Photo: Tara Metzner and Lion.
Lexington, Ky. – Aug. 15, 2018 – The second phase of the 2018 Platinum Performance/USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championships brought more than 140 exhibitors back to the Walnut Ring on Wednesday, presenting horses and riders one final chance at qualifying for the championship round by earning a place in the top 30 contenders. Jumping from sixth position after day one, Tara Metzner and Lion secured their place in the finale with a standout performance to nab the overall lead on the scorecard and the second place ribbon in the day’s over fences class. Only two points behind in the rankings, Tracy Fenney and MTM First Dibs also navigated their way into the third portion of riding with the highest score of the day to secure the tricolors and fourth place overall.
Unlike past years, competitors did not return in reverse order of standings for phase two, but instead the class operated under a somewhat random order of go. The 3’ horses first tackled the Bobby Murphy track, which once again offered a first fence option, followed by the 3’3” entries. In the end, the top five pairs overall turned out to be horses jumping the higher fences, led by Metzner and Davlyn Farms’ Lion with a two-day total score of 526.50. Following Tuesday’s initial round, Metzner and the Selle Francais gelding were sitting in the sixth slot thanks to their 262.50-point marks, which the pair added to Wednesday with a textbook trip to the tune of 264 points from the judges to jump to the lead overall and for the day slightly more than halfway through the class.
Competing at the 3’3” height, Fenney and MTM Farm’s MTM First Dibs were one of the last pairs to ride for the day, and saved the best performance of the class for nearly last with their standout trip around the expansive Walnut Ring. Earning scores of 86, 88 and 92 from the three panels of judges for an over fences score of 266, Fenney and the chestnut gelding propelled themselves to the top of the leaderboard for the day and jumped into fourth place overall, up from 11th after day one. The 2015 winner of the event aboard MTM Personalized, Texas-based Fenney has only been paired with MTM First Dibs since April, but their short relationship certainly did not hold them back in the showring.
In the overall standing, Metzner and Lion earned a narrow lead with their cumulative score of 526.50, only 1.5 points ahead of both Scott Stewart aboard Rivers Edge’s Everwonder and Haylie Rolfe with the reins on Pony Lane Farm’s Queen Celeste, each with 525 points. Fenney and MTM First Dibs sit in fourth, followed by Sara Taylor and Noah, owned by Ingrid Avera, in fifth place.
Contact: Rebecca Walton
phone 561.753.3389 fax 561.753.3386
rjw@phelpsmediagroup.com