U.S. Riders Land Inside the Top-15 After Day One of FEI Eventing World Championship
Two U.S. riders executed their dressage tests on the first day of competition at the FEI Eventing World Championship in Aachen, Germany, to land inside the top-15. Caroline Pamukcu and her long-time partner HSH Blake, an 11-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding (Tolan R x Doughiska Lass), owned by Pamukcu and her husband Deniz, Mollie Hoff, and Sherrie Martin, earned a score of 32.3 to sit in 14th place. Meanwhile Phillip Dutton rode Ann Jones, Ann Lapides, Caroline Moran, and Neill Sites' 11-year-old Holsteiner gelding Denim (Dinken x Celia II) to 15th place on a score of 32.6.
Pamukcu was a bit disappointed in her performance this morning, but had high praise for "Blake," who she has campaigned since his USEA Young Event Horse Program years.
"I have a lovely horse," said Pamukcu. "He's a very, very special guy. Obviously, I am pretty disappointed because I could do better. I didn't give him the ride I wanted to today, but it is a sport, and that's the fun thing about a sport. Sometimes it just falls short and that is what it is. I'll go home and work harder and come back swinging again."
Just fractions of a point behind Pamukcu sits Dutton, who was pleased with Denim overall, even though his score left him a little wanting.
"I wanted a bit better score. The test was pretty much mistake free. I got off the center line a little bit with the entrance, but the rest of it was good. He needs a little bit more power and energy, but he was a real professional and on the money for everything that I asked for. I was really proud of him."
Dutton noted that the flying changes in this championship test come up quick, one right after the other, leaving you little room to regroup in between. He felt that perhaps that was one area of the test that could be improved upon but was overall very happy with his horse's performance.
With these first two scores logged, the U.S. team sits in sixth place on a cumulative score of 64.9.
Three U.S. riders remain to compete tomorrow, the two remaining Defender U.S. Eventing Squad team pairs Will Coleman with Diabolo and Boyd Martin aboard Cooley Nutcracker, and the U.S. individual rider Tamie Smith riding Lillet 3.
Meanwhile, Pamukcu and Dutton are looking ahead to cross-country day on the "oasis" of a track.
"I've walked the course three times and it's a lovely course," Pamukcu shared. "They've done such a great job with the ground conditions. if you look around the cross-country course looks like an oasis, it's so green and lush and beautiful. I like doing the [long-formats] on him. He is so nimble and quick and fast, so I think it will suit him big-time."
Dutton is preparing for every possible scenario around Italy’s Guiseppe della Chies' track.
"It's a tough course, a lot of turning. The time's going to be hard to get," he said. "There are three or four places there that are proper five-star questions and there's a lot of thought going into the options. There are so many choices if something is going wrong, that I'll have to do a lot of studying tomorrow to figure out all of that. The first and second water are strong, and then the bank coming off of the angled lines. Coming home off the mounds is an angled corner that you'll have to be on the money there with a bit of horse left."
Overall team standings see New Zealand in a tie for first place with Great Britain thanks to performances by their top riders. British rider Tom McEwen is sitting in the lead at the conclusion of the first day with JL Dublin (Diarado x Zarinna), a 15-year-old Holsteiner gelding, owned by Deirdre Johnston, Jo Lambert, and James Lambert Obe. Meanwhile, Kiwi rider Jonelle Price and Senor Crocodillo (Connor 48 x Marni), a 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding whom Price co-owns with Alexander and Joseph Giannamore, sits in second place individually. French rider Alexis Goury rode Je'Vall, a 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion (Zavall VDL x Wemillem) owned by the rider, Christelle and Yannick Goury, and Michel Mitius, to the third-place position.
The final day of dressage gets underway on Friday, August 14 at 9:30 a.m. local time, which equates to 3:30 a.m. EST.
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