Some of the world's top riders vied for the trophy in America's only 4-star event, but it was also a stepping stone for riders such as Holly Payne, who has a horse on the way up. UPDATED
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Holly Payne of Gladstone moved up 36 places at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day event with no jumping faults on Never Outfoxed during an impressive cross-country round at the Kentucky Horse Park. LEXINGTON, Ky. -- On a rainy, miserable Saturday, the bright spot at the Rolex Kentucky Three-Day Event was an unflustered Tim Price, a New Zealander who took himself out of a tie and into the lead after the cross-country phase at the Kentucky Horse Park.
The lead wasn't much, however, just 0.4 penalties over Olympic gold medalist, European champion and former world champion Michael Jung of Germany, who was equal first with Price after the end of the dressage phase on Friday.
Price, riding the Dutchbred Wesko, put in one of only six rounds that were free of both
jumping and time faults over the 29 obstacles. There were 71 starters, with 46 completing the route.
"I'm a believer in this horse and his will to please," the British-based rider said of his 2014 4-star Luhmuhlen winner.
Jung, on his number one horse, La Biosthetique Sam, went just one second over the optimum time of 11 minutes, 6 seconds, and incurred 0.4 time penalties to add to his original score of 36.3.
Aboard his second-string ride, Fischerrocana FST, who had been third on a dressage score of 39.3, Jung was able to go double-clear and held his spot going into yesterday's show jumping that decided the placings. In the end, it was Fischerrocana who claimed the trophy, going fault-free in the packed stadium to end on her dressage score of 39.3 penalties.
Sam had two rails, putting him third, and Price couldn't hold onto his lead, dropping a rail to wind up second by 1 penalty.
Defending champion William Fox-Pitt of Great Britain remained fourth, despite a perfect show jumping round with Bay My Hero. He was done in by 8.4 time penalties on cross-country. Without them, he would have won with his 38.5 total from dressage.
Meanwhile, Holly Payne of Gladstone, N.J., made a great leap forward in the standings after cross-country with Never Outfoxed. She was 57th in the dressage phase, but a clear jumping round and the addition of only 5.6 time penalties moved up her up 36 places to 21st after the second segment.
"The course was really hard; it was big, it was technical and it was the horse's first 4-star. I knew he was a very good cross-country horse. But he's young, he's only nine and inexperienced, so I wasn't really sure how he'd handle it, especially due to the conditions with all the rain we got, the ground got pretty soft," she said.
"But he was amazing. He wasn't picture perfect everywhere, but he was confident the whole way around and never second-guessed anything."
While in retrospect Payne thought she could have made the optimum time, she played it conservative at the beginning of her trip because her main concern about her horse was "making sure he would get home clean."
He was less fortunate in the final phase, however, dropping three rails but finishing 20th to earn a ribbon.
The unraced Georgia-bred thoroughbred came to Payne as a 4-year-old after doing some foxhunting. He is what she called an "electric-type" horse. He was a little rough around the edges in dressage, but never lost his cool.
Because he could handle himself and the presence of the crowd of more than 13,000 in the dressage stadium for that segment, that "gives me great hope for the future because he is so young and has a lot of years left in him," Payne observed.
"Many experienced horses can go in there and melt down and I think that with more time, experience and training, he can be quite competitive."
Other New Jersey entries had mixed results.
Kristin Schmolze of Oldwick collected no jumping penalties cross-country, but added 20 time penalties with Ballylaffin Bracken. However, the effort was enough to move her from 55th to 29th after cross-country. Stadium jumping brought her 12 jumping penalties and 7 time penalties, putting her 30th in the final rankings.
One of the most experienced horses in the field, Ballynoe Castle RM, owned by Carl and Cassie Segal of Tewksbury, retired 2 1/2 minutes into cross-country after a refusal at the seventh obstacle, the frog pond.
While speculating on what happened, noting he may have turned too early and the horse may have slipped, rider Buck Davidson said, "I got it wrong. No point in going on after something like that happens."
Reggie, as the 15-year-old Irishbred gelding is known to his friends, is the U.S. Eventing Association's highest-scoring horse of all time.
"It was one of those things," Davidson commented. "We'll be back.
He's thinking of rerouting Reggie to the Jersey Fresh International Three-Day Event at the Horse Park of New Jersey in Allentown May 7-10.
"I could totally see him going to Jersey," said Davidson, citing the Segals' involvement with the event.
ON THE RAIL-- If you liked the FEI World Cup dressage and show jumping finals in Las Vegas last weekend, you'll soon be getting good news.
Vegas is the only bidder for the 2018 renewal of the competition, though a formal announcement about awarding the bid isn't expected until June.
That would mean the cups, which hadn't been held in the U.S. since 2009, would be in this country three out of four years from 2015-2018...
The Junior Essex Troop's Garden State Horse Show gets under way Wednesday at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta. The state's largest hunter/jumper show, it has a grand prix on Saturday afternoon and will be offering team classes for riders from the same stable for the first time in years...
There are still some spaces available in a two-day gymnastics clinic next month, given by eventing multi-medalist Jim Wofford. Sponsored by Logan's Brook Equine Center, the clinic is for hunter, jumper, eventing and equitation riders. Sessions are held at jump heights between 2-feet, 6-inches and 3-feet, 6 inches and tailored to the ability of horses and riders participating.
The fee for two days is $430, with auditors admitted for $20 a day.
Wofford will donate half his clinic fee to the USET Foundation. For information, contact Nancy Jones at (908) 581-8158 or jonesie@logansbrook.com or Vicky Sroka at (908) 304-5762 or srokas1@verizon.net...
The Hermes U.S. show jumping team won the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup at CSIO4* Coapexpan in Mexico. The team was Candice King riding Kismet 50, Callan Solem (VDL Wizard), Ali Wolff (Casall) and Brianne Goutal (Nice de Prissey).
N.J. ACTIVITIES SCHEDULE
Today: Princeton Jumper and Spring Classic Week 2, Hunter Farms North, 246 Burnt Hill Road, Skillman; Garden State Show's Preview Show, Sussex County Fairgrounds, Plains Road, Augusta; Garden State Paint Horse Club Show, Gloucester County Dream Park, 400 Route 130 South, Logan Township; Delaware Valley Horsemen's Association Hunter Show, DVHA Showgrounds, 299 Ringoes-Rosemont Road, Sergeantsville; Readington Trail Pace, 100 Cole Road, Readington--use Flemington for GPS (9 a.m.-noon, readingtontrail.org); Jersey Palms Dressage Show, 177 South Stump Tavern Road, Jackson.
Wednesday: Garden State Show, Sussex County Fairgrounds, Plains Road, Augusta (through May 3).
Saturday: Blue Moon Dressage Show, 370 Barretts Run Road, Bridgeton.
May 3: Delaware Valley Horsemen's Association Driving Show, DVHA Showgrounds, 299 Ringoes-Rosemont Road, Sergeantsville; Jersey Fresh Spring Fling Pleasure Ride/Hunter Pace, Horse Park of N.J., Route 524, Allentown (9:30 a.m.-noon)
Nancy Jaffer: nancyjaffer@comcast.net.