Monica Spencer and Artist. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.
The art of dressage is a multi-faceted one. Perhaps chief among the challenges of this first phase of eventing is the unending pursuit of improvement. It’s just as much mental as it is skill — that fine balance of constantly pushing, experimenting, testing, validating with the knowledge and timing of when to accept the current status.
“I’ve worked on dressage a lot over the years, because it’s something I can keep improving,” Friday night and dressage leader Monica Spencer (NZL) said of her work with the 15-year-old Thoroughbred gelding Artist (Guillotine – Maxamore). That continued work paid off in a big way today as the 2022 World Championships team bronze medalist pair earned their CCI5* personal best in six starts (seven, if you count the 5* phases of a World Championships) with a 22.3. This takes just a tick off their previous PB — a 23.7 — scored at the Maryland 5 Star in 2025, where they went on to finish second overall.
There isn’t much of a margin between Monica and second-placed fellow Kiwi Tim Price and Vitali (Contender – Noble Lady I), who go forward to cross country tomorrow with a score of 22.6.
So where did Monica’s edge, razor-thin as it may be at the end of the day today, come from? I took a dive into the scores and also chased down Andrew Bennie (NZL), who’s heading up this year’s Ground Jury for the CCI5*.
Monica Spencer and Artist. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.
With .3 penalty points separating the two, it was worth a look at the individual movement scores. Interestingly, Tim actually received more 9s — the highest mark either rider received from the three judges — with a total of 10 earned, in comparison to Monica’s seven 10s. Interestingly, it seems that Monica was simply just a touch more consistently in the 75%-80% range throughout her test, never falling below a 6.5 for any one movement — and she only received two of those 6.5s as her lowest marks. In contrast to Tim’s scores, he fell as low as a 5.0 on movement #17, the extended canter into the collected canter, from judge at C Andrew Bennie. Tim also received three 6.5s, and so collectively while he did earn more high marks, the overall average wound up with Monica on top. Additionally of note, both riders received two 9s on their collective Harmony mark.
“Monica’s horse and her riding is very, very accurate,” Andrew Bennie told me today. “The horse has got good paces, but he is a Thoroughbred. Tim’s horse, I believe, is a warmblood, so he’s probably just that little bit more expressive than Monica’s horse, but with that they also get the difficulty of keeping the balance and the control. Tim’s did just have one little tiny blip, whereas Monica’s was extremely consistent and the horse was extremely reliable. He’s been around the block a few times, and he’s a super horse — and so’s Tim’s horse. Being a New Zealander and marking the New Zealanders up, I kept thinking, ‘I hope the other judges are marking them up as well!’” (Spoiler alert: they were)
Monica Spencer and Artist. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.
For Monica, the success she finds in this phase comes more from keeping “Max” happy, loose and supple in his body. He knows the movements, she says, so drilling them and constantly practicing the dressage isn’t always the recipe. Earlier today, Monica was on Max in jump tack, loosely trotting and cantering around the warm-up for just 10 or 15 minutes, never asking for much in the way of collection but simple getting the horse relaxed.
“I get the dressage out of the way early in the week, when I do the arena familiarization,” Monica elaborated. “And then the rest of the week has just been flushing out the nerves for him. So I just spend my time in the jump saddle, just trotting and cantering around, just like little and often, like twice a day, just to keep him fresh in his body, not tired on those dressage muscles, so that he can go out and do his best.”
Tim Price and Vitali. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.
Tim Price rode after Monica, so he knew exactly what was needed to put the pressure on — and he was on a horse who’s set a record in this phase before, earning an 18.7 at Burghley in 2023 — and while he didn’t quite catch Monica, Joseph and Alexander Giannamore’s Vitali is another veteran at this level who’s become a dependable horse for a competitive score on the flat. In debriefing his test, Tim remarked that he did push for a few bigger marks, but as Andrew Bennie noted earlier, sometimes that can affect the balance of the horse.
“The experienced ones have a lot of good balance, I think, that converts to something [the judges] can throw marks at,” Tim said. “But it’s also quite risky, because you’re going and asking for more. I don’t think I’ve ever asked for changes out of such a big canter — the last two changes — I’ve always been a bit conservative and a bit together, and I was like ‘he’s got his changes, come on, this might be the difference!’ But I was really happy with him. He’s just such a craftsman, and he’s got a great body and mind for the job.”
Tim Price and Vitali. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.
Vitali is 16 this year, and Tim notes, similar to Monica, that it’s more of a priority now that “it’s my job to have him in a place that he can give as much as he wants. So that’s been a big part of the plan this time, and you’re always fiddling, always tinkering. I think I’m getting better year by year, a little bit — another half-percent each year improvement in the way I can train and compete horses, and it all slightly adds up. It’s just working them in a way — look, I don’t drill my horses in any way, shape or form. I don’t target one-day events. I want them to be with me, in front of me, supple, and if you go down that road long enough, I think they just get healthier and healthier in their bodies. They want to do everything we’re asking. It’s our job to ask the right questions and for them to have the ability to answer the questions — and it’s got to be a fair question. So the more he’s feeling strong and ready, the more he can answer — provided I ask the right question.”
Tom McEwen and Brookfield Quality. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.
Third overnight on our newly international leaderboard will be Great Britain’s Tom McEwen, who’s brought John and Chloe Perry and Alice Swindon’s Brookfield Quality (OBOS Quality 004 – Bay Coffey Cavalier) back to Kentucky seeking an even more competitive finish than their fifth place earned in 2025. Tom, two-time team gold medalist and 2020 individual silver medalist for Great Britain, joked that he and “Norris” are pretty good for a 25 in any given scenario (his 5* average is closer to a 26.6), and their 25.1 is actually a 5* personal best, bettering their previous low mark of 25.8 earned at Pau in 2024.
“As per usual, Norris does everything he can and performed another pretty much foot-perfect clear round, like we call it,” Tom said after his ride. “So I’m delighted, I thought we put everything out there, you couldn’t have given me more, so I’m thrilled. He knows absolutely everything, so it’s just getting it right on the day. He’s feeling really good — probably the fittest he’s ever been, so it was a little different this morning to how he can be on dressage morning. He’s pretty awesome, to be honest. Once he gets in there, he’s an old boy who knows exactly what he’s up to, so it’s just for me to try and get the rhythm, the balance and try and show as good a performance as possible.”
Caroline Pamukcu and HSH Blake. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.
Our whole top four has been refreshed with newcomers this evening, and it was the final pair of the day to slot into that fourth spot in Paris Olympians Caroline Pamukcu and her own, Mollie Hoff and Sherrie Martin’s HSH Blake (Tolan R – Doughiska Lass). This pair earned one of the best scores of their FEI career to date, with a 26.6 coming in from the judges to go ahead of Thursday leaders Will Coleman and Diabolo. HSH Blake did his first CCI5* last fall at Maryland, and Caroline noted that the timing — fall versus spring — of the two events makes a notable difference in the prep work.
“This is a little bit different animal, Kentucky,” Caroline explained. “I know everyone said Maryland was extremely hard — the terrain is hard — but you also forget that they had the whole season. You kind of keep going all season and then they have a good baseline when they get to Maryland, and last year I didn’t do a spring three-day because I wasn’t really fit enough and so we kept all the horses ticking and then they kind of did their finale without a big break. After Maryland, we give them six weeks off and put them in a field to get furry and feral, so you hope they have some residual fitness, but it’s still April and there’s a lot to do out there.”
Caroline’s husband, Deniz, and her daughter, Blake, look on during her test. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.
Similar to Monica’s approach, Caroline opted to just get Blake out in his jump tack for his pre-rides ahead of today, focusing on keeping the relaxation rather than drilling the movements he knows quite well with his extensive experience. “Since I’ve been here, I’ve done all my work in a jump saddle,” she continued. “I did do arena familiarization, only for a few minutes, in a dressage saddle, but all the other rides have been in a jump saddle and cavalettis. I’ve tried to stay out of the dressage arena because he knows his job and then I get a little nervous and ride him a little too backwards, so when I ride in a jump saddle and over cavaletti, I ride the horse and not get so stressed about everything else. He doesn’t need a ton of warm-up, just a little to get his back soft and get him into the movements and that’s about it.”
Sharon White Best of the Bunch on Day Two of Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S
Sharon White and Claus 63. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.
Apologies that I couldn’t get this Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S report out earlier, but here we are. It was a great day for West Virginia-based Sharon White, who’s opted for the 4* this weekend although Claus 63 has done the CCI5* here before. For Sharon, this weekend is about regaining form that’s been a bit lost over the last few months, revisiting the foundations before she moves back up to the next level again. A 28.1 is one of their most competitive scores at the level, and was good enough to slide into second place behind untouched Thursday leaders Tamie Smith and Danito (27.0).
“Claus was really quite good,” Sharon said after her test. “We were really quite present together and it’s really nice, because it doesn’t always happen so it was very satisfying. If your plans aren’t going quite the way you want, you have to regroup and do what’s best for your horse, and that’s what I’m doing right now with Claus. I lost form a little bit, so that’s why he’s not in the five-star, and we need to put the solid foundation back in.”
Sharon White and Claus 63. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.
The pursuit of presence has been something of a theme thread in Sharon’s life over the last few seasons, and with a horse like Claus who, as she puts it, is “the most mentally challenging” with his large personality and athleticism, it’s always a work in progress. “Just the constant, day to day, just ‘be with me buddy, put a little work in, it’s no big deal’ and not make it so exciting all the time,” she explained. “Just a little repetition of constant throughness, connection, be with me, do your job — good job!”
Sharon observed that Derek di Grazia’s CCI4*-S cross country track is “exactly what I need for Claus. If the universe could have put right what I needed, it’s right there, so I’m really grateful for Derek.”
Elizabeth Barratt and Ride for Thaïs Chaman Dumontceau. Photo by Shannon Brinkman Photography.
Two other newcomers making up the top three, with both Elizabeth Barratt (GBR) and Ride for Thaïs Chaman Dumontceau and Tamie Smith with Lillet 3 tying for third on equal scores of 29.7. Elizabeth, part of the GB Rising Lions squad sent over here for some international experience thanks to an exciting new funding initiative, has only been teamed up with “Chaman” — who earned a team silver medal at the Paris Olympics in 2024 with Stéphane Landois (FRA) — for about 18 months, but they’ve made good on their partnership already with some great experience under their belts to date.
“I took over the ride on him last season, so we spent last season doing three-stars and Young Rider classes and stepped up to four-star at the end of the season,” Elizabeth said of her history with Chaman Dumontceau. “It’s been really good to get to know each other, and I feel like he’s come out this year and we’ve got a really strong partnership.”
“I was really pleased with my horse this morning,” Elizabeth said of her test today. “He’s always one to rise to the occasion — he loves a crowd and an atmosphere, so he went into the stadium and just absolutely loved the attention. It was definitely our best test as a combination. He was really on it, he was listening to me, he was forward and it felt like we had a great ride together.”
This is a horse with a heartbreakingly special history: Chaman Dumontceau’s former rider, Thaïs Meheust, who passed away in a cross country accident in 2019. Though Thaïs sadly never realized her own dream of competing at the Olympics, Stéphane Landois was able to realize this dream in tribute at the Paris Olympics, where they finished 14th individually and in silver as a team for France.
Stephane Landois and Chaman Dumontceau ride for Thaïs in Paris. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
“I’m full of emotion for it,” Stéphane told me in Paris after his first phase of competition with this horse. “It’s probably given me more strength to come out and perform well, knowing the history of all this and his rider.”
Another bonus from today: Will Coleman took a turn with the Pony Club Le Mieux-supported volunteers during dressage today. Photo by Atalya Boytner Photography.
I’d love to stay and write more words, but unfortunately I now need to move on to course previewing as it’s nearly TIME for the big show tomorrow on cross country day. While I work away on Sydney Steverson’s preview of Derek’s track, you can view a video preview in the video below. We’ll be back with you tomorrow with a cross country live blog from Cheg Darlington, so get some sleep everyone and Go Eventing!
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