April 8, Norwood, N.C.
Every time out Loughan Glen seems a little stronger, a bit more confident in himself. The 8-year-old Irish Sport Horse put in the winning dressage test today with Clark Montgomery in the CIC*** (42.1) over Jennie Brannigan on Cambalda (45.9) and Tiana Coudray on Master Hill (46.4).
“Glen” has gone from strength to strength. He won the Fair Hill CCI** (Md.) last fall, and he’s taken blue at his last two advanced starts, first at Pine Top (Ga.) in February and then at Poplar Place (Ga.) in March.
But Montgomery has expressed that he’s not in a hurry with the Irish Sport Horse gelding owned by Holly Becker and Kathryn Kraft. “If at any point he starts to tell me he’s not ready, I have no problem with backing him down,” said Montgomery.
Brannigan is returning to competition after a nasty collarbone fracture on March 1 when a young horse slipped and fell while cross-country schooling. Her last outing was in February at Pine Top, but she’s said that Cambalda or “Ping” doesn’t need a lot of runs to stay on top of his game.
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In the advanced division, Heather Morris retained her Thursday lead aboard Slate River (28.30). Kim Severson slotted into second place with Tipperary Liadhnan (29.00) ahead of three riders tied for third—Coudray on Ringwood Magister, Boyd Martin on Remington and Allison Spring on Arthur (29.3).
Severson said she was just “playing it by ear,” as her mount is still overcoming an injury sustained in March where his left front shoe got stuck in his left hind pastern.
“I was actually very happy with him. He hasn’t done anything in a while, so I didn’t know what to expect,” she said.
Severson was surprised by how similar the intermediate and advanced cross-country courses looked to last year’s design. Her plan for cross-country was to not stress about time and let Tipperary Liadhnan decide his speed. “I’m going to have a gallop. He needs to have a gallop anyway. I’m going to see how he feels and let him pick the pace,” Severson said.
Cross-country begins at 9 a.m. tomorrow over Capt. Mark Phillips’ course with the intermediate divisions.
For full results, visit EventEntries.com.
