Phillip Dutton and Fernhill Revolution. Photo by Brant Gamma Photo.
Lexington, Va. – Oct. 31, 2016 – Over 500 horses across 30 divisions competed at the Virginia CCI/CIC and Horse Trials at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington and the first winners of the week emerged.
Rio Olympics individual bronze medalist Phillip Dutton piloted both the Revelation Group’s Fernhill Revelation and David Garrett’s Corazon to double-clear rounds on cross country to finish in first and second place in the CIC2* out of 38 starters. The two horses were second and fifth after dressage, added no penalties in show jumping to move up to first and third and produced two of only nine fault-free cross country rounds.
“This is Fernhill Revelation’s first FEI competition in the U.S. since importing him from Ireland, so we are thrilled for his owners to take home the win this weekend,” Dutton said. “He already has a lot of experience at the three-star level with his previous rider Fraser Duffy, and we’re looking forward to bringing him out at that level in the spring. He has an incredible amount of talent and is definitely a horse for the future.”
Hannah Sue Burnett and Cooley Dream jumped clear in show jumping but added four time penalties on cross country to drop from second to a third place finish overall. Boyd Martin and Kyra finished on their dressage score of 43.5 to move up from 11th place to fourth overall. Mara DePuy and Congo Brazzaville C, leaders after dressage, added one rail in show jumping and four time penalties on cross country for a fifth place finish.
Sydney Solomon and Early Review C, owned and bred by Laurie Cameron, led the Area II Intermediate Championship from start to finish, adding only 9.6 cross country time penalties for a final score of 50.9. Sydney, 19, is a working student for Dutton and says she finds herself constantly improving under his watchful eye.
“[Early Review C] is a fiery little thing. She can definitely get hot and excited easily but she really wants to do it. She’s willing and honest,” Solomon said. “Show jumping was amazing; she did not touch a rail. Sometimes we have trouble making the stride when she gets spooky [on cross country] but today she was forward and good the whole time.”
Early Review C, also known as “Coco” is a graduate of the USEA Young Event Horse Program. She competed at the East Coast Championships as a 4- and 5-year-old with Lillian Heard and won the Safe Harbor Award two years in a row, which is given to the most amateur friendly and rideable horse in at the championships. Sydney has been riding Coco for the last year and is hoping to compete her at the Bromont CCI2* next year.
Tracey Bienemann and Geoni finished second in the Intermediate Championship, adding 23 penalties in show jumping but completing cross country fault free.
Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg were the ultimate winners of the Open Intermediate division. Placed second after the show jumping on 30.8, they produced one of only three double-clear cross country rounds to move into the top spot. Martin also finished third on Santos after finishing only one second over optimum time on cross country for a final score of 45.1.
Jennie Brannigan and As Cool as Ice moved up from third after dressage and show jumping to finish second in Open Intermediate on a 38.4, adding 3.2 penalties on cross country.
CCI2* Division
Lindsay Kelley and Cooley Cruise Control jumped the only double clear round in the inaugural CCI2* division to hold their overnight position and win on their dressage score of 51.8.
“He’s a super show jumper. I was a little bit nervous about how he would feel after pushing him so hard yesterday but he jumped better than he ever has today. He must have known it was the real deal,” Kelley said of the 7-year-old Irish Sport Horse.
Boyd Martin and his homebred Ray Price, an 8-year-old Thoroughbred/Warmblood owned by Windurra USA and Amy Lindgren, dropped a single rail to finish second.
Woods Baughman and his and James Baughman’s 9-year-old Thoroughbred Montesquieu made a steady climb up the leaderboard, placing 13th after dressage, moving up to sixth after a double clear cross country round and finishing third overall with just one rail down in the final phase.
Kim Severson and Ellie Brown’s Ringfort Fighting Chance led CCI*-A from start to finish, adding nothing to their dressage score of 40.6 to top the 39-horse division in the 11-year-old Irish Thoroughbred’s first FEI appearance.
Martin was second again in the one-star, this time with Barry, a 7-year-old Thoroughbred owned by Martin and Windurra USA, finishing on their dressage score of 43.0. Plain Dealing Farm’s 6-year-old Irish Sport Horse MTF Cooley Classic was piloted to third place by Lucia Strini, adding only two time penalties for a final score of 43.8.
Cornelia Dorr and the elegant chestnut Louis M likewise led the CCI*-B division from the start. Dorr, 18, and her 11-year-old Rheinlander gelding scored 40.2 in dressage and added only four penalties in show jumping to finish with the only final score in the 40s out of 20 talented juniors and young riders in the class.
Charlotte Collier and Parker Collier’s 10-year-old Holsteiner Clifford M moved up from sixth after dressage to finish second on 50.5. Will Zuschlag and his 8-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding RF Southern Command added only time penalties in show jumping to finish third overall on 51.0.
Area II Championships and Adult Team Challenge
Virginia Horse Trials was pleased to once again host the Area II Championships. New this year was the addition of Junior Championship classes. Congratulations to the 2016 Area II Champions:
- Intermediate: Sydney Solomon and Early Review C
- Junior Preliminary: Katherine Christopher and Frodo of the Shire
- Open Preliminary: Allison Springer and Fairvoya S
- Junior Training: Olivia Hayes and Beaujeste
- Training: Colleen Rutledge and Paul Just Paul
- Junior Novice: Charlotte Stillfried and Pepper
- Open Novice: Leslie Chelstrom Lamb and Quinn Lane
- Junior Beginner Novice: Annabelle Kress and Batteries Not Included
- Open Beginner Novice: Lauren Chumley and Nikolas
The Area II Adult Rider Team Challenge has long been a popular activity at the fall Virginia Horse Trials. This year, 17 teams made up of adult riders from Areas I, II and III competed in a friendly team competition at the Beginner Novice through Preliminary levels. “My team and I are very pleased with the success of the competition this week and grateful to all the riders, owners and volunteers for their participation. For me it’s about providing a high-quality but personable event that makes everyone who attends feel special,” said VHT organizer Andy Bowles.
“This event is the final competition of the year for many riders and we hope it will continue to be a destination event for eventers around the country. Thank you to everyone who makes Virginia Horse Trials an important part of their year. We will see you at the next one in May!”
For more information about the Virginia Horse Center and our complete line up of events, please visit www.horsecenter.org.
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