Karma is developing into one of the fastest and most-reliable cross-country horses in the West. The 9-year-old bay Oldenburg mare and James Alliston won their third-straight blue ribbon together at either the four-star or Advanced level in the CCI4*-S at the Twin Rivers Fall International in Paso Robles, California, with the only double-clear cross-country round on Saturday.
Watching the final show jumping phase at Rebecca Farm, it was hard to tell that Karma had just galloped around her first CCI4*-L the day before.
The 9-year-old Oldenburg mare (Escudo II x Travita) pinged up over every fence with James Alliston to earn one of two double-clear rounds and finish on her dressage score of 32.6 for the win.
Running earlier than expected due to peak heat, all 14 CCI4*-L riders came out of the start box at Rebecca Farm this morning, but not all of them crossed the finish. Buck Davidson, who was holding second place standing coming out of dressage yesterday, incurred a refusal and a fall from Business Class at what was arguably one of the most challenging aspects of the Ian Stark’s course—the Snake, which dropped into the water where a set of bounce logs led to a triple brush.