Last year Tracey Corey wasn’t able to take off work to compete her horse SuperNova at the American Eventing Championships herself, so she sent him with one of her trainers, Leslie Law, and flew into Chicago to watch them place sixth in the training horse division.

Since then Corey made the 2009 AEC a personal priority, and it paid off today, Saturday, Sept. 12, when she clinched the amateur training title on her dressage score of 24.7.

Corey, Louisville, Ky., serves as the Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Riding has long been her outlet from the difficulties of her job, but it usually takes a back seat. This summer, however, the “very goal-oriented” wife and mother wasn’t going to let anything keep her from competing.

“I marked myself out on the calendar back in January, as soon as the schedule came out,” she said, laughing.

Corey got “Nova,” a 6-year-old off-the-track Thoroughbred, as a gift from legendary race horse trainer D. Wayne Lukas three years ago. While the bay gelding needed several months off to recover from a racing injury, Corey knew he could be a future eventer. He’s not an easy ride, but she likes the daily challenge, and competition is secondary.

“As an amateur, I always just try to just go and do my best,” she said. “I have a very high-pressure job, and so something like going into stadium [in the lead] in reverse order—although there’s a little bit of nervousness—I don’t really get too nervous about it. I do this for fun. If I don’t win, it’s no big deal.”

Having just topped a national championship division of 23 horses, however, she was quick to add, “It’s always nice if I do!”

In the training horse division, Kerry Torrey held on to her overnight lead with Carlin Vickery’s Wellfleet to win on her dressage score of 26.8. Elinor MacPhail (Woodstock II, 30.8) and Lynne Partridge (El Cid, 25.4) also prevailed in the junior/young rider preliminary and amateur preliminary divisions, respectively.

A downed rail by Phillip Dutton and Nina Gardner’s Vidalia gave Kristen Rozycki a win in the preliminary horse division. She posted a double-clear round today with Full Circle to finish on her dressage mark of 29.2.

Jennie Brannigan benefited from another of Dutton’s rails down, this one in the intermediate division with Bruce Duchossois’ Wild Tiger. Brannigan moved up from second place to lead the victory gallop with Cambalda (41.7) after a flawless round.

In the advanced division, Leslie Law scored his second championship in a row with Beatrice and Guy Rey-Herme’s Fleeceworks Mystere du Val (34.5). Overnight leaders Nate Chambers and Rolling Stone II dropped to third when they dropped a rail.

Lower-level riders contested the cross-country today (visit our photo gallery by clicking on any image at right), and the novice standings in particular endured some serious shifts. Fence 5, a painted, fish-shaped jump set before the first water, caused countless stops throughout the day and at least three rider falls at the novice level.

Cindy Bonamarte and Eva stepped into the lead in the amateur division after the overnight leaders were eliminated. Chrissy Hollnagel and Saki did the same in the horse division when the first-placed pair incurred three stops, two of which were at the troublesome trout.

While there didn’t seem to be a bogey fence on the beginner novice course, many riders struggled to make the time.

The remaining seven divisions—junior training, all novice and beginner novice—will conclude tomorrow. Show jumping is set to begin at 8:00 a.m.

Visit the USEA’s live scoring site for today’s complete results.