The CCI3*-S and CCI4*-S divisions were able to complete their show jumping before the torrential rain interrupted the competition for the CCI2*-S division.
The show jumping course was designed by Chris Barnard. When asked how he felt about his courses, he remarked that the CCI4*-S "walked as tough as it rode." With only 14 clear rounds in the CCI4*-S, there were many changes to the leaderboard after dressage. Barnard designed his courses to be "fair for the level - the good ones have questions to answer, and the greener ones at each level are still quite comfortable to jump around. It's such a beautiful ring, and it's easy to design a nice, flowy course. It's good footing and the horses jump well off of it."
The outdoor arena drained nicely for CCI2*-S competition to resume. The cross-country footing is in excellent shape after the rain for the final phase of the FEI competition tomorrow.
The leaderboards going into the final phase tomorrow are as follows:
CCI4*-S
1st: Elisabeth Halliday-Sharp & Fernhill By Night (24.50)
2nd: Matthew Flynn & Wizzerd (25.90)
3rd: Doug Payne & Quantum Leap (26.80)
4th: Will Faudree & Caeleste (27.40)
T-5th: Doug Payne & Vandiver (28.30)
T-5th: Clayton Frederick & FE Always In Time (28.30)
CCI3*-S
1st: Alexander O'Neal & Miss MoneyPenny V (29.00)
2nd: Boyd Martin & Fernhill Prezley (29.40)
3rd: Boyd Martin & Penhill Celtic (29.60)
4th: Hallie Coon & Cooley SOS (30.40)
T-5th: Sydney Elliott & Commando D'Osthuy (31.00)
T-5th: Kurt Martin & D.A. Lifetime (31.00)
CCI2*-S
1st: Elisabeth Halliday-Sharp & Maryville Sir Henry (27.40)
2nd: Kelly Prather & Catch Me Cooley (28.90)
3rd: Leslie Law & Tout De Suite (30.50)
4th: Kimberly Steinbuch & Classiro (32.30)
5th: Dana Cooke & FE Whole Lotta Rosie (32.40)
For full scores, click here. To view the event program, click here.
Tomorrow, the first of five regional clinics for the USEA Emerging Athletes U21 (EA21) Program kicks off in the central region of the country in Benton, Louisiana, at Holly Hill Farm. Throughout the summer, the remaining clinics on the East and West Coast will follow. At each clinic, 12 hand-selected riders will participate in a two-day clinic led by USEA Eventing Coaches Program (ECP) coaches. The purpose of the EA21 program is to create a pipeline for potential team riders by identifying and developing young talent, improving horsemanship and riding skills, and training and improving skills and consistency. The intention is to provide young athletes with access to an added level of horsemanship and riding skills to further their training and skill development with greater consistency.
After the first day of competition, Canadian Olympian Colleen Loach and her horse FE Golden Eye lead an international field in the CCI4*-L division of the MARS Bromont CCI.
Stone Gate Farm Horse Trials, located in Hanoverton, Ohio, announced they would cancel their fall horse trials, which were scheduled for Sept. 23-24.
Morgan Rowsell had just wrapped up organizing a successful Essex H.T. in Far Hills, New Jersey, on June 4, but as he turned his attention to his next show two weeks later, he was faced with challenges presented by the effects that wildfires from Canada are now having on equestrian sports in the Northeast. “The very next day, the smoke came in,” he said. “It looks like a warm, humid, hazy day, but it’s not humid, it’s not warm, it’s actually quite cool. There’s no air. There’s very little breeze. There’s a northeast wind coming out of Canada that is bringing all the Novia Scotia and Quebec smoke to us, and it smells like smoke.”