Oct. 4, Lexington, Ky. 2PM
Mario Deslauriers jumped to the top of the leaderboard aboard Urico for the United States at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games at the halfway point of Round 1. He led a blazing clear speed round to stop the clock almost 2 seconds faster than Hungarian Sándor Szász. Rodrigo Pessoa lies third for Brazil aboard HH Rebozo, and his former teammate, who now rides for the Ukraine, Billy Birr and Cassio Rivetti, jumped clear to lay fourth.
Official nation standings have not been posted, but Brazilian riders lay third (Pessoa) and nineth (Alvaro Miranda on AD Ashleigh Drossel Dan). The French had a strong showing as well, with Patrice Delaveau (Kachina Mail) and Pénélope Leprovost (Mylord Carthago*HN) laying seventh and eighth respectively after a rail apiece. Germany’s in the mix with Carsten-Otto Nagel and Corradina and Janne-Friederike Meyer on Cellagon Lambrasco at sixth and 11th after four faults each.
Listen to an interview with Pessoa.
Fifty-fifth of the 58 horses to jump at the Kentucky Horse Park this morning, Deslauriers and Jane Clark’s gelding looked ready to win from Fence 1.
“Urico has a big step and he’s a quick horse naturally,” said Deslauriers, New York, N.Y. “We hit 1 on a lick a little, and though it was my plan to do eight [strides to Fence 2], we ended up doing nine. When you add a stride with him, he’s still quick. And he’s a great water jumper, so I could really crank him back after the water….I let him use his natural step and it turned out all right.”
Robert Smith laid down the first clean and clear round for Great Britain aboard Talan of an eventual five fault-free efforts, followed two horses later by Pessoa.
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Rails fell all over Richard Jeffery and Conrad Holmfeld’s course, especially at the Kentucky Fence Line, an oxer to vertical in-and-out. Pessoa survived a hairy moment there, as HH Rebozo swerved right, and he had to guide him over to stay clear. The final in-and-out, over a green and yellow vertical-to-oxer line dropped time and time again. Some riders approached it at five strides from the previous oxer, and some opted to add one more.
While a few riders racked up plenty of faults, so far the course has caused no major disasters, even for the less-experienced riders and horses.
“The fences aren’t so big, but it’s quite technical and he asks a lot of rideability questions,” said Lauren Hough, who picked up 8 faults aboard Quick Study and currently sits in 14th.
The first U.S. rider to go, Hough caught a hairy distance to the water and Quick Study picked up 4 there, followed by a rail at the last.
“At the wall [Fence 6] he cut hard right—which he does—then he took me to a dead distance at the water,” said Hough, Wellington, Fla. “Then he was going quite well and I really felt the last rail down was cheap, honestly. He went so high then cut down on it. Certainly one down would have been a better score, but I think I’m fast enough hopefully they won’t have to count on my score today.”
With team stalwarts Laura Kraut and Cedric and McLain Ward and Sapphire to jump this afternoon, Deslauriers said team spirit was high, and the U.S. riders were pulling together to shoot for gold.
“Everyone is pulling as a team, and we’re trying to stick together and give each other little tips here and there,” he said, after getting congratulations from his teammates for his performance. “McLain and Laura go a little later, and what I learn and what Lauren learns we forward to them. So they know all the details that sometimes you don’t see walking or observe watching.
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“If you don’t start on a good foot, you can’t win,” he continued. “If you don’t win the first one you can’t win them all. I never got out of my rhythm, and Urico’s a good galloper. A great speed round is when everything works out smoothly and in the rhythm. I was lucky enough that happened today, so I’m very happy about that.”
The class resumes after the lunch break, as the second half of the 121 horses will take to the Sheila Johnson Arena at 2:30 p.m.
Join Coree Reuter and Mollie Bailey for live blogging during the second half of the speed round.
Results are available through the official Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games site
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