Riding amidst the downpour that wrapped up day two of the Defender Kentucky 5-star eventing dressage on Friday, Boyd Martin did not flinch during the soaking that drenched much of his performance with Commando 3.
That type of heroic perseverance, for which Boyd is known, made him not only the top American in the competition so far, but installed him in second place on 26 penalties. That’s just 0.02 penalties ahead of world number one-ranked Tom McEwen from Great Britain and Brookfield Quality in third.
Both are chasing Olympic champion Michael Jung of Germany with fischerChipmunk FRH. Michi will be trying to set a new 5-star record at the Kentucky Horse Park if he finishes on his Thursday dressage score of 18.6 penalties, which would beat his landmark 20.1 penalty victory in the 2022 event. A victory would also make him the only rider to have topped the standings at Kentucky five times.
After a soaking during his dressage test, Boyd Martin smiled for a job well-done with Commando.
Commando, a 12-year-old Holsteiner known as Connor (like his sire, Connor 48), was just one of Boyd’s three rides in the event. He is sixth with Luke 140 (27.9) and eleventh with his Olympic mount, Federman B (29.8).
While doing a dressage test through a curtain of rain wasn’t comfortable, Boyd said the weather actually helped him with Connor.
“He sort of put his head down a bit further. In sport, there’s some things you’ve got no control over…I just tried to stay in the moment. Commando 3 is a champion horse and he stayed focused,” said the Pennsylvania resident, noting Connor can be spooky.
“Maybe it distracted him a bit,” Boyd theorized about the rain.
“But he went in and did a good job in there.”
After his final salute, Boyd said with a smile that he was “very relieved I could go and get some dry underwear on.”
The brief discomfort was worth it for the result.
He considers Kentucky as “one of these premier 5-stars that I live for. I’ve been thinking about this event since the beginning of the year, and these horses, everything has been pointing toward this moment, thousands of hours of practice and galloping and lead-up competitions and we’re here.”
Boyd Martin with Luke 140, who is sixth.
Tom characterized his mount, who he took over from his compatriot Piggy March in 2022, as “such a cool horse.”
Tom McEwen and Brookfield Quality.
Added Tom, “he’s a bit nervous, but he really tries and puts everything he can into it. I was just delighted with the test. He did some real nice work.”
Tom, who has just missed winning Kentucky in the past, had some issues in his test during the half-pirouette right and the transition to the collected trot, which earned him several marks of 5.
He noted it was “a shame about a little mistake halfway through, but mistakes happen.”
Of his Irishbred gelding’s performance, Tom noted, “When he went in there, his eyes came out on stalks a little bit and he sort of froze and held his breath.” However, “The more the test went on, I felt the better and better it got.”
Fourth place with 27.1 penalties belongs to an unsung Kentucky newcomer, Germany’s Libussa Lübbeke aboard Caramia 34. The mare is a homebred ridden previously by 24-year-old Libussa’s brothers, who were on hand to cheer for her.
Libussa trains at the Bundeswehr Sports School for top-level athletes at the country’s Warendorf center (think of it as Germany’s version of what Gladstone used to be in the old U..S. Equestrian Team days).
She wears the very sharp uniform of the German air force, and gave a smart military salute to the judges when she presented her mare for the horse inspection on Wednesday.
Libussa Lübbeke and Caramia 34.
“It’s amazing to be here in this arena with this horse. The whole family is here. To be at this event is like a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” she said.
Of her mare, Libussa noted, “She’s unique and tries her heart out for me. It’s the best horse to try the first Kentucky.”
Discussing Derek di Grazia’s cross-country course that is the focus of Saturday’s program, the German observed, “It looks amazing. It’s a bit different to European courses. All technical questions are clear; it’s a course to ride forward.”
Click here for 5-star results
In the 4-star Short that runs concurrently with the 5-star, Will Coleman and the veteran Off the Record were marked at 21.8 penalties to supplant first-day leader Phillip Dutton. Phillip actually supplanted himself as well. Riding Possante to a 23.1-penalty mark, he moved into second place ahead of Denim, who was the best on Thursday with 25.6 penalties. Click here for 4-star results.
