Temecula, Calif. – Two recipients of the USEF Land Rover Competition Grants head from the East Coast to the West Coast to tackle the CCI3* at the Galway Downs International Event and Horse Trials. Buck Davidson brings Sharon Will’s Absolute Liberty and Allison Springer will ride Copycat Chloe Syndicate, LLC’s Copycat Chloe in Temecula, Calif., on October 31 – November 3.

Davidson (Ocala, Fla.) and the 10-year-old Oldenburg mare last contested a CCI3* at Bromont in 2011, where they finished fourth, and aim to have another strong performance. In the fall of 2011, the pair represented the U.S. at the Pan American Games and achieved Team Gold and Individual Bronze medals. Davidson and Absolute Liberty are coming off a fifth-place finish in the Advanced A division at the Plantation Field Horse Trials and seem poised for a top performance.

Springer (Upperville, Va.) and the 11-year-old Trakehner/Thoroughbred mare will compete in their second CCI3* after becoming a partnership only earlier this year. The pair finished fifth in the Bromont CCI3* in June. Recently, they took second-place honors at the Plantation Field Horse Trials in the Advanced A division, then finished third in the Advanced Championship at the Morven Park Fall Horse Trials. Springer aims to grow her partnership with Copycat Chloe this weekend with a solid effort at Galway Downs.

By Kathleen Landwehr

Learn more about the Galway Downs International Event and Horse Trial here.

Follow the 2013 Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team here.