Despite being halfway across the world from his native Great Britain, James Alliston has proven that he is quite at home in California with back to back wins at Galway Downs’ premier events. Last November James rode India McEvoy’s 14-year-old Irish Sport Horse (Jumbo x Lakeland Princess) Jumbo’s Jake to the win at the CCI3* and he repeated the feat once again with a wire to wire lead at this weekend Adequan USEA Gold Cup CIC3*. In addition to taking home the blue ribbon, James also claimed the red with his and Chuck and Peggy Moore’s Tivoli. The ten-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding who was competing in his first CIC3* added only 7.6 time penalties to his dressage score to finish 10 points behind his stablemate.
“Jake was awesome in all three phases this weekend,” said James. “This was a perfect preparation for Rolex. The time was very tight and I think I had a bit of a gap in the scores so I could have gone a bit slower and still won, but I wanted to give him a bit of a fitness work before Rolex and he finished full of running. He was pretty strong going out there which is quite unlike him, so I think that bodes well for Rolex really.”
Last year was James’ first Rolex Kentucky CCI4* experience and he is using everything he learned to prepare for this year for Jumbo’s Jake as well as Parker II (who is currently winning the Advanced Division) including ramping up Jumbo’s Jake’s fitness level and improving Parker’s dressage.
Tivoli came to James from Oliver Townend via Gina Miles and he had experience through the CCI2* level over in England but proved to be a tough sell before Gina’s assistant trainer offered him to James to try.
“I was really happy with Tivoli in his first three-star,” said James. “It was a really big effort for him. I think that one is going to be a really good cross-country horse; he is super brave and super fast. Hopefully we will use this year to educate him, and my hope is that he’ll be a very good four-star horse in the future.”
“He is nervy and aggressive to the jumps but he has got a ton of abilities – fabulous mover, fabulous jumper and there’s no fence too big for him. He is a full warmblood but he is quick cross-country and he seems to have the wind for the distance. He is a cob – If I didn’t clip him he could drag the arena!” joked James.
James is no stranger to the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series having finished seventh in the standings last year. “I would love to win the Adequan USEA Gold Cup $20,000, but unfortunately I am going to miss the one at Twin Rivers as I will be heading to Rolex, so Rebecca Farm is the only one left on the West Coast for me to compete. Hopefully I will still have a shot at it though.”
For his first and second placed finishes in the Adequan USEA Gold Cup CIC3*, James took home an Adequan USEA Gold Cup Trophy, $500 in prize money, two 7-dose boxes of Adequan, $300 Point Two Gift Certificates, and $500 worth of Nunn Finer Products.
Barb Crabo moved up into the third position with her homebred Swedish Warmblood gelding, Eveready, by adding only 8.4 time penalties to her dressage score on Ian Stark’s cross-country course where time proved impossible to make.
“I was really disappointed with my dressage,” said Barb. “We had a good spook going around the arena due to a flyaway test from the judges’ booth. I think it bothered me more than him, but I was too chicken to kick him out in front of my leg when we got into the arena. We just sort of plodded around.”
Things looked up today though on cross-country. “He didn’t put a foot out of place, and it was a great run for heading for Kentucky. I was absolutely thrilled,” said Barb.
CIC2*
The overnight leader also remained unchanged in the CIC2* with Katherine Groesbeck and her 15-year-old Anglo Arab homebred Oz The Tin Man putting in one of only two double clear rounds on cross-country as well as the fastest round despite being on the smallest horse.
“For a smaller horse he really opens up,” said Katherine. “We have the benefits of a big horse with a big stride and all of the benefits of a little horse with a compact body and maneuverability.”
“The course rode well as long as you came to everything strong and committed,” explained Katherine.” I had a bit of a hairy moment at the Normandy bank, but he climbed up and over it and on we went. It was just great galloping around and there are so many spaces to gallop here which I love. Everything just rode beautifully.”
Dressage leader, Teresa Harcourt and Bonza Twist of Fate, had lost their position on the top of the leaderboard when they dropped three rails yesterday in show jumping. However, they climbed back up into second today with a clean cross-country round and finishing only one second over the time allowed. The pair have now earned their qualifications for this summer’s North American Junior/Young Rider Championships which was the 20-year-old’s goal.
Third place finishers, Andrea Baxter and Indy 500 made the biggest ascent up the CIC2* leaderboard this weekend. They moved up six places after dressage and show jumping to finish on a score of 71.2.
CIC*
Barb Crabo and Over Easy accepted the blue ribbon this weekend for the CIC* which was a nice feeling after being disqualified from last November’s long format CCI* for Over Easy being too young. The Swedish Warmblood mare (Quite Easy 958 x Olivia of GCF) is another one of the Crabo’s homebreds and has come through the ranks with Barb.
“She’s a really neat horse, very talented,” said Barb. “She is a little on the lazy side but that seems to be going away as she exploded bucking and porpoising across the warm-up ring today after our first cross rail, and she made the time very easily. She is definitely figuring it out – before we did steeplechase last fall we couldn’t even think about coming in less than 20 or 30 seconds slow. The steeplechase is exactly what we needed. I couldn’t have cared less about the disqualification; we got to run steeplechase and it clicked something in her brain. She is now figuring out how to move her legs forward and not just up and down.”
The rankings remained unchanged through eighth place with eight of the 13 combinations having double clear rounds. Frankie Thieriot with Tory Smith’s Uphoria and Erin Kellerhouse with Cheryl Reynolds’ Roxabelle rounded out the top three in the CIC*.
The national horse trials divisions finish up tomorrow with Preliminary, Intermediate, and Advanced show jumping while Beginner Novice and Novice will have their turn out on the cross-country course. Keep up with the scores on StartBox.
About the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series
Now in its ninth year, the Adequan USEA Gold Cup Series is an exciting format of competition and entertainment for U.S. Eventing, encompassing seven of the top eventing competitions from around the U.S. where the best of the best vie for prize money, trophies, and the title of Gold Cup Champion.
Winners of each of the seven Gold Cup events across the country take home a trailer-load of prizes for their achievements. Winners receive an Adequan USEA Gold Cup Trophy, $500 in prize money, 7-dose box of Adequan, $200 Point Two Gift Certificate, and $500 worth of Nunn Finer Products. Second place finishers also take home a 7-dose box of Adequan and a $100 Point Two Gift Certificate.
The overall Adequan USEA Gold Cup winner will receive a hefty check for $20,000, an official Gold Cup Champion Jacket, and a huge trophy at the USEA Annual Meeting & Convention. The Reserve Champion receives $1,500 worth of Nunn Finer Products and a Gold Cup Reserve Champion Jacket.
2012, United States Equestrian Federation, Inc.