United States Eventing Association

On a new weekend this year, the CHC International at Chattahoochee Hills is the fifth qualifier of the 2016 Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series, which cumulates to a final at the American Eventing Championships (AEC) in Tryon, N.C this September. Chattahoochee Hills is hosting CIC3* and Advanced divisions, as well as an Advanced Combined Test at this beautiful Fairburn, Ga venue. These divisions finished up dressage and show jumping today before they tackle Hugh Lochore’s cross-country tomorrow.

At the end of the day it is Jessica Phoenix and Bentley’s Best (Hirtentanz x Hauptstutbuch Baronesse XIII) who top the CIC3* leaderboard going into tomorrow’s cross-country. Phoenix and Don Good’s 9-year-old Trakehner gelding first clinched the lead after earning a 45.40, his best three-star dressage score to date. “He came out and had a great warm up,” Phoenix said. “He’s so workmanlike in the ring, so he’s always a real pleasure to go into the dressage ring on.”

Jessica Phoenix and Bentley's Best.

The pair added only four penalty points to their score in the show jumping after they tapped the last fence on course, an oxer following the triple combination. “I thought it was one of his best show jump rounds. I think I should’ve just been a little more patient down to that last fence and given him a little bit more room, but overall I was incredibly happy with him,” she said.

This event will be the third three-star that Phoenix had piloted Bentley around, and she plans for it to be educational. “I think the biggest thing when you upgrade horses to the three-star level is to just give them time. They just have to see everything and really understand the job you’re asking them to do,” she explained. Bentley had one stop at The Fork Horse Trials earlier this month, but Phoenix holds no worry about this. “In the past he’s had a couple of green moments, but I’m excited to get out there. It’s a great course. It looks like a lot of good questions and good learning moments for him. The biggest thing with the green horses is just getting them to see as much as you possibly can, so lots of different weird angles and different lines, and things that may not look conventional for him. So that shock factor is taken out of the equation,” she said.

April Simmonds and Quebec NZPH.

April Simmonds (CAN) sits in second place in the three-star division on her own Quebec NZPH (Frisbee Kerellec x Dimond Girl). The 13-year-old Warmblood gelding owned by Simmonds and Faydon Enterprises had a 53.00 in the dressage “He hasn’t been out since Carolina International, so he was a bit hot, but I felt like we could control it really well. That was the first time he actually settled in the middle of the test,” Simmonds explained. The pair then had two rails, which Simmonds attributes to “rider error,” but held onto their second place position. “My warmup was a little rushed, so I got a little panicky. Parts of it were great, and there were other parts that weren’t so great, but they’re easy to fix,” she elaborated.

Simmonds bought “Rex” last spring, so the partnership is still growing. “He was a very shy horse when I bought him. Very head shy, which actually made him easier to bond with. Once [we] could get over that, he recognized me as his mom so to speak,” she said. After deciding to take a year off of college, Simmonds relocated to Florida last November to train with Canadian Coach Clayton Fredericks. The pair hopes for a confident ride around the cross-country tomorrow to prep for next month’s Jersey Fresh CCI3*.

Werner Geven and Vilas County.

Sitting in third is Werner Geven (NED) on Carden Burdette’s Vilas County (Jump Start x Brave Hearted). The 12-year-old Thoroughbred gelding scored a 55.60 in the dressage, and added five rails to that score going into the cross-country.

Whitney Mahloch and Military Mind.

Leading the Advanced division is Whitney Mahloch and her own Military Mind (Military x Smart Balance). This event is the pair’s first attempt at the level, and they hold an impressive ten-point lead. Last to go in the division, the 10-year-old Thoroughbred gelding nailed a 31.20 in the dressage arena. “I’m usually the one getting tense and nervous. He was actually quite calm, so I was able to stay calm and actually think about all the things I’ve been working on lately. We put it together in the ring and it actually turned out like it’s supposed to,” Mahloch explained.

The pair had three rails in hand going into the show jumping, but they didn’t need any and jumped the only double clear round in the division. Mahloch trains with Silvio Mazzoni, the U.S. Eventing Team’s Show Jumping Coach, which helped her pull off a flawless performance today. “I kept [my warm up] short this time. Sometimes I tend to warm up a little too long and a little too high, and it can scare me or him. This time we kept it simple. We didn’t do max height, and then when we got into the ring we were confident and calm,” she explained.

Whitney Mahloch and Military Mind.

The Hugh Lochore designed course will be their first cross-country run at this level, and Mahloch plans to carry today’s confident rides forward to that one as well. “It’s all combinations we’ve done before in different Intermediates, but now it’s putting them all together. He’s a superstar [on cross-country]. He’s a machine. He loves it. The further into the course he goes the better he is and the braver he is. He’s amazing,” she smiled.

Following Mahloch is Lauren DeNeve and Maven (Starlane Lieutenant x Lenghts Ahead) in second place. Maven is a 20-year-old Cleveland Bay mare owned by DeNeve. They go into the cross-country on a 42.80. In third place currently is Leslie Law and Tre’ du Kernat (Jeff D’or x Diane de Kelenn), a 9-year-old Selle Francais gelding owned by Tre’ Brooks.

Cross-Country begins for these riders tomorrow at noon.

Live Scores | Ride Times

Follow the USEA event coverage on social media!

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Snapchat: @USeventing

About the Adequan USEA Gold Cup

Qualifying for the 2016 Adequan USEA Gold Cup Championship began last fall with the Richland Park Advanced & CIC3* (MI), Aspen Farms Advanced (WA), Plantation Field Advanced & CIC3* (PA) and the Woodside International Advanced & CIC3* (CA) and features 11 qualifying competitions throughout the United States at the Advanced Horse Trials and CIC3* levels. The final will take place at the Nutrena USEA American Eventing Championships, September 1-4 in Tryon, North Carolina. Riders who complete a qualifier earn the chance to vie for $40,000 in prize money and thousands of dollars in prizes in the Adequan Advanced Division and the title of Adequan USEA Gold Cup Champion.

The 2016 Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series is made possible through the support of its many loyal sponsors: Adequan, Standlee Forage, Nunn Finer, Nutrena, Merck, Broadstone Equine Insurance Agency, and FITS.