United States Eventing Association

Elkton, Md. - The first phase of competition at the Fair Hill International came to a conclusion on Friday as the final 45 combinations in CCI3* competition completed their dressage tests, while the second half of the CCI2* field headed down centerline. Boyd Martin and Master Frisky will head out on the cross-country in the pole position of the three-star, and in the two-star no one was able to catch Thursday’s leader Matthew Brown.

Martin (Cochranville, Pa.) and Stephen Blauner’s 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding grabbed the lead at the end of the morning session after receiving a score of 43.4 from the Ground Jury of Susan Baxter, Christina Klinspor, and Wayne Quarles. The Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games veteran will set out on Derek di Grazia’s three-star track with a 6/10 of a point lead in his quest to claim The Dutta Corp/USEF National Three-Star Eventing Championship.

“He’s a lovely horse, this would be the horse’s strongest phase,” said Martin, who has carefully prepared Master Frisky for his CCI3* debut this weekend. “He’s had a bit of a quiet year and we’ve picked and chosen what we’ve done this year and done some CIC3*s.”

Martin’s World Championship teammate, Buck Davidson (Ocala, Fla.), stands within striking distance heading out onto the cross-country, lying second and third with Sherrie Martin’s 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding The Apprentice and the 12-year-old Thoroughbred mare Petite Flower, who is co-owned by Martin and her daughter Caroline, on scores of 44.0 and 44.8, respectively.

On Thursday Brown (Petaluma, Calif.) and Mary McKee’s 8-year-old Holsteiner gelding Happenstance earned a score of 40.1 from the Ground Jury of Jane Tolley and Mark Weissbecker, a mark that would prove unbeatable in the USEF National Two-Star Championship.

“He’s still got a long ways to go in the dressage; he’s just hitting his stride, so I think there’s a lot to come,” said the Jacqueline B. Mars Domestic Competition and Training Grant recipient.

Great Britain’s Victoria Jessop and Desert Mystery lay second in the CCI2* on a score of 41.3, with Lynn Symansky (The Plains, Va.) and her own and Alton Quanbeck’s eight-year-old Westphalian gelding Osborne 9 standing second in National Championship and third overall on a score of 41.8.

To learn more about the 2014 The Dutta Corp Fair Hill International visit; http://fairhillinternational.com/fh-fair-hill-international-home-page/