American-bred horses dominated the top placings in the 5-star dressage, as competition at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event got under way.
As if that weren’t enough good news, their riders had brought these mounts along up through the ranks, making for a special connection between human and horse that can’t be duplicated, no matter how much someone spends for a horse they didn’t make.
The stands weren’t full, but they were far from empty, with 6,982 spectators, a good number for a Thursday in the Rolex arena at the Kentucky Horse Park. The crowd was knowledgeable; for instance, when Phillip Dutton’s mount Sea of Clouds kicked up during a lead change, the spectators went “Ooh” in unison.
Californian Tamie Smith led the way with the lithe gray, Fleeceworks Royal, marked at 32.9 penalties by judges who the riders characterized as tough but fair. Her ride has gained polish from association with German dressage trainer Johann Hinnemann, whom she calls a friend as well as a mentor.
Tamie Smith acknowledges the cheers of the crowd for her performance on Fleeceworks Royal. (Photo © 2022 by Nancy Jaffer)
Tamie has ridden the 13-year-old mare since the Holsteiner by Riverman was three years old.
“Every time I’m going out of the start box at Advanced, I’m like, ‘But you’re three,’ she confessed with a chuckle.
“It’s special to be sitting on one you’ve produced from scratch, and you think of all the times and the many people she’s bucked off.”
Tamie called the mare “a cross-country machine” and “a great jumper,” talents that will come in handy as the weekend rolls along.
Colleen Rutledge, a Kentucky veteran, has clocked many miles on her thoroughbred/Clydesdale cross, Covert Rights, graded at 33.8 penalties even with a few errors, like a problem halting from the walk and blowing the second flying change. But never mind.
Colleen Rutledge and Covert Rights were airborne during their dressage test. (Photo © 2022 by Nancy Jaffer)
“It feels amazing, to be sitting up here on my homebred out of my first advanced mare. He’s a blast to ride every day no matter what,” the Maryland resident said.
The big bay “puts a smile on my face every day,” she added.
Doug Payne, standing third, was marked at 34.9 penalties on Vandiver, an 18-year-old Trakehner by Windfall. Quinn, as the gelding is known, was his Olympic mount last year.
The North Carolina resident doesn’t see a bogey fence on the course, but noted that the way the route is set, “I think you’re going to see a lot of different solutions to the same problem.”
He noted that Vandiver’s breeder and part-owner Debi Crowley is on hand, which is special.
Doug Payne and Vandiver. (Photo © 2022 by Nancy Jaffer)
“it’s a crazy experience to be able to share their dream, so we’re trying to savor it,” he said.
I love the American thoroughbred, the breed that once dominated eventing, back in the days of the long format when endurance played a key role.
So it was gratifying to see several of them performing today, and Let it Be Lee, a son of Bernstein, even was able to finish in fourth place on a very respectable 35.1 penalties.
Like the top three, he is U.S. bred.The svelte bay is ridden by Elisa Wallace of Florida, who has been a star at the Mustang Makeover, something the skills she learned through eventing probably helped her master. That competition has demonstrated the ability of these horses that have gotten short shrift from the federal government as they are taken from their land and too often put in feedlots, or meet an even worse fate.
Elisa Wallace and Let It Be Lee. (Photo © 2022 by Nancy Jaffer)
I was looking forward to watching the test of Great Britain’s Pippa Funnell. She was the first to take the Rolex Grand Slam (Kentucky and the British events, Badminton and Burghley) in 2003, and we’ve missed seeing her at the horse park.
The Olympic and European Championships multi-medalist has returned, riding Majas Hope, and I was impressed at the determined no-nonsense beginning of her test, looking up and seeing her running score was 70 percent. (We view the scores in dressage terms before they are converted to penalties for the final score.)
Then she had problems in the halt and reinback and never regained the horse’s initial sterling composure. Now she’s standing sixth with 35.6 penalties. Even so, it’s nice to have someone of her stature competing at this event.
Pippa Funnell and Majas Hope. (Photo © 2022 by Nancy Jaffer)
In the 4-Star Short, a division that debuted at the horse park last year, Elisabeth Halliday-Sharp was first and second with two horses who are polar opposites in appearance.
Her Cooley Quicksilver, a personable gray, was on top with 25.7 penalties, while the coal black Cooley Moonshine was second with 26.9.
Third went to Helen Alliston on Ebay (28.7). She’s the wife of James Alliston, 15th in the 5-star on Paper Jam, a Hanoverian Helen owns. This chestnut, I should mention, has very nice extensions and though he needs work elsewhere in his test, he looks like he has real potential for James.
Tomorrow the remainder of the horses in the 4- and 5-star divisions take their turn in the arena.In the 5-star, where Pippa has another shot with Maybach. Germany’s Michael Jung, the only other person to win the Rolex Grand Slam, will be aboard fischerChipmunk FRH during the afternoon. It will be the horse’s first 5-star, despite having completed the Olympics and medaling at the European Championships.
Then we will see what Saturday brings (despite expected rain) over Derek di Grazia’s completely redesigned courses.
Usually, the media gets a tour from a hay wagon (pulled, regrettably, but a tractor rather than draft horses) but this year it wasn’t on the schedule. So Derek, the Tokyo Olympics designer who Colleen called a “little bit of a Machiavellian genius” came to us with a power-point presentation to discuss the 5-star fences.
Derek di Grazia and his power point presentation. (Photo © 2022 by Nancy Jaffer)
Derek said he begins his designing process three weeks after the event is finished and all the movable parts of the fences are taken away. He wants a fresh canvas on which to compose his masterpiece, and this way, he can get a better look at the terrain and do his planning from there.
That innovative approach is evident in this year’s course. But when I asked him how many of the fences are new, as opposed to ones we’ve seen before, he didn’t know.
“I never really counted,” he explained, after conceding, “There are a lot of new fences.” And with this track, he said, “I’m going to places I’ve never been before and lines that I’ve never taken before in the park.”