Allison Springer and her own Arthur were the first on course during the CIC3* cross-country competition at the Red Hills Horse Trials in Tallahassee, Florida, but their comparatively quick round moved them up from third to first by the end of the day.
“You always wonder how things are going to go,” Allison said. “It’s nice to be able ask other competitors.” Her plan was to “just go out there and do it,” and Arthur’s scope and big stride made easy work of the course. Springer and Arthur will have no rails in hand heading into show jumping.
Boyd Martin and his WEG mount, Neville Bardos, were sixth after dressage, but the pair moved up to second after cross-country with just 7.6 time penalties. “It was a tough, testing course,” Martin admitted. “Luckily the horse I was riding has been around a bit now, and he’s quite experienced so I felt like I had a pretty cruising round.”
Martin has been conservative with Neville’s speed since WEG, but allowed the Thoroughbred gelding to gallop on at his own pace today. Martin recognizes the challenges of designing a good course on the undulating Red Hills terrain. While course design requires finding a middle ground between challenging and safe, “you want to be competitive, but not at all costs.”
Continue reading Allison Spring and Arthur Ascend to the Top of the Red Hills CIC3* Leaderboard