Lillet 3 Rises to the Top in SRF Carolina International CCI4*-S
Raeford, N.C.—March 21—While Tamie Smith’s partnership with Lillet 3 is still under two years old, she and the 10-year-old Holsteiner mare (S.I.E.C. Livello x Princess L) have picked up some strong results at the Intermediate and Advanced levels in recent months.
Smith came to the Setters’ Run Farm Carolina International in hopes of being competitive in the CDP Stables CCI4*-S division with “Lillet,” and they moved up from fifth after yesterday’s show jumping to take the win today after recording a clear cross-country round with 1.2 time penalties, finishing with a score of 29.7. Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake slotted into second place, while Jennie Brannigan and FE Lifestyle jumped up from seventh to third. Show jumping leaders Boyd Martin and Miks Master C added 10.4 time penalties to drop to fifth.
No riders finished within the optimum time of 6 mins 15 seconds. Of 36 starters, 32 finished. There were two eliminations for refusals, one retirement and one rider fall, with no reported injuries.
Lillet competed to the three-star level with German rider Andreas Dibowski, and Smith’s student Molly Duda and her family purchased the mare for her to ride as she knew her time with her beloved five-star partner Mai Baum was winding down.
“It's taken us a little time to kind of develop a partnership,” Smith said. “I think it's hard when you take a horse that's already been going with another rider, but I've always absolutely loved her, and she's such a trier, and this year she feels like my horse. I had a whole year on her last year, and we had some really good wins and some kind of bobbles, so this weekend was a real test to that, and it felt amazing. And the courses were great, and she was with me in every phase. It was really cool.”
Smith describes the mare as sweet in the barn and “unbelievably classy. She's really a pleasure to ride every day. There's nothing that she doesn't come out and try to help with. And I think this year, she just really came into her body and her strength. She’s just incredible, kind of all the way around.”
Smith credits work with Scott Keach to helping her be smooth and fast in her riding. “I came here to be competitive, and all the horses [I brought] are fast horses,” she said. “I feel like it's starting to become one of my strong suits on the cross-country, which is fun. I think Mai Baum taught me that [I needed to be faster] because he wasn't a fast horse, so it's fun with this new group to kind of test it out and feel the track. And Derek made a lot of combinations where you had to react and you had to trust your horse, and the combinations rode fantastic, you know. I have a tremendous amount of trust in Derek. I think all of us do, and it really showed through this weekend.”
Smith is planning to take Lillet to the Cosequin CCI4*-S at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event in April, then she might consider a five-star for the summer or fall.
Smith also finished sixth with Jeanne Shigo’s Jump To Day D in the CCI4*-S and swept the CCI3*-S and CCI2*-S divisions aboard Donna Wallace’s Spiro P and Julianne Guariglia’s Solaguayre Cantata, respectively. In total, she had five horses across the FEI divisions this weekend.
“It wasn't actually my expectation,” she said when asked how it felt. “Honestly, I just wanted to come in and be the best for my horses and let them be who they are. It’s always fun when the chips fall your way. And I think we've done a lot of hard work on all of them. And the flat work was excellent. Their show jumping was excellent. And the cross-country we really tested them, and they all stepped up and answered all the questions. I mean, you couldn't ask for a better result. I'm just really fortunate that I have those horses that I'm riding.”
Another busy rider was Pamukcu, who earned her best result aboard her own, Deniz Pamukcu, Mollie Hoff, and Sherrie Martin’s HSH Blake in the CCI4*-S, adding 5.2 time penalites to finish close to Smith on 30.4. Her 2024 Paris Olympics partner was on form as they head to the five-star at Kentucky next month. She also finished seventh with Hoff and Martin’s She’s The One, and 19th
with the Tolan King Partnership’s HSH Tolan King, both also heading to Kentucky.
“Carolina does such a great job,” she said. “They obviously have Derek as the designer. So, I thought it's very important to run them around the Derek course leading up to Kentucky, because obviously he designs Kentucky. You can always count on good footing, good atmosphere, and they really go above and beyond for the horses and for the people.”
Caroline was happy to have the opportunity to ride dressage and show jumping on grass. “I thought that was a really good spot that they picked,” she said. “It was good for the owners to watch. It was good for the horses. I thought everything was very horse friendly this year. It was really, like, kind of Zen in the area, and it really let the horse kind of take a breath.
“Derek did a masterful job, like he always does, around the cross-country,” she added. “He asked you all the right questions without being too big and too aggressive. It really gave them all a lot of confidence for going to Kentucky. I really felt like it was a very horse friendly.”
Caroline has brought Blake, an 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding (Tolan R x Doughiska Lass), along since he was competing in the USEA Young Event Horse classes and has forged a strong bond with him.
“He's just the most unreal horse ever,” she said. “He makes everything so effortless. It's an honor to ride him; I'm just so lucky. It feels like fairy tale every time I get to go and run cross-country.”
Brannigan admits she’s had a rough winter recovering from a leg and knee injury incurred last fall, and she came to Carolina with one Intermediate run on “Foxy,” Tim and Nina Gardner’s 16-year-old Brandenburger gelding (Leo von Faelz x Berina A).
But last year’s Carolina CCI4*-S winners had no problem over di Grazia’s track today, clocking just 2.8 time penalties to finish in third place on a score of 32.1.
“I just feel like he’s getting better,” said Brannigan. “It was his best dressage test, and he show jumped great, and the ground was good, and I felt the track was great, so I just wanted to go out and give him a good go.”
Foxy is Brannigan’s longtime partner, and they’ve completed several five-stars, including a fifth place finish at the MARS Maryland 5 Star last fall.
“Riding a horse like that, the way he jumped around Maryland last year, he’s just a once-in-a-lifetime cross-country horse,” she said. “I knew the field was pretty competitive this year [at Carolina], and we have a lot of horses aiming for WEG in it. I’ve had a rough road healing myself, so I was really thinking about myself and doing the best job for him.”
Brannigan says Carolina is the best place to prepare for the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, which is where she and Foxy will be heading next in April for their sixth start at the event.
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