Just when it looked like Round 3 of the U.S. Equestrian Olympic Selection Trials was going to be a bit boring, things got very interesting.

After the dust settled, Laura Kraut remains on top of the selection trial standings with Cedric.  Will Simpson has continued his juggernaut of redemption for he and Carlsson vom Dach’s 12 faults in Round by winning the class decisively with a very quick clear round.  That makes win No. 2 for him, after topping the $100,000 Zada Enterprises Masters Cup CSI-W on March 2.  The two clear rounds move him up to a tie for fourth in the selection trial standings with 12 faults.  He’s on his way up but a lot of Olympic aspirations faded tonight.  Three horse-rider combinations–McLain Ward on Sapphire, Beezie Madden on Authentic and Jeffery Welles on Armani–have already been named to the 10-horse short list that will travel to Europe and compete on Super League Nations Cups before the Olympic team is named by July 15.  Trials 3, 4 and 5 will determine the remaining seven spots on that short list.

Only 30 horses came to the ring under the lights tonight, March 5, for Round 3.  A speed round, the class was for selection trial horses only.  Jeffery Welles, the leader of the standings on Armani after Round 2, was granted a bye spot to the 10-horse short list set to go to Europe after jumping clean rounds in Rounds 1 and 2.  Course designer Jose “Pepe”  Gamarra set a track that Will Simpson called “a little bit generous for jumping a clear round.  There weren’t any traps; I thought it was a nice test.  But it’s more of a welcome stake for what’s to come later in the week.”

And right off the bat, clear rounds came thick and fast.  McLain Ward, third in the ring on Phillipa, jumped the first one and then Todd Minikus, Marilyn Little, and Cara Raether followed suit.  They’re all pretty far down the standings, however, with more than 20 faults to their names.  Charlie Jayne jumped an inspired clear round aboard Urbanus to finish Round 3 with a total of just 16 faults, which puts him in a tie for 11th along with Georgina Bloomberg and Curius, who had just a foot in the water tonight.  Anne Kursinki added just 1 time fault to Champ’s total tonight; they’re now in 10th in the standings with 15 faults.

In the middle of the order of go, rails dropped consistently.  But then Nicole Simpson came into the ring on SRF Dragonfly, a flashy chestnut with a huge jump.  They were tied for sixth after Round 2 with 8 faults to their name.  They flew around the course and came home clear with the fastest time of the night so far.

Going All Out

That time wouldn’t stand for long.  Will Simpson, next in the ring, was one of the few in the class to treat it like the speed round it was.  “There was one inside turn that no-one made, that you’d have to make in the speed round at the Olympics or World Cup Finals,” Will said. “But, when there’s so much on the line and down the road and basically all you need is a clear, no-one did that. It was a real trick to figure out what my approach was going to be tonight because you’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t.

“I think that this horse has a better chance of jumping it clear off the inside turn, when I take the pace and approach away, than if I go around and he sees the fence for so long.  But if I’d done that and had it down, then it’s like ‘what were you thinking?’  It was a real pressure-cooker for me to figure out exactly what to do.

“But I said, I know my horse and I know how he goes, and he’s easier to ride in the jump-off, so I just made a three-quarter jump-off out of it.  I didn’t take any unnecessary risks and I let him go at his pace.  He felt like he was right there and right in stride.  That’s a nice feeling to have, to go for speed and not worry about rails.”  Will shaved five seconds off Nicole’s time to lead the class and maintain his 12-fault total in the trials.

Kraut had been sitting in a tie for second with her veteran, Anthem, coming into Round 3.  But 8 faults at fence 8AB bumped their total up to 12 faults, and they’re now tied for fourth.    “I made a riding error on Anthem,” Kraut said.  “I just came too slow to the double of oxers and under the lights at night he’s almost too careful, so that was my problem there.  On Cedric, I knew not to come too slow and he handled it easily.”

Christina McCrea picked up just 1 time fault on Vegas, putting her into a tie for seventh with 13 total faults.  Charlie Jayne and Thomas Edison, who had jumped clear in Round 1, couldn’t do it again tonight and added 13 more faults to the 12 they had in Round 2 to drop them out of the running.

Kate Levy and the wonderful Vent du Nord—tied for eighth after Round 2—put the pressure on the leaders with a clear round to maintain her total of 9 faults.  Kursinski and Roxana 112 jumped beautifully but had a foot in the water to make their total 13 and put them into a tie for seventh place.    VDL Oranta—Chris Kappler’s Olympic hope–broke hearts when she brought down rails at fence 1 and 2 and then put a foot in the water, taking them out of the top 10.

Casadora and Lauren Hough just toppled the top rail of 5A, the vertical into a combination, to finish with 4 faults to add to their 9 from the first two rounds.  They’re now in that three-way tie for seventh with 13 total faults, with Kusinski and McCrea.  Brianne Goutal and Onira added 4 faults with a foot in the water to bring their total to 12 and put them into a tie for fourth.

Big Changes At The Top

Nicole Simpson and the stunning gray Vicomte D impressed the crowds in Rounds 1 and 2 with spectacular jumping efforts.  Vicomte jumped way up over the triple bar at fence 4 and came down on the back rail.  He jumped through the next combination fine but then stopped abruptly at an oxer at fence 6.  Nicole came off over his head, ending their Olympic bid.  “I think that’s a green horse and she hasn’t ridden him very long, so there’s less of a partnership there.  That was unfortunate,” Kraut said.

Beezie Madden already has a spot on the short list with Authentic but Judgement had been jumping so well that he’d been tied for third.  But three rails tonight bring their total to 16 and put them in a tie for 11th.

Kraut and Cedric put on a show of exuberant jumping and came home with just 1 time fault to take over the lead in the standings with a total of just 2 faults. “I didn’t think he’d be leading the trials.  He’s an unbelievable horse.  He really understands this sport,” Kraut said.  “He knows that he’s not supposed to have rails down, so he tries very hard.  But I’ve never jumped more than one 1.60-meter round in a row with him.  I always dropped him down and jumped a few small classes in between for confidence.  I was nervous of how he would handle going round after round over grueling courses and I’m just thrilled and so proud of him. He’s gotten so mature tonight.”

TOP 12 AFTER ROUNDS 1, 2 & 3
1. Laura Kraut/Cedric                0-1-1        TOTAL 2
2. Nicole Simpson/SRF Dragonfly        8-0-0        TOTAL 8
3. Kate Levy/Vent du Nord            8-1-0        TOTAL 9
4T. Brianne Goutal/Onira            0-8-4        TOTAL 12
4T. Will Simpson/Carlsson vom Dach    12-0-0        TOTAL 12
4T. Laura Kraut/Anthem                  0-4-8      TOTAL 12
7T. Lauren Hough/Casadora            0-9-4        TOTAL 13
7T. Anne Kursinski/Roxana 112        4-5-4        TOTAL 13
7T. Christine McCrea/Vegas            8-4-1        TOTAL 13
10. Anne Kusinski/Champ            9-5-1        TOTAL 15
11T. Beezie Madden/Judgement        0-4-12        TOTAL 16
11T. Georgina Bloomberg/Curius        4-8-4        TOTAL 16
11T. Charlie Jayne/Urbanus            8-8-0        TOTAL 16