PrintThis practiced pair led from start to finish in the advanced division.
As thunder boomed and lightning lit up the horizon, Mother Nature, not Chris Barnard’s imposing course, worried the 17 advanced division riders waiting to contest their show jumping round at the Millbrook Horse Trials, Aug. 7-10 in Millbrook, N.Y.
The organizers, crew and judges hurried competitors through in reverse order of placing, hoping to beat the impending storm.
But neither weather nor schedule-induced tension bothered the unflappable Dobbin, who, along with his loyal owner/rider Corinne Ashton, waited patiently to jump last. In fact, Dobbin’s relaxed demeanor almost got him into trouble, as he loped into the arena and jumped the first three jumps casually, dropping one rail at the third.
“I thought with the storm about to let loose he would get a little revved up, but instead we went to the first jump under-paced and messed up the striding between [fences] 2 and 3,” said Ashton, Princeton, Mass. “I had two rails in-hand, but I knew I’d better get into gear after that.”
Fortunately, Dobbin jumped the rest of the course flawlessly and went on to win by 6 points over second-placed Leslie Law on Beatrice and Guy Rey-Herme’s Fleeceworks Mystere Du Val.
That Ashton’s 14-year-old, Thoroughbred gelding would win the dressage was no surprise. But at Millbrook he won more convincingly than usual, scoring a 25.8 and beating Law’s mount by 5 points.
Ashton, who just turned pro last winter, credited her friend Marcia Kulak, who schooled Dobbin for Ashton while she took a family vacation to Malaysia. Ashton returned home only a few days before Millbrook.
“Marcia really sharpened him up for me, then she helped me warm him up for the test here,” said Ashton. “Now I want to build on all the good training she’s given us.”
Dobbin needed no such fine-tuning for the cross-country test, however, as he jumped around Tremaine Cooper’s imposing track like a working hunter.
“It’s what we all dream of, why we all do this sport,” said Ashton. “Every jump was perfect. It wasn’t a job for him, it was fun.”
Dobbin and Ashton are familiar winners at Millbrook’s U.S. Eventing Association Gold Cup venue, having won the advanced in 2007 and 2005 and finished third in 2006.
“Everyone keeps asking me, ‘Why are you here doing this again?’ ” said Ashton. “My answer is, ‘Why shouldn’t I be?’ [Dobbin is] the most consistent creature, he’s sound as a bell and the best he’s ever been. Isn’t this what it’s all about, having a horse that’s sound and happy and able to compete for years?”
Ashton will aim her venerable partner for the Fair Hill CCI*** (Md.) in the fall—“Unless,” she said, “someone wants to come along and give me the $20,000 I need to go to England and compete there.”
He Won’t Touch A Rail
Buck Davidson didn’t waste any time bemoaning his narrow miss of a berth on the U.S. Olympic team with Ballynoecastle RM, owned by Carl and Cassie Segal.
He returned from training in England just in time to ride for a few days and then win Millbrook’s open intermediate section on another Segal-owned mount, My Boy Bobby, a 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding.
The horse’s usual rider, Jessica Kiener, works for the Segals, but she passed the reins over to Buck when she suffered a few rough moments at spring competitions.
“I’ve trained Jessica and this horse for years, and the Segals are wonderful friend and supporters,” said Davidson. “I’m just here to give the horse a little confidence, as he’s a bit green at this level. Jessica has done a great job with the horse, bringing him up through intermediate.
“He’s just about unbeatable on the flat,” continued Davidson of his 24.5 dressage score, which was the division’s best. “This is the horse everybody wants to ride.”
The 33-competitor field encountered more difficulty with Tremaine Cooper’s intermediate track than did their advanced counterparts. Only five finished without time or jumping penalties, while nine jumped clear but late on the clock. Four riders retired, one was eliminated, and the remaining 14 picked up jumping penalties.
As thunder boomed and lightning lit up the horizon, Mother Nature, not Chris Barnard’s imposing course, worried the 17 advanced division riders waiting to contest their show jumping round at the Millbrook Horse Trials, Aug. 7-10 in Millbrook, N.Y.
The organizers, crew and judges hurried competitors through in reverse order of placing, hoping to beat the impending storm.
But neither weather nor schedule-induced tension bothered the unflappable Dobbin, who, along with his loyal owner/rider Corinne Ashton, waited patiently to jump last. In fact, Dobbin’s relaxed demeanor almost got him into trouble, as he loped into the arena and jumped the first three jumps casually, dropping one rail at the third.“I thought with the storm about to let loose he would get a little revved up, but instead we went to the first jump under-paced and messed up the striding between [fences] 2 and 3,” said Ashton, Princeton, Mass. “I had two rails in-hand, but I knew I’d better get into gear after that.”
Fortunately, Dobbin jumped the rest of the course flawlessly and went on to win by 6 points over second-placed Leslie Law on Beatrice and Guy Rey-Herme’s Fleeceworks Mystere Du Val.
That Ashton’s 14-year-old, Thoroughbred gelding would win the dressage was no surprise. But at Millbrook he won more convincingly than usual, scoring a 25.8 and beating Law’s mount by 5 points.
Ashton, who just turned pro last winter, credited her friend Marcia Kulak, who schooled Dobbin for Ashton while she took a family vacation to Malaysia. Ashton returned home only a few days before Millbrook.
“Marcia really sharpened him up for me, then she helped me warm him up for the test here,” said Ashton. “Now I want to build on all the good training she’s given us.”
Dobbin needed no such fine-tuning for the cross-country test, however, as he jumped around Tremaine Cooper’s imposing track like a working hunter.
“It’s what we all dream of, why we all do this sport,” said Ashton. “Every jump was perfect. It wasn’t a job for him, it was fun.”
Dobbin and Ashton are familiar winners at Millbrook’s U.S. Eventing Association Gold Cup venue, having won the advanced in 2007 and 2005 and finished third in 2006.
“Everyone keeps asking me, ‘Why are you here doing this again?’ ” said Ashton. “My answer is, ‘Why shouldn’t I be?’ [Dobbin is] the most consistent creature, he’s sound as a bell and the best he’s ever been. Isn’t this what it’s all about, having a horse that’s sound and happy and able to compete for years?”
Ashton will aim her venerable partner for the Fair Hill CCI*** (Md.) in the fall—“Unless,” she said, “someone wants to come along and give me the $20,000 I need to go to England and compete there.”
He Won’t Touch A Rail
Buck Davidson didn’t waste any time bemoaning his narrow miss of a berth on the U.S. Olympic team with Ballynoecastle RM, owned by Carl and Cassie Segal.
| Millbrook Tidbits • After sitting out the 2007 season due to injury, Twizzel, 12, a Westphalian gelding, is back in form for Will Coleman. They placed third in the advanced division. “Twizzel was on his game, and there wasn’t a single question he didn’t figure out and jump perfectly. I’m just so happy to have the horse back and going so well,” said Coleman. • On the advanced course, a massive corner fence at 5AB was the trouble spot, resulting in five refusals. • As of Millbrook, the U.S. Eventing Association Gold Cup Advanced Series leaders are: 1) Arthur/Allison Springer, 450 points; 2) Up Spirit/Clark Montgomery, 425; 3) Bantry Bay V/Tory Smith, 390. With their victory at Millbrook in their only Gold Cup series outing, Corinne Ashton and Dobbin stand ninth with 250 points. |
He returned from training in England just in time to ride for a few days and then win Millbrook’s open intermediate section on another Segal-owned mount, My Boy Bobby, a 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding.
The horse’s usual rider, Jessica Kiener, works for the Segals, but she passed the reins over to Buck when she suffered a few rough moments at spring competitions.
“I’ve trained Jessica and this horse for years, and the Segals are wonderful friend and supporters,” said Davidson. “I’m just here to give the horse a little confidence, as he’s a bit green at this level. Jessica has done a great job with the horse, bringing him up through intermediate.
“He’s just about unbeatable on the flat,” continued Davidson of his 24.5 dressage score, which was the division’s best. “This is the horse everybody wants to ride.”
The 33-competitor field encountered more difficulty with Tremaine Cooper’s intermediate track than did their advanced counterparts. Only five finished without time or jumping penalties, while nine jumped clear but late on the clock. Four riders retired, one was eliminated, and the remaining 14 picked up jumping penalties.
