Win, lose or anything in between, the riders at Rolex Kentucky had a variety of reasons to appreciate their partners today.

William Coleman/Obos O’Reilly (0-0, 8^th place):

“Since I got the horse as a 4-year-old, I always knew he’d jump into the Head of the Lake. He’s just a brave horse; I knew the first jump I jumped on him. He’s got guts. Real guts, and a hell of a heart. He was tired at end, and he never gave up.”

Colleen Rutledge/Shiraz (0-0/14^th):

“He’s so incredibly honest; I’m so blessed to have a horse like him. He makes this ridiculously fun. He is phenomenal, like he is phenomenal. I’ve said it all weekend, and there’s nobody else I’d rather go out on first in the world. If it was a true military test and we had to go somewhere and had no idea where, he’d be the only horse I would pick. He’s so game, so bold and so smart, and that is a combination you don’t find very often.”

Caitlin Silliman/Catch A Star (20-15.6/38^th):

“She was awesome! She was so aggressive out there today, which was awesome. I think she’s really a four-star horse. She was so keen to jump everything. At the keyhole, I was going to do four, but she locked in and did the three. I wasn’t planning on it, but she landed and I did one, two, and I went, ‘Uh oh, we’re going.’ It’s really cool to feel the horses know their job. I walked that 100 times, and I couldn’t see the line, and she saw what she was doing right away. She was fantastic the whole way.”

Elisa Wallace/Simply Priceless (0-7.2/12^th):

“Through the really tough stuff, even when we weren’t perfect, he gritted it out and patted the ground and picked his feet up and kept going. It was a lot of fun, a lot of work, a lot of stress, but I’m so pleased with him, and I’m pretty proud of myself. I couldn’t be happier with that horse; he’s really proved himself.”

Maya Black/Doesn’t Play Fair (0-24/27^th):

“He was great—super honest on all the skinny and angled questions. He’s so honest.”

Colleen Rutledge/Covert Rights (0-12/10^th):

“He answered every question out there with a ‘Yes ma’am, absolutely ma’am, why wouldn’t I ma’am?’ He makes it unbelievably easy to ride. This horse, I stop kicking for half a stride, and he’s set up, and I’m like, ‘There we are,’ and we keep going. He jumped into the coffin and went, ‘Oh, OK, let’s add a quick one,’ and never wavered with shoulders, never anything, totally sited on the out and was like, ‘Got it, Mom.’ He was seamless through the Head of the Lake, like you couldn’t have asked him to do better. I am just unbelievably thrilled with him.”

 Buck Davidson/Ballynoe Castle RM (R):

“He’s my best friend, and he’s my buddy. And he’s a pretty smart horse. He’s always the horse I want to ride.”

Bunny Sexton/Rise Against (0-13.6/31^st):

“I watched early on and seen some slipping, and not having been at a four-star, my big deal was, ‘This is my one horse, and I have got to be really careful.’ I went out there thinking, ‘If he feels funny on any fence, if he feels like he’s slipping, I’ll pull up.’ But he picked up his wind, kept going, and he wanted it. I was so thrilled with how he did the coffin, he was just a star. At the hollow, he went to the outside, and I let him have his way a little bit, he deserved it. We take care of each other.”

James Alliston/Parker (0-0/16^th):

“I think he sort of hung a leg at the hollow, and I nearly flew over the head there. He was really good to pick up and jump through flags, and he jumped through that by himself, really, because I had no reins.”

William Fox-Pitt/Bay My Hero (0-8.4/4^th):

“He’s a superb horse. He’s one of the best cross-country horses I’ve ever ridden. He’s a joy to ride, and those conditions were against him.”

Check out all the Chronicle’s coverage from Rolex Kentucky CCI****.  

For a full report from Rolex Kentucky CCI****, check out the May 11 issue of The Chronicle of the Horse. 

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