While many upper level event horses hone their flatwork skills at schooling shows, Dressage At Devon is a more unusual place to practice that phase. But Boyd Martin’s four-star mount Trading Aces competed in the Dixon Oval with Silva Martin, Boyd’s wife, tonight. The horse scored a 66.14 percent to finish fourth in a large fourth level test of choice class. Silva also took second in the class aboard Zoran.
Silva and “Oscar” qualified for Devon earlier in the season, while Boyd was out of commission after surgery on his ankle.
“Silva obviously helps me a lot with his dressage,” said Boyd. “This is a great show with lots of atmosphere, and he’d be doing dressage anyway, so we figured he should come out and do a test.”
Oscar, a 9-year-old Irish Sport Horse (Coevers Diamond Boy—Ballyvannon Beauty VII, Leaburg) owned by the Trading Aces Syndicate, got a little excited during his flying changes, and Boyd admitted the horse didn’t have an ideal preparation for his Dressage At Devon début. The gelding is fresh off finishing sixth at last week’s Plantation Field CIC*** (Pa.).
“He ran cross-country hard on Sunday, had Monday off and walked an hour Tuesday,” said Boyd. “He did a bit of dressage yesterday, then came out here and did his test. He probably could have been better if Silva had her normal lead-up like she does on her dressage horses.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Boyd is putting Oscar on a plane bound for the Boekelo CCI*** next Friday, Oct. 4.
“We thought this would be a fantastic opportunity to put him in a situation similar to that, where he’s in a stadium-type atmosphere and practice the movements under pressure,” said Boyd, Cochranville, Pa. “It was not only a bit of fun but a great piece of his training.”
But Silva wasn’t the only Martin picking up ribbons at Dressage At Devon. On Wednesday, Sept. 25, Boyd took his own turn, riding Dhouble Scoop to second in the 5-year-old dressage suitability class. Fellow eventer Erin Freedman won that class aboard Dorian Gray.
“It’s good to be around some of the best horses and trainers at this show,” said Boyd. “It’s brilliant being involved and seeing how it’s done properly.”
Along with riding several young horses, including Benefactor RRS, who placed third in today’s FEI 5-year-old final test, Silva will compete Rose Cha W in the CDI-W Prix St. Georges tomorrow.
