The Setters’ Run Farm Carolina International featured a strong group of experienced pairs in the marquee CCI4*-S division, and by the end of the competition, held March 16-19 in Raeford, North Carolina, the top-10 was packed with several five-star veterans and Advanced level winners.
Mary Bess Davis wasn’t exactly expecting to find her name in the mix with Imperio Magic, as she’d just moved her 9-year-old Anglo European gelding (Cassender C x Khadija Des Hayettes) up to Advanced last fall, but by the end of the weekend, the pair had made one of the biggest leaps up the scoreboard from 23rd after dressage to finish 10th.
It was a beautiful but chilly weekend in the pines at the Setters' Run Farm Carolina International. After a record-setting 19.4 in the CCI4*-S dressage, Will Coleman became the first three-time winner in the event's history when he led from start to finish on Hyperion Stud's Chin Tonic HS.
When Will Coleman first sat on Chin Tonic HS as a 3-year-old, he knew the horse oozed talent on the flat and over jumps, but his future as a top-level eventing horse wasn’t so certain.
“He was a pretty stunning horse,” he said. “You watched him trot up and you were just kind of drooling over him, even at that stage. I rode him in this very small indoor [in Europe], and you couldn’t believe that you were riding a 3-year-old horse. Just the presence and the way that he sort of just connected into the bridle was just a very incredible, athletic feeling but he was not really a galloping horse. He was more of dressage and show jumping breeding, so I think it’s taken him a little while to develop a step on cross-country.”
Sometimes you just have to be a goldfish, as Ted Lasso says to his team on the Apple TV series of the same name—forget what happened quickly and move on.
Will Coleman came into the CCI4*-S show jumping today at the Setters’ Run Farm Carolina International on top of the class with Chin Tonic HS and in third with Off The Record, but by the end of the class he was ready to forget his wild day.
Will Coleman came to the Setters’ Run Farm Carolina International with two totally opposite horses in Off The Record and Chin Tonic HS, but at the end of dressage day for the CCI4*-S, they both proved they have one thing in common—talent in the sand box.
Are you following along with the action from home this weekend? Or maybe you're competing at an event and need information fast. Either way, we’ve got you covered! Check out the USEA’s Weekend Quick Links for links to information including the prize list, ride times, live scores, and more for all the events running this weekend.
The Carolina Horse Park in Raeford, North Carolina, will once again host the Setters' Run Farm Carolina International CCI and Horse Trials this weekend for its ninth year (the event has run every year since 2014 aside from a cancellation in 2020 due to COVID-19). As the first international event in Area II this year and the first CCI4*-S, the field is loaded with top competitors itching to get out and get their FEI season underway. In addition to the main attraction, the CCI4*-S, the Carolina International also features a CCI3*-S, CCI2*-S, CCI1*-S, as well as Advanced, Intermediate, Preliminary, Modified, and Training national divisions.
Raeford, N.C. - March 26, 2022 – Known for influential cross-country tracks, this year’s Cloud 11~Gavilan North LLC Carolina International CCI and Horse Trial, presented by Lumbee River EMC lived up to its reputation with cross country shuffling the leaderboards, crowning new champions, and seeing history made as Will Coleman became the first back-to-back winner of the Setters’ Run Farm CCI4*-S.
Raeford, N.C. - March 25, 2022 – The sun shone on day two of the Cloud 11~Gavilan North LLC Carolina International presented by Lumbee River EMC setting the stage for an exciting show jumping phase. While clean rounds were hard to come by, the leaderboards look relatively similar once the dust settled with three of the four division leaders keeping their top positions heading into cross-country.
Raeford, N.C. - March 24, 2022 – After a wet start to the Cloud 11~Gavilan North LLC Carolina International which saw start times pushed back temporarily for a brief rain delay, California’s Tamie Smith danced into the lead in the Setters’ Run Farm CCI4*-S with her longtime partner Mai Baum (Loredano x Ramira), Eric Markell and Ellen and Alex Ahearn's 16-year-old German Sport Horse gelding.
Are you following along with the action from home this weekend? Or maybe you're competing at an event and need information fast. Either way, we’ve got you covered! Check out the USEA’s Weekend Quick Links for links to information including the prize list, ride times, live scores, and more for all the events running this weekend.