United States Eventing Association

Time was key in the Adequan USEA Gold Cup CIC3*W division at the Event at Rebecca Farm for four-time Olympian and 2010 WEG hopeful Karen O'Connor. As Phillip Dutton and Ann Jones' Truluck ran Capt. Mark Phillips' course second in the division, their double-clear trip put the pressure on O'Connor and Joan Goswell's Mandiba to match suit since less than two faults separated first from second place.

Though O'Connor, of The Plains, Virginia, and Mandiba, a 10-year-old Irish Thoroughbred, looked smooth and flawless over all 36 efforts on course, it wasn't exactly smooth sailing the whole way.

Young Rider Max McManamy, who left the starting box aboard Beacon Hill just ahead of O'Connor, fell over the first element of the Sunken Road, jumps 20A, B, C, and D, which produced a hold on course for about 20 minutes. McManamy was conscious and tended to by the medical team, and transported to the hospital. Beacon Hill was uninjured.

"He's not the kind of horse, I found out, who's bothered by a hold on course," O'Connor said. "The holding spot was a good place on course because we had three jumps to get back into it. I just went as fast as I could when we got going again.

"But the first thing that goes through your mind is, 'are the horse and rider okay,' " she went on. "The ground jury had said she was being transported to the hospital but it didn't seem like there were any head injuries. So after that bit of relief, I had to start thinking about how I'm going to get this thing going again."

After rehydrating, getting a pep talk from husband and fellow Olympic rider David O'Connor, and hopping over a warm up fence, Karen and Mandiba were back underway, just as focused and cool as they started.

"We were both pretty happy with the way the horse was jumping and were just talking about how we wanted to get back into the course," she explained. "We talked about really using the course because it's so big and gallopy, and to just get out there and use this opportunity to teach the horses how to go."

Dutton, of Unionville, Pennsylvania, and Truluck were the only other pair in the division to make their way around the course faultlessly. The finished just one second behind O'Connor and Mandiba at 6:22. Optimum time was 6:25.

"I guess my horses get the idea that if they get to ride on a nice plane for eight hours, they had better to go fast," he said with a laugh. "But overall, the course was really good and I was pleased with the way all the horses went."

Mara Dean, of Round Hill, Virginia, and High Patriot, her 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding, sat in third place when they set out on course this afternoon. After adding 8.4 time penalties, the door opened for Canadian Hawley Bennett-Awad and Gin N' Juice, who sat in fifth after dressage, to take over the third place position after adding only 6 time faults.

"I just let her gallop along," Bennett-Awad said, "I know she's fast, we've proved that time and time again, but she was on the money out there. I'm really excited for tomorrow."

Twenty-three combinations finished the cross-country course while three were eliminated and two retired. Debbie Rosen, of Calabasas California, and Kelly Prather, of Bodega, California, parted ways with their receptive mounts, The Alchemyst and Ballinakill Glory, but neither horses nor riders were injured.

Riders in the headlining division will take on Richard Jeffery's show jumping course Sunday afternoon to determine which pair takes the glory, cash, and prizes.

Burnett Breaks Away In The Preliminary Three-Day
Preliminary Three-Day overnight leaders Hannah Sue Burnett and Harbour Pilot widened their lead after endurance day. They posted a double-clear round to maintain their score of 30.6 and create a one rail cushion for tomorrow's show jumping.

"I was actually pretty nervous that I was going to mess it up somehow today," Burnett said laughing. "But my horse really settled in and it was really good for him. I feel like he grew up quite a bit. And steeplechase was great. It just makes such a big difference in how he goes cross-country, I think."

The entire endurance phase of competition included four sections: Phase A, roads and tracks, was a warm up period done at a brisk trot for approximately 20 mintues. Phase B is steeplechase, which is ridden at a strong gallop over six to eight jumps, and leads directly to phase C. This phase, again done at a brisk walk or trot, allows the horse to recover and get his wind back to normal, and leads to the 10-minute Vet box, and finally to phase D, cross-country. This particular course was 2.75 miles in length.

"Right out of the box he was straight as and arrow," Burnett said. "He was really just pulling me to the fences; completely different [from a normal horse trials]."

Cathy Wieschhoff remains in second place with her homebred gelding, Simba, after a clear cross-country trip and only two time penalties.

The Preliminary Three Day event is part of the SmartPak Equine USEA Class Series events, which offers the traditional long-format competition for Training and Preliminary levels. The SmartPak Equine/USEA Classic Series is made possible through the support of its many sponsors: Title Sponsor: SmartPak Equine; Presenting Sponsor: Stackhouse Saddles; Silver Level Sponsor: Fleeceworks; Legacy Sponsors: Five Star Tack and VitalWear; Elite Sponsors: FITS and Nunn Finer

The Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series is made possible through the support of its many sponsors: Title: Adequan; Legacy: Nunn Finer and Nutrena, and Patron: Broadstone Equine Insurance Agency, Mountain Horse, and Succeed.