United States Eventing Association

Today capped off three days of successful cross-country competition for the inaugural Nutrena USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Land Rover (AEC) at the Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC) in Mill Spring, N.C.. With the highest and lowest levels tackling Capt. Mark Phillips' courses excitement was on course from the start box to the finish flags.

Adequan USEA Gold Cup Advanced

Captain Mark Phillips’ cross-country courses caused a few major shakeups in the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Advanced leaderboard. At the end of the day, Ryan Wood and Summit Sporthorses’ Powell (Pablito x Dinara) became the leaders of this division after adding only 8.8 time penalties. The 10-year-old Oldenburg sits on 34.2 penalty points going into tomorrow’s show jumping.

The time proved the most testing feature of this course, and Allison Springer and Arthur, the overnight leaders after dressage, fell victim adding 17.2 time penalties. They dropped into ninth. Wood had four rides in this division, and this gave him a better feel for the track and the upper hand. “He was my second ride, so I had a bit of a feel of the flow of the course,” he said.

“There were a couple of spots where, you needed just to ease off the turns where it was getting a little greasy from the rain yesterday. There were some areas where you could push on a little bit and make up some time. I had a little bit of an advantage of riding it one time before. I used what I learned on my course to give him the best ride I could.”

Time was on Doug Payne’s side today. After he had one of the fastest time of the day, he jumped from tenth to second position with Vandiver (Windfall II x Visions of Grandeur). He piloted Debi Crowley’s 12-year-old Trakehner carefully around the winding track, trying to save seconds at every opportunity.

“In the field, as competitive as it is, time is critical,” he said. “This last year was just chasing qualifications with him, so I couldn’t ever experiment [with him]. This last bit here I was trying to see what I could get away with to get a little quicker.”

Emily Beshear and Shame On The Moon (Sonset Sieger x Indy) weren't the quickest around today, but their impressive dressage score from yesterday gave them some breathing room. Deep Purple Eventing’s 10-year-old Trakehner mare picked up 9.6 time penalties for a total score of 38.2 going into show jumping.

Broadstone Junior Beginner Novice 14 and Under

After our final day of cross-country, it was a new partnership who picked up the lead of the Broadstone Beginner Novice 14 & Under division. Annabelle Kress and Batteries Not Included have only been together for a month, but they have made every moment count. The 16-year-old pinto gelding remains on his dressage score of 26.5

“It was challenging, but it was a lot of fun. He’s such a saint. I’m so happy with him,” she said. Kress leases “Batman” from her trainer Susie Beale, and this event is only their third event together. “I’ve only been riding him for about a month,” she smiled. “His old owner rides at my barn, and he’s qualified from her, and I qualified on my old pony, so we qualified separately.”

Although they are still getting to know each other, Kress knows that Batman will have no reservations about showing off in the George Morris Arena tomorrow. “He’s definitely a show pony, so it wasn’t too hard for him to get adjusted to the atmosphere. I think he’ll like the attention in there.”

Mackenzie Lea and The Man in Black moved up from third to second after a double clear cross country round to stay on their dressage score of 27.5 and Chloe Johnson follows in third with DaVinci on 27.8 penalty points. They will show jump tomorrow at 9:50 a.m. in the George Morris Arena.

Broadstone Junior Beginner Novice

Julia McElligott and Ricky kept a tight hold on their lead from dressage yesterday moving into the cross-country phase today. The pair went double clear around a difficult cross-country track to stay on their original score of 22.5. Kaley Breland and Not An Issue kept their momentum in second place, also finishing a double clear effort around the course. Ellie Bizot and Ziggy Stardust are just behind Breland with a 27.8, which will make for an exciting finish in the Broadstone Junior Beginner Novice division.

“I thought today was a very good tough course," said McElligott. "We’ve have some trouble with the water in our past riders, and I think he went really clean through the water today. The jumps were a bit on the spooky side and I’m very pleased with him.”

“For tomorrow, I’d like to just stay focused and not let the pressure get to me when I’m at the jumps," continued McElligott. "I want to ride him forward and ride him round. It’s probably one of his stronger phases. He likes to show jump and have the attention him.”

Professional's Choice Junior Training

There was a brief moment of self-doubt when McKinsey Wickman checked the live scores after having a successful double clear cross-country run today with her own Dassett Profile. She noticed her name had disappeared from the top of the leaderboard and had 20 points next to it. Fortunately, it was a quickly-resolved recording error, and her actual score reflected her continued lead.

“I’m glad we got that resolved!” she laughed. After experiencing the taste of success when she won the Novice Junior division last year, she wasn’t ready to give up her lead so easily. “We were in sync the entire time. He was attacking every fence, and I was really impressed with how he went,” Wickman explained.

Behind Wickman is Georgia Dillard and Normandy’s Cole’s Clover in second place on a score of 27.3, and Maddie McElduff and Tupelo in third on a score of 27.9

Junior/Young Rider Preliminary

William Zuschlag and RF Southern Command remained at the head of the Junior/Young Rider Preliminary division with a 27.3 after finishing almost 20 seconds under the optimum time. Arielle Aharoni and Dutch Times, owned by Christina Aharoni, remain in second on their 28.0, while Courtney Swartz and My Son MJ are currently placed in third on a 31.4.

“I think he was super forward today, which is always great because he’s a big heavy warmblood and that’s key. He really just locked in on the jumps and continued on and felt great,” said Zuschlag. “He was dragging me along so I think it went really well. We came in about 20 seconds under the time.”

The pair have been solidifying their dressage and cross-country skills since RF Southern Command has an extensive show jumping background. The pair dashed through the course today and felt confident in their potential to take the championship if they are able to secure a faultless show jumping round tomorrow.

“He didn’t bat an eye at anything and it was really good. I was here for the U.S. Pony Club Championships so we had a little taste of what was to come,” he noted.

Junior Novice

Alexis Mazzatta and Shigatzi, owned by Diana Burnett, continued on with a strong trip around the track in the Junior Novice division on a 26.0, a full two points ahead of Madeline Hartsock and Prinz S.W. who are currently in second with a 28.0. Mia Braundel and Cashmere are close behind on a 28.3.

Find all the live scores here

About the AEC

The Nutrena® USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Land Rover (AEC) is the pinnacle of the sport for the national levels. Held annually, this event draws together the best competitors from across the country vying for national titles from the Beginner Novice through the Advanced level. This year's AEC is being held at the Tryon International Equestrian Center in Mill Spring, N.C. August 31-September 4, 2016.

The 2016 Nutrena® USEA American Eventing Championships presented by Land Rover would not be possible without our wonderful sponsors: Nutrena, Land Rover, Adequan, Merial, Broadstone Equine Insurance Company, Professional's Choice, Devoucoux,Merck Animal Health, Standlee Hay, Charles Owen, Fleeceworks, CWD, The Chronicle of the Horse, Noble Outfitters, Auburn Laboratories Inc., Smartpak, Stackhouse Saddles, Point Two, VTO Saddlery, FLAIR, Dubarry of Ireland, FITS Riding, Equine Art by Julie, Ride Safe, The Jockey Club, Ovation, Eventing Training Online, Kastel Denmark, Happy Saddle Treats, I Love My Horse, GumBits, Horse Hydrator, Phoenix Bodyworks, C4 Belts, The Scoring Chix, and more.

*Many of these sponsors are in attendance at the AEC with vendor spaces in the USEA Sponsor Village, located directly next to the George Morris Arena at TIEC. Get ready to shop!