Allentown, N.J.—May 15
Yesterday, Andrea Leatherman used Mensa’s speed to grab the lead in the Jersey Fresh CCI***. Today, in show jumping, she used it again, to hold onto that lead by the narrowest of margins.
Making the time is usually of the most concern on cross-country day, but the time allowed of today’s CCI*** and CIC*** show jumping course proved dastardly difficult to make. When Nina Ligon, in second behind Leatherman in the CCI*** by just 0.6 points, jumped clean with 5 time faults, Leatherman knew she had her work cut out for her.
“I was so nervous!” Ligon said. “But that’s the best he’s ever jumped for me. I didn’t use studs, and it did feel a little slick in the turns in the ring. He wasn’t attacking the fences a much as he usually does, but he was jumping super careful with his front end.”
Mensa jumped his heart out for Leatherman, and they left all the rails in the cups. As she patted the flashy bay on the neck, everyone was on pins and needles, waiting to hear announcer Brian O’Connor deliver the news. And good news it was, for Leatherman. She’d matched Ligon’s score exactly, with 5 time faults of her own, to hang onto the blue by less than a point.
“I was just trying to stay relaxed. He’s a great horse, and if I give him a good ride, we wants to leave the rails up,” Leatherman said. “When I went to go in the ring, [boyfriend and trainer] Buck Davidson told me I had a rail in hand. So, when I jumped the next-to-the-last fence clean, I kind of took a deep breath.
“But then I remembered that everyone had time faults, so I just kicked him on to the last. And I’m so glad I did!” she continued.
Doug Payne had been in sixth after cross-country, but jumped a clean round with just 6 time faults today to move up to third place behind Leatherman and Ligon. Erin Sylvester who was third in the CCI*** coming into today, had 25 faults—five rails and 5 time faults—on No Boundaries to drop to seventh.
Only Faudree Was Quick And Clean
Drama abounded in the CIC*** division as well. The CIC riders had the advantage of having watched the CCI*** field tackle the show jumping courses, and they got to see just how important neat turns would be. Will Faudree was the first to show the way, jumping Andromaque to a round with two rails, but no time faults. He then turned in the only double-clear round of the three-star divisions on Pawlow to put all the pressure on the top two, Tiana Coudray and Jennie Brannigan.
“I have to give special thanks to Andromaque, the first horse I jumped,” Faudree said. “I started out on course very quickly with her, and I let her get a bit flat. We had two rails, which in retrospect wasn’t a bad score, but it also showed me what I had to do on Pawlow.
“I knew I needed to go as quick as I could and make good turns, but I also had to keep a good rhythm and keep the canter fresh,” Faudree continued. “I think a lot of people got hurried about the time; you have to be quick, but keep the quality of the canter, too.”
Brannigan looked to be making a bid to make the time, cutting inside to a triple bar. But the move backfired when Cambalda caught the back rail with a hind leg. Another rail fell, as well. They finished with 8 jumping faults and 1 time fault.
ADVERTISEMENT
It was all up to Coudray. She had 8 faults in hand over Faudree. Things got interesting when she had a rail at the third jump. Then, she had another. And then another. She made the time, but the 12 jumping faults left her in a tie for second place with Brannigan, and Faudree on top with Pawlow.
Oddly enough, since he’s a top name in the sport and has won Pan American Games gold and represented the U.S. at the 2006 World Equestrian Games, Faudree admitted that this was the first FEI event he’s ever won. “I’ve been second a lot—at Bromont and Fair Hill,” he said. “But this is very exciting for this horse, and for my whole team.” Faudree plans to run Pawlow in the Luhmuhlen CCI**** (Germany) in June.
Coudray wasn’t as disappointed as one might expect. “I’m actually thrilled,” she said. “My horse stepped up hugely. This is by far the toughest he’s had to work for something, and he did it. It was an incredibly tough show jumping course, so I’m not at all discouraged.”
Coudray and Ligon both agreed that the heavy rain overnight had made the bluestone footing in the show jumping ring heavy and holding, which they felt contributed to the number of rails and time faults. Riders also said a number of horses were footsore after running on what they deemed was firm footing on cross-country.
Coudray attributed Master Hill’s hold at the vet inspection this morning to foot soreness. “I knew my horse was foot sore, and that’s what the vets saw. Fortunately, they agreed that it was nothing more major, and we passed,” she said.
Smart Move Makes It A CCI** Win
Though Lisa Marie Fergusson and Smart Move didn’t have a rail in hand in show jumping for the CCI**, Fergusson wasn’t worried.
“He’s a great show jumper, so I wasn’t nervous,” Fergusson said. “I had Phillip [Dutton] helping me in warm-up, and he told me how to ride the course. “ ‘Smarty’ is a very good show jumper, and it’s just nice when the plan works.”
Fergusson had reason to be confident—Smarty jumped around with nary a rub and won the CCI** in his first attempt at the level. In the 23-horse field, seven horses jumped double-clear rounds, with both of the double combinations causing the most problems.
“I’m so happy for Smarty,” Fergusson said. “He’s a really good young horse, and he stepped up this weekend.”
Smarty is a 7-year-old Welsh Cob/Thoroughbred and a half sibling to Fergusson’s first advanced horse, Uni Griffon. Though Uni died after completing the Maui Jim Horse Trials (Ill.) in 2009, Fergusson, Vancouver, B.C., now owns two of his half siblings and one full brother. Though they’re unusual crosses for eventing, Fergusson said they excel at it.
“They are super willing and really forward, which is a nice combination,” she said. “They’re super cool horses, really willing, love to jump, and especially love to run and jump. They tend to be really sound, and they’re very personable.”
Caitlin Silliman and Catch A Star capped off a nearly perfect weekend by finishing on their dressage score of 54.7, good enough for second place. Arden Wildasin, another student of Dutton’s, and Totally Awesome Bosco also jumped a double clear show jumping round to finish third on 55.2 penalties.
ADVERTISEMENT
“It was the best round I’ve ever had on him,” Wildasin said. “He was ready to go, and I was so happy to go through the finish flags with all the rails up.”
Roquefort Reels In CIC**
Rebecca Howard didn’t know how many rails she had in hand heading into the show jumping for the CIC**, and when the announcer mentioned she was 11 penalties ahead of second-placed Will Coleman and Obos O’Reilly, it took a little of the pressure off of her. But Howard, Norwood, N.C., and Roquefort didn’t need any slack in the scoring, and they jumped a double-clear show jumping lead for the win, finishing on 52.4 penalties.
“The course was interesting,” said Howard. “It was pretty much all related distances, so you really had to make a decision on your line. That actually works out well for me, because I sometimes struggle to find a rhythm on that horse, and that helped me stick to it. It was a lot more settled that our last few rounds. He felt super.”
Howard sustained broken ribs, collarbones and a punctured lung after a fall from Roquefort in the advanced division at Pine Top (Ga.) in early 2010. She dropped him back down a level and said he’s continued maturing since then.
“It’s great to have things come together, and I’m really happy for his owner, Jim Cogdell,” Howard said. “He’s been really patient with the both of us. It’s really fun to have the horse have some successes, so hopefully he continues to do that.”
Howard is hoping to ride Roquefort in the Pan American Games for Canada this October.
Obos O’Reilly picked up the prize for the highest-placed Irish Draught Horse cross in the CIC**. Coleman said the 7-year-old gelding took longer than some to develop, but that’s he going strongly now. They added just one time penalty to yesterday’s cross-country score, finishing on 63.7 penalties.
“I thought it was a good course,” Coleman said. “It’s a big ring, and it made it very competitive to keep the time as tight as they did. You couldn’t waste a second anywhere. I thought the lines were pretty intelligent, and I love courses like that. You want each phase to matter.”
Coleman, Gordonsville, Va., has been riding Obos O’Reilly since he was a 5-year-old. The pair is targeting the CCI** at Bromont (Quebec) on June 11-13. Coleman also finished fourth in the CIC** aboard Westwind’s El Dorado and sixth in the CCI** on Vancouver.
“I’ve got a group of greener horses that I brought with me this weekend, and I found out I may have three nice ones,” Coleman said. “Hopefully they continue to improve, and hopefully I’ll have three really good horses down the road.”
Phillip Dutton and Young Man were third in the CIC**, where five out of 18 show jumpers put in faultless rounds.
