Elkton, Md.—Oct. 19—The main arena at the MARS Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill opened Thursday morning with dressage tests for the USEF CCI3*-L Eventing National Championship.
Olympian Lauren Nicholson (The Plains, Virginia) currently leads the division after producing a score of 30.6 aboard Landmark’s Jungle Gold, an 8-year-old Holsteiner-Irish Sport Horse gelding (Diarado x Jungle Tale) owned and bred by Ms. Jaqueline Mars. The crisp weather this morning created a sharp atmosphere inside of the main arena, but Nicholson, who has known “Richie” since he was a foal, handled it well and produced a solid test to hold the lead throughout the day.
“He’s a very settled horse. We’ve had him his entire life and career. He’s a homebred and really can handle an atmosphere quite well,” said Nicholson. Of the week ahead she said, “This is a strong three-star track, and it’s usually close to 10 minutes out there on cross-country, so it’s a great track for their education, but also for their base fitness thinking about the future, and that’s why we decided to aim him here. He’s got the maturity now to be competitive and thinking about the future being here will only help him continue to grow.”
Lynn Symansky (Middleburg, Virginia) and Idefix van de Creumelhaeve, a 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Emir R x A. Adermie 1) owned by Katherine Coleman, currently sit in second place in the division on a 30.7, just behind Nicholson, while Woods Baughman (Lexington, Kentucky) and Kamara CFF, an 8-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare (Negro x Damara) owned by Kamara CFF, LLC, are slotted just behind them on a 30.9.
The second day of dressage in the CCI3*-L division will continue tomorrow with the first combinations scheduled to ride down the centerline at 9:05 a.m. EST.
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Pierre Le Goupil, a former elite-level eventing athlete, turned decorated course designer in charge of designing the eventing course at this year’s Paris Olympics, has been appointed the new cross-country course designer for the MARS Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill presented by Brown Advisory, beginning in 2025.
The USEA is saddened to share that the Kent Horse Trials in Kent, Connecticut, will be ending its run after 44 years. This USEA Area I event has been a historical staple in the eventing community since its first event ran in 1980. This decision was not made lightly by the organizing committee, but the team behind the Kent Horse Trials cited various challenges which led to this decision.
It's officially USEA Intercollegiate Eventing Championship week, and this year's is shaping up to be one for the history books! The USEA is excited to meet up with a record-breaking 150 intercollegiate entries representing 18 schools who will join forces to create 39 teams competing in Aiken, South Carolina, this weekend. For the first time, the Intercollegiate Championship will also be joining forces with the inaugural USEA Interscholastic Eventing League (IEL) Championship at Stable View on May 4-5. Festivities are set to kick off this Friday, May 3, with the opening ceremonies.
One of the important concepts that event riders of all levels should understand, and practice is how the dressage flatwork carries over into the show jumping and cross-country phases. Don’t forget, the word dressage, translated from French, literally means training.