Kim Severson and Tipperary Liadhnan added only 6.4 cross-country time faults to their Bromont CCI*** dressage score today, June 12, to maintain their lead heading into tomorrow’s show jumping.

Jessica Phoenix and Exponential put in the only double-clear cross-country round of the three-star division and jumped up from 12^th to second on 57.6 penalties. Formerly second-placed Gina Fiore and Feral Errol dropped to 22^nd with two stops and 40.8 time penalties on course.

Many of the problems on the CCI*** track came at fence 5AB, a large table to a left corner. After two refusals at the B element, Buck Davidson and Cruise Lion, the first pair on course in the division, retired. Ronald Zabala-Goetschel and Che Kairo were eliminated there after three stops, Molly Rosin and Havarah’s Charly retired there after two stops, and five other pairs had one run-out there.

Heidi White and Northern Spy, back for a bid to qualify for the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, were eliminated after they had a refusal at fence 17AB and then neglected to jump 17B the second time around.

Martha McDowell came off Gaelic Marriage at fence 8, the only rider fall of the division. The course was held briefly while medical personnel attended to McDowell, but her injuries were not life-threatening.

Severson and “Paddy” are in Bromont, Que., after finishing 24^th at the Rolex Kentucky CCI**** six weeks ago. Severson, Scottsville, Va., talked about the challenges of getting Paddy ready to peak fitness-wise again for Bromont, which was their only other chance to qualify for the WEG.

“He’s basically fit enough, in my opinion,” she said. “[Since Kentucky] I did kind of one gallop, and then for his second I repeated the last gallop I’d done before Rolex. And then the last one before coming here was just a little boost, taking a deep breath kind of one. I actually didn’t have to do that much fitness work on him at all, just re-opening his airways.”

Paddy, who’s a solid, 17-hand Irish Sport Horse, demonstrated that fitness by easily galloping around Derek di Grazia’s 28-jump, 40-effort CCI*** course.

“It’s lovely here,” Severson said after dressage yesterday. “Everybody talks about it maybe being a softish three-star, but it’s still a three-star. They said the same thing about Rolex, and I didn’t think there was anything soft about that. I think there’s absolutely plenty to do. Just like you would at Rolex or any other thing, you have to keep answering the questions.”

Axel Rose Rocks CCI** Course

Thanks to a fast and effortless round, Canadian rider Kelli Temple, Round Hill, Va., and Axel Rose also maintained their dressage lead after cross-country in the CCI** division today, and they’ll head into show jumping with 45.0 penalties.

There was movement in the rest of the leaderboard, however, with Will Faudree and Andromaque moving up from seventh to second after a double-clear round, Laura VanderVliet and Mighty Mangaroo moving up from eighth to third, and Shandiss Wewiora and Fionn McCuhal jumping from ninth to fourth.

Clark Montgomery and Loughan Glen, in second after dressage, incurred one stop at fence 17AB, the chevron table and brush, and 7.6 time penalties on course to drop to 16^th. Fourteen time penalties moved Havasu Canyon and Courtney Cooper from third to ninth, and a refusal at 13AB, the double corners, dropped Cooper’s other ride, Who’s A Star, from fifth to 21^st. Formerly fifth-placed Colleen Rutledge came off Dillon at fence 5AB, the brush to right corner. Boyd Martin retired his catch-ride from Buck Davidson, Haifa Bay On The 1st Of November, after a stop at fence 3, the trakehner.

Martin And Min Lead CCI*

Martin is hoping for a near repeat of last year’s Bromont CCI*, but he’d like one small upgrade—for his mount Minotaure Du Passoir, “Min,” to finish first for owner Amy Lindgren, instead of second.

“Min was great,” Martin said after today’s round. “He flew around and got the best going of the day since it was early on. He jumped really good and made the time quite comfortably. It was a bit slippery, but the time wasn’t too tight so you could take your time a bit on the turns and ride smart.”

Martin, 30, West Grove, Pa., praised di Grazia’s course.

“I think it was a fantastic one-star course,” he said. “It had all the questions but was a little bit forgiving at the same time. [Min]’s had a few rails here and there, so we’ll just see what happens tomorrow.”

Three out of the 36 who started cross-country in the CCI* were eliminated, with Elizabeth Chertavian and Babble On parting company at fence 8, the log coffin and ditch, and Liza Igochine coming off Hottamolli at the water complex. Sixteen made it around double clear.

The top of the leaderboard mostly stayed the same in the CCI*. Martin heads into show jumping tomorrow less than 2 penalties ahead of Davidson and Catalina, who held their placing from yesterday after a clear cross-country trip. Nina Ligon and Tokay also retained their dressage placing and will jump third-to-last tomorrow. Clark Montgomery and Universe moved up from fifth to fourth after Rebecca Rebus and Rubies To Diamonds had two refusals and dropped to 33^rd.

Another of Martin’s rides, Charla, will show jump in seventh place tomorrow. The pair posted a double-clear cross-country round, and Martin is excited for the young horse’s future. She’s owned by Henley House Stables, the owners of one of Martin’s 2010 Rolex Kentucky finishers, Remington XXV.

“She’s only done four prelims, and we thought this would be a wonderful experience,” Martin said of Charla. “We wanted to see how she galloped over a longer course because she’s got a bit of warmblood in her. It was a little bit of a test run to see if she’s got what it takes for the future, and she absolutely does. It was well worth the education for her to bring her along too.”

Though Min, a Selle Francais (Experio—Almea Joyeuse) gelding, isn’t going to be a Rolex prospect for Martin, he still enjoys riding the horse and appreciates his long-term partnership with owner Lindgren.

“Amy and I both think the horse is pretty maxed out at prelim, but Amy really loves watching the horse gallop around these sort of events, and I like being involved with Amy, so we decided to keep the horse at this level indefinitely,” Martin said. “Obviously, I’ve come a long way in a couple of years. It was a huge thing for that lady to give me a horse to ride when I was a bit unknown. Things have got going bigger and better since then, but I haven’t forgotten who the first one to write a check to ride a horse in this country was.”

CCI*** Top 15

1. Tipperary Liadhnan/Kim Severson/USA 49.8
2. Exponential/Jessica Phoenix/CAN 57.6
3. Nevada Bay/Will Coleman/USA 59.0
4. Riddle Master/Rebecca Howard/CAN 59.4
5. Jet/Ashley Leith/USA 62.0
6. John Williams/Sweepea Dean/USA 63.8
7. Balmoral Tim Tram/Mikki Kuchta/USA 64.2
8. Tsunami/Sarah Cousins/USA 65.6
9. Mazetto/Ashley Kehoe/USA 66.2
10. Buck Davidson/Mar De Amor/USA 67.0
11. JB’s Star/Jennifer Simmons/USA 71.6
12. The Robber Baron/Sarah Cousins/USA 72.2
13. My Sedona/Jill Walton/USA 73.8
14. Exploring/Jessica Phoenix/CAN 75.2
15. Call On Me/Callie Judy/USA 76.4

CCI** Top 15

1. Axel Rose/Kelli Temple/CAN 45.0
2. Andromaque/Will Faudree/USA 54.6
3. Mighty Mangaroo/Laura VanderVliet/USA 55.2
4. Fionn McCuhal/Shandiss Wewiora/CAN 55.4
5. Rolling Stone II/Nate Chambers/USA 56.1
6. Manolo Blahnik/Sara Kozumplik/USA 56.3
7. Umi/Kassidy Kirchner/USA 57.0
8. Winning Facts/Laura Vello/USA 59.4
9. Havasu Canyon/Courtney Cooper/USA 61.0
10. Flying Finn/Penny Rowland/CAN 61.5
11. Clfiton Jade/Valerie Vizcarrondo/USA 62.4
12. Case Closed II/Kerry Blackmer/USA 69.4
13. Chocco De Pomme/Kim Crawford/CAN 70.5
14. Tactiek/Ashley MacVaugh/USA 70.9
15. Amazing Grace/Missy Miller/USA 71.2

CCI* Top 15

1. Minotaure Du Passoir/Boyd Martin/USA 47.5
2. Catalina/Buck Davidson/USA 49.1
3. Tokay/Nina Ligon/THA 49.7
4. Universe/Clark Montgomery/USA 50.6
5. Checkout The Charmer/Alexandra Curtiss/USA 52.2
6. Sal/Buck Davidson/USA 52.5
7. Charla/Boyd Martin/USA 53.1
8. Delta Ditto/Sara Kozumplik/USA 53.6
9. Glendosa Gold/Lily O’Brien/USA 56.3
10. Houdini/Katie Ruppel/USA 56.3
11. Millenium Kiwi’s/Jennifer Simmons/USA 57.1
12. Siamese Kat/Melissa Boutin/CAN 57.5
13. Ichabod/Haley Amstrong-Laframi/CAN 57.8
14. Smarty Pants/Kelly List/CAN 59.8
15. Balmoral Mighty Legend/Charlotte Collis/USA 61.3