Amy Tryon’s score held up on Friday afternoon at Rolex Kentucky, sending her into cross-country in the lead position aboard Rebecca and Jerome Broussard’s Le Samurai (47.0).  But only 5 points separate the top 10 riders, so everything could change tomorrow.

“Le Samurai was really lit up by the atmosphere,” said Tryon, whose test was on the edge of control but came down on the side of brilliance.  “I had about 40 percent of his attention.  Everything is physically easy for him but mentally challenging.”

Tryon also remarked on their less-than-perfect warm-up.  “He likes to leap mid-stride,” she said.  “And he doesn’t care where he goes or what he crashes into.  First I tried patting him, but that didn’t work.  Then I yelled at him, because I was too scared to kick.”

According to Tryon, Rolex Kentucky is home to the most difficult dressage arena in the world.  “Badminton and Burghley [England] feel more comfortable for the horses,” she explained.  “It’s a lot to ask of any horse, especially one that’s fit to go tomorrow.”

The dressage placings didn’t change much in the afternoon, although Becky Holder and Courageous Comet performed a stand-out test.  Their fluid and harmonious test moved them into a tie for third place with Australia’s Clayton Fredericks and Ben Along Time (47.4).

Highlights of Holder’s test included elegant extended trotwork and perfect, quiet lead changes.

When asked for her thoughts on cross-country, Holder replied, “My husband has a great way of looking at it; the most important jump on course is the next one.  If I jump one jump at a time and make one minute marker at a time, I’ll be able to look back on it and say I had fun.”

Polly Stockton of Great Britain held onto her second-placed standing from the morning with Tangleman.  She first rode this horse here four years ago, and it was his first four-star then.  “I got a worse mark today,” she said with a laugh.

With one of the last rides of the day, Heidi White-Carty moved into a tie for 10th place on Northern Spy.  They performed a steady test, but a slight lack of accuracy, especially in the changes, kept them from a higher placing.

Karen O’Connor and Phillip Dutton both had satisfactory tests aboard their second mounts, Upstage and Truluck, respectively.  Dutton sits in a three-way tie for 15th place aboard Truluck, the final horse of the day, and O’Connor lies in 14th with Upstage, one place ahead of her other ride Theodore O’Connor.

Bruce Davidson and Ian Roberts could share the award for most improved dressage over their performances here last year.  Jam was quiet in her changes for Davidson and seemed much more comfortable in the atmosphere for 63.2 penalties.  Canada’s Roberts put in a credible performance with Napalm for 65.4 penalties.

But the atmosphere did prove too much for some horses.  Tara Ziegler had a tough time in her test when first her top hat flew off and then Buckingham Place started rearing in the reinback.  They also encountered major trouble in the lead changes.

Great Britain’s Ian Stark went off course after the half-pass.  His mount, Full Circle II, decided that walking was completely unnecessary and proceeded to jig until it was time to canter.

Heath Ryan of Australia had his hands full with Flame, especially at the walk. After his halt and reinback, the hot chestnut pawed the ground, wanting to proceed with something more exciting than the walk movements.

Cross-country starts tomorrow at 10 a.m. and should prove extremely influential, since course designer Mike Etherington-Smith said he’s made the time harder to get this year, and the scores couldn’t be closer.