Brody Robertson’s show jumping track exerted its influence on Friday at the Setters’ Run Farm Carolina International CCI & H.T., with the newly-debuted Meadows arena serving as the host site for today’s action. In total, nine of 38 starters in the CDP Eventing Stables CCI4*-S turned in fault-free rounds.
“I commend the Carolina international for having us out here [on the grass], because it’s different,” newly-installed CDP Eventing Stables CCI4*-S leader Boyd Martin said. “The horses react a little bit differently, and having a cool VIP tent next to it adds a bit of excitement and atmosphere.”
Martin entered today in second place on OHP Hammertime Partners’ Miks Master C, carrying forward a score of 24.4. With some coaching from show jumping Olympian Peter Wylde, Martin delivered a fault-free show jumping round to move into the lead after dressage leader Will Coleman added time penalties to his score with Diabolo.
“It’s sort of our first proper event for the year,” Martin said. “So to come out and do a smart dressage yesterday and a great round of show jumping without having too much preparation, it’s just a sign of what a champion horse he is.”
Boyd Martin and Miks Master C. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Martin has ridden Miks Master C, a 14-year-old Swedish Warmblood gelding by the great stallion Mighty Magic, since late in the 2024 season after the horse’s former rider, U.S. Olympian Liz Halliday, experienced a traumatic brain injury in a fall with a different horse. He’s taken the reins in her honor, having always admired Halliday as both a friend and a teammate.
“Luckily, you know, I had so much help from Liz’s coaches, who are also my coaches,” Martin stated. “And at the end of the day, they’re just wicked quality horses.”
Martin is considering a CCI5* run at either Defender Kentucky at the end of April or MARS Badminton in England in early May as Miks Master C’s major spring destination. This weekend’s run will be used to build the fitness he’ll need to run a CCI5*.
“This is our first run of the year, so we’ll just coast around,” Martin said. “I think the biggest thing with Mickey is he’s a high blood horse. There’s no question of his speed and stamina and endurance, and the hardest thing is actually getting him relaxed. So I think I’ll go around at sort of 70% speed and try to give him a real smooth trip. And then at our next event, we’ll pick it up a notch. So this is sort of the fitness run. He’s had two big gallops in Pennsylvania before we got here, but other than that, it’s just been a lot of long, slow work in Aiken.”
Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake. Photo by Impulsion Media.
U.S. Olympic athlete Caroline Pamukcu moved up into second place with Mollie Hoff and Sherrie Martin’s HSH Blake (also her Paris Olympic horse), adding one second of time for a two-phase score of 25.2.
“He was great,” Pamukcu said of HSH Blake. “I was pretty disappointed that I had an extra second of time, but I found the turn where I could have saved that second, so I know what can make that better next time. He’s just a really genuine horse, and it’s my job to make sure he’s set up well and that I ride the best. I think I wasn’t super efficient from fence 3 to 4, I think that’s what caught up to me, because I had the double of verticals [to set up for]. So it could have been smoother, but this is what these events are for – to practice that for the Kentuckys and the Olympics.”
Will Coleman and Diabolo. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Will Coleman was accepting of relinquishing his lead with four seconds of time added today aboard the Diabolo Group’s Diabolo. In truth, while walking the course and thinking about the strategy he was employing for this event, Coleman planned to take some wider turns.
“[It was] a little bit to plan,” he elaborated. “I’m sort of using this as a real setup for our next one, and chose to do a few wider lines in places. I think obviously it cost me as a tight time allowed, but I think that’s okay. I’m only running them a couple times [before Kentucky], so I want to use the runs as strategically as I can. I rode my plan, and it ended up being a couple seconds over, and I sort of just have to accept that. He gets a little worked up, but I thought he went in there, and he did mind the rails. I thought he jumped into a nice shape for the most part.”
Lucienne Bellissimo Retains Cordelia Family Foundation CCI3*-S Lead + Other FEI Updates
Lucienne Bellissimo and Dyri. Photo by Brant Gamma Photography.
Lucienne Bellissimo retained her lead in the Cordelia Family Foundation CCI3*-S with Horse Scout Eventing’s Dyri, adding no penalties to her starting score of 24.2.
“He warmed up super fresh and felt very happy to be here,” Bellissimo commented. “I think it was great to get him on grass, I can’t think of the last time I jumped him on grass. He jumped super well – a little lucky at one of the oxers, but he realized it and tried hard and gave me a super round. I rode a slow fast round, he’s got a big enough stride that you can be patient.”
Bellissimo says she’ll feel Dyri out on cross-country Saturday, allowing him to cruise on if he’s feeling confident or giving him some extra time if he needs it. She, like many of her competitors, is using this event to prepare for a Long format later in the spring, so the most important box to tick is confidence.
“I’d like to save him for later in the year, but that said if he sets off in a good rhythm and is feeling confident, I’ll keep rolling,” she said. “Obviously, I’d love to win, but my aim is a four-star Long, so I want to make sure he feels the best for that.”
Tamie Smith and Solaguayre Cantata. Photo by Brant Gamma Photography.
Tamie Smith also retained her overnight lead, this time in the Breezeway Sporthorse Diagnostic Clinic / Friendship Veterinary Imaging Center CCI2*-S with Juliane Guariglia’s Solaguayre Cantata on a score of 24.6.
“Cantata was super,” Smith said. “The atmosphere in there was quite electric. She hasn’t seen anything like that in her career, so it was a really good experience to have her in that ring and the show jumping was quite twisty and the time was hard to make in all the divisions. But I was really happy with her, she was all business and had a really confident round.”
Boyd Martin and Buba D’Mues. Photo by Sally Spickard.
Boyd Martin also enjoyed a successful day in the Dechra Veterinary Products CCI1*-S with Tammy Pollard’s Buba D’Mues, a brand-new horse Martin just acquired from Germany early this year. The 7-year-old Hanoverian gelding by VDL Bubalu finished in the top 10 at the 2025 FEI Eventing Young Horse World Breeding Championships at Le Lion d’Angers with Finnish rider Sanna Siltakorpi, making him an exciting addition to the Martin string. This weekend marks Martin’s second recognized event and first FEI competition with Buba d’Mues.
“He’s not really ‘my’ horse yet at all,” Martin said, noting the time it takes to form a partnership with a new horse. “So I think we’ll just keep pumping along at this level for a bit. I’ll take a year or so to really get to know him, but he’s 80% Thoroughbred blood, so I think he’ll be a right champion.”
Competition continues on Saturday with the cross-country finale for the FEI divisions (as well as the upper-level National divisions), beginning at 9:00 am with the CCI3*-S. The full schedule and order of go can be found here.
Carolina International CCI & HT (NC): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer] [CrossCountry App XC Map] [Live Stream]
