Will Coleman and Off The Record. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Where some wore the challenges of Derek di Grazia’s cross country course in their knitted brows and gritted teeth, dressage leader Off The Record barely had a bead of sweat to wipe from his forehead as he and Will Coleman maintained control of the Cosequin Lexington CCI4*-S.
“Timmy” is a stalwart in Will’s program. At 16, the Off The Record Syndicate’s Irish Sport Horse has been at this level for six seasons, and like a fine wine, he seems to get better with age. After earning the lowest international dressage score of his career on Friday, Timmy sailed around the Kentucky Horse Park cross-country like it was a training exercise—straight as a pin through the Mighty Moguls and steady as the rain through the Park Question coffin.
“He was great… I’m just tickled. When you have an older horse, and they come out and they just feel that inspired to go out and do it–it’s just a really rewarding feeling, and it makes you just feel very satisfied. He gave me everything he could today, and he just enjoyed every second. I have nothing but admiration for that horse and everything he stands for,” Will said.
Will Coleman and Off The Record. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Although they were 18 seconds over the clock, these two remained the fastest pair of the day, picking up 7.2 time penalties for a two-day score of 29.
“When I walked the course, I wasn’t sure anybody was going to be able to get the time. It was a fantastic track — extremely challenging — but the roping and the way the questions were strung together just made it very difficult for you to maintain the necessary average speed to get the time allowed. I don’t think that necessarily takes away from the competition in any way, shape or form, but it just wasn’t surprising to me at all that nobody really got close,” he said.
Looking ahead to the final phase, this combination is certainly capable of a clear show jumping test. But just for a little extra wiggle room, Will has given himself one rail in hand–just in case.
Will withdrew his second ride, Very Dignified, who was eighth after dressage. He explained that since the partnership is so new, he didn’t think the two of them as a pair were quite ready to face the challenge of the 4.5* cross country here in Kentucky, considering they’ve so far only done two Intermediate horse trials.
Phillip Dutton and Possante. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Phillip Dutton dug deep with both his horses to keep ahold of second place with Possante and third place with Denim.
First up was Ann Jones, Ann Lapides, Caroline Moran and Neill Sites’ Denim. The 10-year-old Holsteiner (Dinken – Celia II,by Ibisco) leaned into Phillip’s experience early on in the course, especially through the four-part coffin, but he kept showing up the whole way around, adding 10.4 time penalties to remain in second place on score of 33.5.
Taking insights from his ride with Denim, Phillip delivered a polished presentation with Possante, a 12-year-old KWPN (Namelus — Wedelien, by Otangelo) owned by the Possante Group. This pair is third after 11.6 time penalties on 37.2 points.
Phillip Dutton and Denim. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
“It was a lot of hard work, but certainly rewarding. We knew it was a strong track, and then the conditions, the crowd, everything—it takes a little bit of practice to go quick at this level. I was trying to have a crack at it, but I didn’t go quite as fast as I was hoping. Still, the horses tried hard, and I think we’ll come out of it better for what we did today,” he said.
As for the future with these two horses, Phillip said, “I’m always aiming for something bigger. This is a good experience and probably the strongest course they’ve jumped, so I haven’t got any immediate plans, but I think they are ready to find a five-star.”
Jessica Phoenix and Freedom GS. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Canada’s Jessica Phoenix had the third-fastest round of the day with her Paris Olympics partner Freedom GS. Coming home 20 seconds above the optimum time, Charlotte Schickendaz’s 13-year-old leapt from 14th to sit just beside the podium in fourth place.
“Freedom GS was just pure class out there today,” Jessica said. “She’s just such a fun horse to ride cross-country — she loves to gallop, and she’s so attentive to the questions. She looks for the flags. But exactly like Will was saying, the way they set the course, you knew the time was going to be really tough to make.”
Allison Springer and No May Moon. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Another major climber, Allison Springer, saw her ride, No May Moon, go from 27th to 5th after laying down the second-fastest ride of the day.
The clever 11-year-old Connemara cross (Catherston Dazzler — Ebony Moon, by Mystic Replica), who was bred by her owner, Nancy Winter, zipped around cleanly with 7.6 time penalties added for a current score of 40.4. Allison has carefully produced this mare to the top of the sport, honoring that she’s been a late bloomer, and now that former careful persistence has allowed Allison the opportunity to put the pressure on to let this diamond shine.
“I’m super grateful for the rain yesterday because the ground was not hard, but it wasn’t super fast either. I think some horses got tired, but both of mine galloped great. They really were super,” Allison said. “Maizey was just her unbelievable self. The course didn’t ride quite according to plan, and I think that was partly the footing, but she’s just such a clever pony. She loves this job so much, and she was still full of gas at the end… It feels like such a privilege to be galloping around this beautiful place at Kentucky.”
Despite the 22-rung climb, Allison and “Maizey” still aren’t the day’s biggest movers; that recognition was earned by Australia’s Ema Klugman and Chiraz, who launched 23 spots to ultimately land in a tie for seventh place.
Mia Farley and Invictus. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Mia Farley is sixth with Invictus, a 9-year-old Holsteiner/Thoroughbred (Diarado — Sunset Paradise, by Unbridled Jet) who is bred and owned by Karen O’Connor. Mia shares a lengthy partnership with “Sammy,” who she backed herself and has been riding since he was four. Today, 13.6 time penalties moved them from 12th to sixth on a score of 42.9.
“It was so hard — but it felt so good. Derek really set up the questions to challenge the horses, but he also gave us opportunities to put them in the right place and have them fully understand. It was nice to feel like I was able to do that in most places. There were a few times where Sammy saved my butt, but it was really great to feel like we could hunt the flags at the end of the course,” she said.
“In the past, I’ve actually gotten into a little bit of trouble toward the end of courses with him. He’s big and young, so I’ve sometimes lost a bit of rideability at the end. But it was really cool to feel, at this course, because he’s so talented, he actually had to work pretty hard — and by the end, he was like, ‘Hey, what do you want?’ And I was like, ‘Yes! It’s there!’”
In his first trip to the Kentucky Three-Day Event, Alex O’Neal had his work cut out for him with the green Redtail Penumbra (Kevin Z — True Dynamite, by Yes It’s True). This challenge was only the third start at the four-star level for the 13-year-old DSP, who is a homebred of Alex and his wife, Ellie O’Neal, but Alex thoughtfully showed her the way, giving the mare both an educational and proficient run. Their 11.6 time penalties have them in a shared tie with Ema and Chiraz on a score of 43.4.
The Chiraz Syndicate and Ema Klugman’s Chiraz, a 12-year-old Holsteiner (Cayado 3 — Asquetta, by Casall), who has previously been campaigned by both Boyd Martin and Nicola Wilson, showed off his enthusiastic demeanor and mammoth step to add 9.6 time penalties.
California-based James Alliston moved Alliston Equestrian’s Nemesis, an 11-year-old Canadian Warmblood (Novalis 46 — Maesy), into the top ten on a score of 45.1 with 11.6 time penalties added.
Canada’s Dana Cooke actually dropped one placing after dressage, from 9th to 10th, after picking up 16.8 time penalties with FE Quattro.
The optimum time was every competitor’s biggest nemesis, with no combinations managing to beat the clock. Of the jumping efforts, the Mighty Moguls were the most influential, coming early in the course with a massive brush table to corner at Fence 4AB. Eight riders picked up 20 penalties here, with the second most influential combination being the coffin (Park Question) at 6ABCDE.
Of the 48 starters, 38 finished the course. More than half of those who completed did so without jumping penalties, leaving time penalties to deliver most of the placings.
Though this is not a long format, the four-star competitors will present their horses a second time for the Ground Jury Sunday morning, beginning at 7:30 a.m., followed by the show jumping finale at 10:45 a.m.
Stay tuned for more from Kentucky, including a complete deep dive into the mammoth five-star cross-country report.
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