The Kiwis dominated the second day of dressage at the Defender Kentucky 5-Star Three-Day Event on Friday, holding the first two places going into Saturday’s cross-country test.
Monica Spencer and the elegant, expressive thoroughbred, Artist, wound up with a personal best mark of 22.3 penalties to be on top of the 29-horse field. They are just 0.3 penalties ahead of her compatriot, Tim Price, and the powerful Vitali, a horse who has eight top 10 finishes but no 5-star victories.
Leading the way in the 5-Star are Monica Spencer and Artist.
Monica, based in Virginia far from her native New Zealand, was the runner-up last autumn in the Maryland 5-Star with the horse she fondly refers to as Max. But there’s a long way to go before she can enjoy a win at what is now the only 5-star in the Western Hemisphere. (Maryland won’t be held this year).
With Derek di Grazia’s demanding cross-country course looming as a challenge, she isn’t counting her chickens before they hatch.
Keeping the poultry analogy, “With eventing, you can be a rooster one day and a feather duster the next,” Monica advised cheerfully.
Monica Spencer and Artist.
“Max was super today and gave me good energy in the test and I’m really pleased with him,” she continued, noting he is not only “a beautiful mover” but also “trainable.”
Tim noted Vitali was “a little bit on edge,” mentioning that his dressage is usually better in the autumn than the spring.
“I’ve been through a lot with him, a lot of disappointments, really, in terms of final results of the competitions. But equally, he’s an incredible horse in so many ways. I’d never give up on him.
“I think he’s got a big win in him…hopefully, it’s got to come around at some point soon. It’s just a matter of tinkering away to try to find something that’s going to help us be truly successful at this level,” added Tim, who lives in England.
Tim Price and Vitali (Equestrian Sports NZ/Shannon Brinkman)
Great Britain’s Tom McEwen is not much further back from the leaders with 25.1 penalties on the reliable Brookfield Quality. The horse, known around the barn as Nervous Norris, in contrast to that nickname looked very steady, aside from a less-than-perfect reinback.
But Tom noted he “pulled out the same test that he can do every time and laid everything down.”
U.S. rider Will Coleman’s lead with Diabolo on a mark of 27.3 penalties from day one of the dressage phase Thursday was eclipsed by the 26.6 penalty performance of Caroline Pamukcu and her 2024 Olympic mount, HSH Blake. She became the leading American, in fourth place, leaving Will fifth.
Caroline thinks so much of her horse that she named her daughter after him.
Caroline Pamukcu and daughter Blake.
“He’s just such a special partner. He’s my best friend,” observed Caroline.
“He was fabulous, wasn’t he?” she asked. And we knew the right answer.
Caroline hopes she will be able to rate him the same for cross-country.
“There is a lot to do out there,” she commented.
“The good thing is the ground is fast and they’re doing everything they can to water it and make it soft. It’s going to very competitive.”
Caroline is the busiest rider in the 5-star, with three mounts, all of whom she brought along since they were young horses. She stands fifteenth with HSH Tolan King and seventeenth with She’s the One.
“There’s a lot of work for me,” she pointed out, then added, “they all deserve to shine, so hopefully I can give them the ride they deserve.”
It’s very cool that there are two 19-year-old horses in the field. Appropriately, perhaps, both are grey. Corvett, who has competed in every 5-star in the Northern Hemisphere, is making his final appearance at the level for owner Emily Hamel. He is in twenty-first place.
Sunday Times, meanwhile, is twenty-ninth.
“We all know he’s not a dressage horse,” said his owner, amateur rider Arden Wildasin. The horse had a top 10 finish in the Maryland 5-star last year.
Click here for 5-star results
In the 4–Star Short that runs with the 5-star, Tamie Smith kept her lead from Thursday with Danito on 27 penalties. Sharon White is second with Claus 63 (28.1), who did not complete the 5-Star in Kentucky last year.
Tamie also tied for third on Lillet 3 (29.7), while Great Britain’s Elizabeth Barratt has the same score on Ride for Thais Chamon Dumontceau.
Click here for 4-star results
