmond, Wash. native bested a field of talented riders.

“I was really pleased with him,” said Linstedt. “He keeps getting better and better each time I go into the ring. He has been a bit of a tricky one in the past - real resistant, spooky, comes up and gets against me in the ring. Today he felt great in there – the past six months he has been just getting better and better, so I am really excited.”

Linstedt has returned to Rebecca Farm year after year and this is Revitavet Capato’s fifth trip to the Event. “I wouldn’t rather be anywhere else [then at Rebecca Farm],” said Linstedt. “I love it here and he runs well here, so I am looking forward to tomorrow. The weather has been phenomenal. The courses look great. It is the best place on earth.”

Although the judges at E (Marilyn Payne) and C (Angela Tucker) had Buck Davidson and The Apprentice on top of the leaderboard, Heather Buckland at E had Caroline and Sherrie Martin’s 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse quite a few points lower. The pair ultimately scored a 44.1 to sit in second.

“The Apprentice did for sure his best test,” said Davidson. “He was very good, although one judge didn’t seem to like him as much as the others which was a bummer, but we have a lot more to do and I am very proud of him today.”

Davidson’s two horses traveled over 40 hours from his home base in Pennsylvania – leaving at 6:00 AM on Saturday and driving straight through to arrive in Montana at 2:00 AM on Monday. “The Apprentice traveled fantastic, but [Petite] Flower didn’t seem to travel very well at all. I don’t know what really happened – it was an easy trip, there were two girls in the back with the horses and the driver did a good job driving here. Flower has had some spasms in her shoulder since she arrived, and I haven’t really been able to bend her to the left, but she was definitely improved today. I wasn’t sure I would be able to go into the dressage ring today, and I still don’t know if I will be able to go cross-country tomorrow. As long as she is fine at the end of the week I don’t really care if we do or don’t go [cross-country], but first and foremost she has to be okay for the rest of the year and the rest of her life.”

Kurt Martin didn’t have an easy journey from Middleburg, Va., missing his connection in Chicago and having to spend an extra night so he didn’t arrive until hours before the jog on Wednesday. Martin was able to put that all behind him today and scored a 47 for third aboard Delux Z, a 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding (Lux Z x Drumin Imp).

“In preparation for today the horse has been really good,” said Martin. “He traveled really well – ate and drank the whole way out. He has had a couple of light days and he felt really happy and quiet. The test was good work for him.”

Martin and Delux Z were awarded a Land Rover Travel Grant from the USEF in order to make their first trip to Rebecca Farm.

“I felt like the horse needed more time then to go to Bromont CCI3*,” explained Martin. “I moved him up to Advanced at Southern Pines in March and he needed more education at the level. I felt like this was a great opportunity with the USEF giving a grant to travel is the only way I could have done this. This timing isn’t usually an option and for those horses that haven’t panned out earlier in the year it is a great option. I have missed several opportunities with grants in the past so it was great to use get out of my comfort zone and come out and put my best foot forward.”

The cross-country schedule has been rearranged for tomorrow due to some lighting concerns and the CCI3* now starts at 9:30 AM. “I think it isn’t an easy course,” said Davidson. “It is actually quite a bit tricky. The gallop fences are almost a bit too small to hold the horse, but then the combinations are quite big and substantial. It will be a unique test because you need to look after them at the gallop fences, but then be on your game at the combinations. And it seems to be long – it is 10:41, but it walks like it is really long. I don’t think it will be a dressage competition.”

Mai Baum and Tamra Smith are the Tops in the CIC3*

Barb Crabo and her longtime partner, Eveready, were the first in the ring for the 2015 Adequan USEA Gold Cup and Pro Tour Series CIC3* at the Event at Rebecca Farm. Crabo and the 16-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding (Irco Mena x Batteries Not Included) scored a 52.8 to take the lead and held it until the second to last pair, Tamra Smith and Mai Baum, entered the ring.

The Ahearn family’s Mai Baum, a 9-year-old German Sport Horse gelding (Loredano x Ramira) has had a great spring season with all top-4 finishes including winning three events in a row and being named as an alternate for the Pan American Games.

“At Great Meadow [CIC3*] he didn’t feel super connected,” said Smith. “And I just felt like I was a little bit out of my element. So we came home and my dressage trainer (Nikki Clark), and I just worked really hard on getting him way more connected and through and he was super today. He was really, really good.”

Smith said that the atmosphere in the ring helped make Mai Baum fancier and he scoring a 40.5, Smith and Mai Baum are the overnight leaders by over 12 points heading into tomorrow’s cross-country. “It was his best [test] for sure,” continued Smith. “I thought for sure it would be in the 30s, but the judge at M [Heather Buckland from Australia] was 11 points different in the percentage. It would be interesting to talk to her to find out what her outlook is because you always want to know what they are expecting, what they see and why they don’t give you the score. I thought it was his best test by a big percentage.”

This is only Mai Baum’s second CIC3* and Smith says his last one (at Great Meadow) was a bit soft because of the Pan Am prep. “I feel like the combinations are quite substantial so I am going to give it a go and ride my hardest and hope that he is up for the challenge.”

There were only two other tests sub-60 as the division has several partnerships new to the CIC3* level and multiple horses who struggled with tension and the atmosphere. Jennifer McFall and Blenheim CCI3*-bound, High Times scored a 53.1 to sit in third while Anna Collier and her CCI4* partner, Gleaming Road, earned a 58.9 for fourth.

About the Adequan USEA Gold Cup and PRO Tour Series

Qualifying for the 2015 Adequan USEA Gold Cup began last fall with the Plantation Field CIC3* (PA) and the Woodside CIC3* (CA) and features 11 qualifying competitions throughout the United States at the Advanced Horse Trials and CIC3* levels. The final will take place at the Nutrena USEA American Eventing Championships September 2015 in Tyler, Texas. Riders who complete a qualifier earn the chance to vie for $40,000 in prize money in the Adequan Advanced Division and the title of Adequan USEA Gold Cup Champion.

The 2015 Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series is made possible through the support of its many loyal sponsors: Adequan, Standlee Forage, Nunn Finer, Nutrena, Broadstone Equine Insurance Agency, Point Two, Dubarry, and FITS.

The PRO Tour Series consists of 13 premier destination events in the United States and Canada, featuring the best riders and most entertainment. Riders and Horses are awarded points on the PRO Tour Rider Leader Board and PRO Tour Horse Leader Board.

The Professional Riders Organization would like to thank the following sponsors for their support of the 2015 PRO Tour Series: KER Optimum Time, Tex Sutton, Triple Crown Nutrition, SSG Riding Gloves, and Midadlantic Ltd.