The morning began humid with a slight breeze. As the sun peeked over the horizon the Stable View warm-up rings were filled with grays, bays, and chestnuts. The CCI2*-S and CCI3*-S divisions did their dressage in the Tree Arena while the CCI4*-S, Advanced, and Intermediate divisions did their dressage in the Hunter Arena.
Concluding the CCI4*-S Dressage Boyd Martin and Yankee Creek Ranch’s Commando 3 topped the leaderboard on a 26. Lucienne Bellissimo followed close behind, both figuratively and literally. She and Horse Scout Eventing LLC’s Dyri followed Boyd and Commando in dressage order of go as well as slotting into second place with a 27.9. Boyd and Luke 140, owned by the Luke 140 Syndicate LLC, were third on a 29.2.
The horses and riders had a quick break before heading to the Mark Phillips Arena to jump the track designed by Chris Barnard. Boyd and Commando 3 were the first ones to enter the arena. The audience was quiet as they navigated the course. The pair unfortunately had a rail down at 11B, the out of a one-stride before coming to the final oxer. Rails fell for the first four combinations before Julia Wolfert and SSH Playboy were the first to produce a double clear round. Second placed Lucienne and Dyri joined the four-fault group with the top rail tipping on 4A. At the conclusion of show jumping, Boyd topped the podium with all three of his horses after two double clear rounds on Luke 140 and Federman B.
Boyd Martin and Commando 3. Photo by Dave Shapiro.
The overnight CCI4*S leader is Boyd Martin and Luke 140 on a 29.2. Sitting only .8 penalties behind himself in second place is Boyd Martin and Commando 3. With a 30.8 Boyd and Federman B, or Bruno as he is known in the barn, sit in third going into show jumping. All eyes will sure to be on Boyd tomorrow. When asked about his day Boyd shared, “I had a good day. I brought three of my top horses who are headed to the Kentucky Five-Star, Federman B, Commando 3, and Luke 140. All of them put in really good dressage tests and jumped around the show jumping really well.”
Lucienne and Dyri are sitting in fourth place on a 31.9 going into Cross Country. She shared, “My sole purpose of bringing Dyri here is to try and give him a nice run and keep his brain happy before he steps up to his first CCI5* at Kentucky later this month. I’m so happy with his consistent marks in the dressage now, 25-27 in the last couple CCI4*s, he’s been fantastic and there’s so much more to give. He show jumped well, had an unlucky pole early on, and then tried hard through the rest of the course, which rode a touch more technical and square than perhaps historically; all helps prep these horses for the direction the sport is heading. Fingers crossed for Saturday.”
Aiken-based rider Emily Hamel and Black Flag Option’s Corvett are sitting in overnight fifth on a 37.4 only adding one second of time to their dressage score. Emily said, “Overall very pleased with our performance in the four-star today. There’s always room for improvement in dressage but he’s getting more rideable with age which is helpful. I am grateful every time I get to jump Barry. He is truly amazing and makes a big, technical SJ track feel easy. I’m looking forward to having a confidence boosting cross country run tomorrow and carry that into the Kentucky 5* later this month.”
Lucienne Bellissimo and Dyri. Photo by Dave Shapiro.
Currently there are twenty-four CCI4*-S combinations who are set to jump Helen West’s Cross County track tomorrow. Regarding her track Helen shared, “There are four distinct differences between the four-star and the Advanced. The four-star is very much designed as a pre-Kentucky prep run. That set it always has to be true to the level and has to be fair for combinations coming here and potentially doing their first four-star. I’m hoping I got the balance right. I think there is enough out there to test combination but I think the track has a really nice flow. I think the guys here have done a really nice job with the ground. They’ve been verti-draining, irrigating, and the footing feels good. I think that will allow these horses to have their pre-Kentucky run and come out of it feeling good and feeling ready for the test that lies ahead of them.” To hear Helen’s complete commentary on several key questions check out the course on the Cross Country App.
Boyd will be one to watch on cross country tomorrow. He also shared his thoughts on the course tomorrow and said, “Cross country looks really really good. I’m really impressed with the work Stable View has done with the ground. They have been madly irrigating, they’ve been watering, and the footing is fantastic. Helen West has built an incredible track. It’s a great sort of preparation event for Kentucky. It’s got everything you’d dream of; it’s got skinnies, corners, coffins, and it’s a nice inviting course but it’s pretty challenging as well. Tomorrow is an important day for me as its their final runs before they go to the Kentucky Five-Star. Hoping they jump around well with confidence and have a fitness run as well.”
You can view a fence-by-fence preview with the course designer, Helen West (GBR), on CrossCountryApp below:
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The top three in the CCI3*-S remained unchanged following show jumping. Sydney Hagaman and her own Charmeur are sitting in first on a 27.5. Leslie Lamb and her own Banjo are sitting in second with just one time penalty separating them on a 27.9. To round out the top three is Chris Talley and Allison Pratt’s FE Marco Polo. The top of the Advanced leaderboard also remained unchanged. Woods Baughman and Manderly LLC’s Hopak de Greenbay Z are sitting in first on a 32.9. Skyeler Voss and her own Argyle are sitting in second on a 34.1 while Mia Farley and Karen O’Connor’s Invictus are sitting in third on a 35.4.
The Intermediate saw a slight shuffle of placings. Katherine Coleman dropped from first to third place on her own ESI Baltic Breeze to sit on a 27 going into Cross Country. However, Katherine still holds first place with her own Sirius SB who rose from third after their double clear show jump to sit on a 25. Gabby Dickerson is sitting in second place with Peter Dean’s Assagart Earl sitting on a 26. The CCI2*-S Division only did dressage today and will show jump and run cross country tomorrow. Following Dressage, Isabelle Bosley and Karen Martin’s Conner sits in first on a 24.4. Not far behind on a 24.7 is Mia Farley and Cecile Zovighian’s Nikita. Rounding out the day one podium is Mya Poulos and her own DHI Rock Dancer.
The CCI3*-S kicks off cross country in the morning at 9:30am ET and the CCI-4*S will begin at roughly 12:45pm ET. For Aiken locals, admission is free. Come and experience the thrill of the sport of eventing.
Shelby Allen will be on-site for Eventing Nation for tomorrow’s finale. Stay tuned for her full report!
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