Time was the deciding factor today, May 10, in the Jersey Fresh three-star, and Amy Tryon raced up the standings from ninth place into first with the fastest go of the division aboard Leyland. She finished just 4 seconds over the time for a total score of 54.0 penalties.

Sara Dierks, who had been tied with Tryon after dressage, rode the second fastest round aboard Somerset and moved into second place (54.8) ahead of Mike Winter and Wonderful Will (60.1). Dierks’s trainer, Vaughn Jeffries, flew all the way from Australia to help her out, and she credited him for her speedy round.

“I went as smoothly and quickly as was warranted by the state of his greenness,” said Tryon of Leyland, an 8-year-old off-the-track Thoroughbred. “This is his first season of advanced. He kicked the arena wall and broke his coffin bone, so he missed all of last year.”

Tryon said she had a few sticky moments on course, but overall it had been an educational round for Leyland.

Course designer John Williams said the time was difficult to get on the three-star track because the Horse Park of New Jersey has limited property, so the course requires more twists and turns.

“I do my best to satisfy myself that the horses will have the best chance possible to meet each and every jump in an appropriate balance to jump that jump,” said Williams. “So one might have noticed that there were very few jumps out on that course that I allowed people to run at speed in a straight line.”

Tragedy On Course
In the three-star, 24 of 35 starters finished with no jumping penalties, and only five horses did not complete. Unfortunately, Tigger Too hung a leg and fell on the landing side of fence 28, The Lighthouse. Technical delegate Roger Haller said that rider Lauren Kieffer was briefly caught under her horse. Kieffer suffered no major injury, but Tigger Too died about a minute after the fall.

The 17-year-old Thoroughbred was owned by David O’Connor and was an experienced horse at the three-star level. Marilyn Payne and Mark Weissbecker make up the FEI investigative panel that will analyze the accident, and a necropsy will be performed on him to determine cause of death. Normally, O’Connor would also be on that panel, but he was excused.

The fence, a narrow partway down the hill before the final water complex, has been on the course for years and caused no other problems today.

Dressage leaders Leslie Law and Fleeceworks Mystere du Val had one stop on course, moving them down to 20th place. Second-placed Karen O’Connor and Allstar fell at fence 4, the Timber Frame Oxer, but both were unhurt. Andrea Baxter chose to retire Estrella after she slipped off after fence 3. Nate Chambers fell off Rolling Stone II at fence 13 before the first water. He did get back on, but was later eliminated for refusals at fence 26, The Gambler’s Dilemma Coffin. According to Haller, Chambers began feeling dizzy after leaving the course and was taken to the hospital for treatment of a possible concussion. Lisa Marie Fergusson was also eliminated for multiple refusals on course with Uni Griffon.

A Newcomer Jumps Up
In the two-star, rookie Maya Black jumped into first place with a double clear round on Kejsarinna (47.7). The 20-year-old from Whidbey Island, Wash., posted the fastest time in the division to take over the lead from Carol Kozlowski and Take Time (48.9). Phillip Dutton moved into third with Risk Taker (48.9) ahead of William Coleman and Twizzel (50.0).

“It’s my first two-star, and I just wanted to let her pick her pace around it and not push her and let her gallop. Obviously she was very fit,” said Black. “She was very efficient with her galloping. Everything rode like I had walked it. All the fences rode great. A few times she popped in a stride here and there, which was a good choice on her part. I like to see that she can think for herself.”

Black has been on the East Coast since January. She’s been working with Sarah Cousins and spent the last three weeks with Jan Byyny.

Black and Kozlowski walked the course together, and Kozlowski cheerfully admitted that she wasn’t at all upset that she lost her dressage lead when 2 time faults moved her down to second place after cross-country.

“I’m glad Maya’s going last tomorrow,” she said. Kozlowski noted that Take Time, a 15-year-old Connemara-Thoroughbred cross by Hideaway’s Erin Go Bragh, doesn’t have the gallop of a full Thoroughbred.

“I was down on all my minutes,” said Kozlowski. “But he has a very good steady cruising speed, and I kept hoping that we would creep up. I knew coming through the last water that he wasn’t going to make the time, and I wasn’t willing to risk anything.”

Appropriate decisions like Kozlowski’s ruled the two-star, where nine riders retired on course, and only one was eliminated. Alyssa Peterson suffered an unfortunate fall with Stormin’s Barbie at fence 7, The Thatch Puzzler, but jumped back on and finished in excellent form. Other riders who fell off, including Casey McKissock, Tamara Todorovic, Kerri Short and Sharon White, opted not to continue. Jonathan Ketzler fell off Gabriel and was later eliminated for refusals at the final water. No rider was seriously hurt.

For full results, go to http://www.horseparkofnewjersey.com/results.htm