A week after Caroline Pamukcu was first and second in the Open Preliminary at the Essex Horse Trials, that prep paid off as she rode the same horses to top the 4-Star Long at the MARS Bromont event on Sunday.
The order of her mounts’ finish was reversed this time, though, with Essex runner-up HSH Double Sixteen, a thoroughbred, taking the top prize and She’s the One coming second. Both horses were free of jumping faults on cross-country, but each had two rails in stadium. Double Sixteen finished on 47.5 penalties while She’s the One accumulated 13.6 time penalties on cross-country.
Another U.S. rider, Tracey Bienemann was third with 57.9 penalties on Venezuelan River.
Caroline said her mounts, “Both of them are just fabulous horses, and I’m just so happy for the owners – they deserve it. They’ve been with me since day one, so it’s just great to do well for them, and do well for the horses.
She noted ” ‘Six’ was fabulous all weekend. There’s so much more improvement that can be done, but again, remember, they’re both 11-year-olds, and I think they both have bright futures. Their cross-country rounds were immaculate. They’re just absolute machines, but again, [there’s a] lot more work [that] can be done – the dressage and the show jumping – and even with the cross-country, I can fine tune some things. But I’m so happy because I felt confident this weekend. So that’s the biggest thing – the biggest takeaway.”
The cross-country courses were designed by Derek di Grazia, who also does the Kentucky 5-star, and Jay Hambly.
The 3-Star Long went to Canada’s Colleen Loach, while the 2-StarLong was a wire-to-wire win for Lucienne Bellissimo and Dyri. In the 4-star Short, old friends Phillip Dutton (Denim) and Boyd Martin (Fetiche des Rouges) were 1-2.
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